Interview: Person Who Buys a Lot of Stuff (by Lauren) ​

Interview with Johanna Gomez, a current MIT junior

Johanna Gomez is a current MIT junior who regularly purchases things online.

I first asked her what she does if she has too much stuff. "Well, if I have too much stuff… usually I just keep it," she admitted. But for things that she is certain she won't ever need again, she evaluates whether it is reusable or not. If it is, she'll ask her close friends or family if they'd be interested in taking it off her hands. If nobody wants it, or if it's not reusable, she'll throw it out. As for what reusable items she usually gives away, she said it was mostly clothes. After that would be some of her random trinkets and appliances, though she couldn't recall a specific instance of her actually giving away an appliance.

She mostly decides to clean spontaneously. If she happens to notice that her space is getting cluttered or if she sees a particular item that she knows she won't need any longer, she'll clean, but she doesn't have a schedule. Overall, the thing she probably has accumulated the most of is probably cardboard boxes leftover from Amazon snack shipments. Beyond that, she also has a collection of trinkets and figurines on her desk, some gifted and some purchased on her own.

When she decides to clean, she'll decide what to get rid of by asking herself, "am I actually going to use this in the future?" and if the answer is no, she'll get rid of it by one of the methods mentioned above. If she received it as a gift, she'll be less likely to throw it out and more likely to just store it somewhere, since she'd feel bad if she tossed it entirely. For items that she purchased herself for sentimental reasons, she's unlikely to throw them out ever.

I asked her how she would rate her own cleaning, and was surprised by the response. "I'm okay, I think. I think [...] most times I'm less likely, less likely to throw something out," she said. "I feel like I have [...] hoarder tendencies because I'm like, I never know when I might or might not use it. So then I just end up keeping it. So my cleanliness is okay." But even though she would describe herself as having "hoarder tendencies," she was "satisfied with what [she] had," because even if she isn't sure if she needs something, if there's a chance it might come in handy in the future, she's happy keeping it.

She noted that she's more likely to clean when she's at school as opposed to when she's at home. At home, she'd describe her attitude towards cleaning as lazy. But at school, "if I see a clean room, I'll be happier, you know? Like I'll feel better. I feel more organized with my life. And so I. And it's like it's a small space. It's a small room, so I can clean and, you know, it's not going to be labor intensive or emotionally intensive. So then it's just like, OK, let's just, like, focus on cleaning this room and it'll make you feel better."

Notes ​

• What do you do when you realize you have too much stuff?
• What proportion of your shopping is online vs in person?
• How often do you do a full cleaning where you intentionally get rid of items
• Where do your items that you get rid of typically go (e.g. donation, trash, Ebay, etc.)
• What sort of items do you find yourself frequently getting rid of?
• What do you do if…
  • "I just keep it"
  • "If it's reusable I'll ask people if they want it"
    • Clothes, trinkets
• Ask friends / family / inner circle
• "Spontaneous" cleaning if notice… maybe once a month? But kind of sporadic
• Since coming to MIT, accumulated random trinkets, especially on desk. And cardboard boxes… figurines
• Mostly buying snacks from amazon… lots of boxes from amazon shipments
• Keeps a lot of trinkets because they don't take up a lot of space
• First thought is am I actually going to use it, and if it's an enthusiastic no, who else might want to use it? If nobody, then throw it out
• If someone gave it as a gift or she bought it as a souvenir, more likely to keep

Would you say you need to clean more?

"My cleaning is okay"... hoarder tendencies but "satisfied with what I have" "If I move some items to a different place where I can't see it then it's fine."

What sort of items do you find yourself frequently getting rid of? * Extra snacks * Plastic bags

How long do you usually spend on cleaning when you clean? * At most an hour (then she gets tired)