A lot of my life and past is structured around trash.

Okay. Here me out.
This post is probably going to be disjointed. But keep the idea of ‘trash’ – as in reuse – items primarily – in mind.

When I was small, it was beaten into my head that a person’s home is a castle. The estetics. The structure. The items. The organization. The whole thing.

It is an outward projection of what you have inside. The surroundings are a display of some inner qualities.

Sure, it may not be golden doorknobs and diamond toilet seats. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be cheap or broken. It doesn’t have to be absolutely perfectly clean or smell fresh.

But there’s a significant difference between being loved and worn, and being neglected and in disrepair.

So, whenI cleaned the rentals of the three-week-old rotten chicken in the oven, feces off the walls, and other fun things, I felt I was projecting inner order over an environment.

I was exercising inward qualities – like having the will to do cleaning and organization – to the best of my abilities. I felt that I was good at it and, since it helped bring the rentals back to the market more quickly and (I hope) saved the family some money, I looked forward to it.

The messier the house, the more of a challenge.

Of course, I knew the house would just fall into disarray again within six months and, once the goodwill ran out, the renters would punch some holes in the walls and disappear in the middle of the night.

But that’s okay.
I’d be there to sweep away the dead rat bodies and spread the lovely smell of bleach.

I developed a lot of quirks when it comes to trash removal. Those stick with me today, and I think it’s one of the reasons why I’m so obsessed with personal structure and discipline. This comes out in a number of ways to the point of obsession and anxiety — like classes and work.

But life happens, and I guess, even more importantly, society changes.

“Nice things” became trite.
Cheap and overpriced items became the norm.
The joy is in buying, not holding, having, or repairing.

For many, the act of buying and the perceived saving became more important than the item’s actual use. I am absolutely part of this. There’s some sort of carpet cleaner monster-looking thing that hasn’t been touched in years. We bought a vacuum food sealer thing a couple of years ago that’s never seen the light of day.

“It’s a good deal” and “I’ll use it one day” mean that some people have entire rooms and closets of cheap items that will only have one or two uses – if that – before they rot.

At one point, all of that stuff – pristine trash – will need to be cleaned out to make way for new trash. Since it’s cheap and out of date, it’ll probably go to a landfill. In some situations, it will be transferred to someone else who will, more than likely, hide it in a closet or under the bed. And, one day, it will still head to the dump.

I developed this notion in my head that any place people spend personal time in – car or house – is full of trash.

All houses and cars are just a deposit account that will eventually be transferred to the non-recyclable trash heap.

Sure, there are some useful items, like a fridge. However, with planned obsolescence, it’s meant to be trash. It just might take a little longer.

While Americans are buying houses and filling them with trash, money flows out. Which means that we can afford cheaper and cheaper trash, which progressively becomes more poorly made.

The sanctuary of the home – the outward projection of inward qualities – is trash.

I think that it can be somewhat of a revolving door.

The more trash we live in, the more trash we may have inside. Inside our heads, with marketing, lower critical thinking skills, depression, and anxiety. Social media has reduced reading skills, attention spans, and has significantly harmed societies in ways that we may never fully recognize – because we’ll be too stupid to.

Americans are losing the ability to read, write, and plan out meals. AI is the answer, created from Reddit and other trash.

The more trash we have in our bodies through processed food, lack of exercise, and reliance on drugs.

People tend to be one of two ways –
They think that they’re better than everyone else.
Or they think that they’re not worthy.

Any potential friends and partners are either trash because they’re ‘not worthy’ or the person themselves perceives that they’re full of trash and aren’t worthy of the attention.

This reflects in other ways.
If I’m trash and can’t afford the expensive items, why bother? – This leads to a lack of agency and depression.

If I can afford the expensive items and everyone else can’t, they’re trash. There’s the old saying that to learn about someone, see the company that they keep. Rich people don’t want to associate with ‘trash.’

Rather, whether a person is trash or thinks about others is a matter of perception. That leads to friction, potential debt, and vulnerability.

Who wants that?

So… yeah…

All, if not most, of the world is a trash depository.

Yay.
Go us.