The Crap We Keep Around

Years of good marketing may have convinced us that life isn’t complete without a junk drawer, overflowing closet or unusable garage. Now, according to historian Wendy Woloson, Americans are suffering from the outright “crapification” of their lives. So where do we go from here? And how do we clear out that closet?

Woloson, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University Camden and author of “Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America,” says our relationship with junk goes way back. We’re naturally drawn to possessions for “our comfort, for our safety, for our sense of identity,” she explains. But Americans’ modern courtship with cheap goods began in the late 19th century as manufacturing geared up and trade networks went global. Enter plastic toys, collectible spoons, old erasers and gift store knickknacks. They’re all souvenirs from a long journey of capitalism and consumption.