21st Century American Life

Great article about a study of 32 families in LA.

http://www.boston.com/community/moms/articles/2012/07/10/new_study_says_american_families_are_overwhelmed_by_clutter_rarely_eat_together_and_are_generally_stressed_out_about_it_all/?page=full

Some pretty depressing observations:

American families are overwhelmed by clutter, too busy to go in their own backyards, rarely eat dinner together even though they claim family meals as a goal, and can’t park their cars in the garage because they’re crammed with non-vehicular stuff.

And in particular:

50 of the 64 parents in our study never stepped outside in the course of about a week 

And this sounds like my mom:

Her children, ages 9, 13, and 17, have largely outgrown the toys, but she can’t bring herself to give them away. “I’m saving them for my grandchildren.”

...how can I be sure to avoid this?