Look, I will be the first to admit that my house has far too much clutter, that many of the things we own have turned out to be a waste of resources because we don't use or enjoy them, that our clutter makes it harder to clean the house and to use the spaces, etc.

And nonetheless I think LW sounds like a self-righteous twit whose girlfriend should leave him for someone who's less hung up on minimalism as virtue signal.

Can gift-giving be toxic? Sure, when it's done to demonstrate status and power rather than to express affection and appreciation. But having a family culture of gift exchanges isn't inherently toxic.

One person's useless tschochtke is another person's treasured memento of a loved one or a special memory, or simply an object that they enjoy looking at.

Also, gasp! her family makes a huge amount of food for parties and holidays -- in other words, for SPECIAL OCCASIONS. LW isn't saying the food is getting thrown away; he's saying it takes a few days to get through it all. He's not saying that GF's family wastes food at their everyday meals -- has he even seen how they eat on normal days, or does he only see them at parties? Plenty of people who have big food extravaganzas for special occasions are frugal and modest in their day-to-day meals.

Yeah, I'm on Team Break Up For Her Sake.