I'm happier with fewer possessions!

[Treatment]

Money is only important if you don't have any.

[Baz1]

I've totally de-cluttered my life, either give away or sold nearly more than half of all my possessions, I've even cut off contact from people whom i feel are nothing but trouble, whether they be family or not, I've just give away my last Rockport hooded top I hardly ever wore to some alcoholic dude with a loadsa bags near Cathedral, it feels like I've had a massive tumour removed and I can start life properly all over again.

.

 

 

....you must have just watched Into The Wild

[Jess22]

....you must have just watched Into The Wild

 

That is exactly what I was thinking when I read the OP. Hope they don't go as extreme as the guy in the film

[Aries22]

Can't stand clutter about, or anything that needs dusting. Some people think that having all their stuff on display is a sign that they are wealthy. To me it just looks like a complete mess.

[dell12]

Interesting thread.

 

I think that in (too) many cases shopping is means rather than an ends. People go shopping, simply to enjoy it as a pass time rather than buying something they actually need. Shopping has replaced reading as a national activity and our economy has grown up round that. It's a sad fact that if people stopped buying trash they don't need, Britain would be in a bad mess.

[Janus]

I've totally de-cluttered my life, either give away or sold nearly more than half of all my possessions, I've even cut off contact from people whom i feel are nothing but trouble, whether they be family or not....

 

As has been mentioned this is an interesting thread, and OP too of course.

 

I would like to ask you "what was the defining moment" or trigger for you to do this.

[Cyclone]

Interesting thread.

 

I think that in (too) many cases shopping is means rather than an ends. People go shopping, simply to enjoy it as a pass time rather than buying something they actually need. Shopping has replaced reading as a national activity and our economy has grown up round that. It's a sad fact that if people stopped buying trash they don't need, Britain would be in a bad mess.

 

Me and my SO have combined the two. We go to Meadowhall (after my obligatory protest) I read in Starbucks, she shops, we go home, everyones happy.

Don't ask me why she's happy that I rode in the car to meadowhall and back, but she is and that means I'm not in trouble, and the coffee's not bad anyway.

[Sierra]

Much sense in what you say Sierra. I have emotional ties to some stuff, as it was in my mum's family for a while, and I'm now the only one left so I feel a bit like a custodian. Its not valuable, just means something to me. However when we moved house and downsized 5 years ago I got rid of lots of stuff, and now when we get a charity bag I always try to find a few things to put in it. I took some books to the charity shop yesterday.

 

However, I like having some things around me and being comfortable in my home. Presents from family and friends, pictures and photos (especially of the grandchildren). I don't buy much, the only thing I've bought recently was a pair of warm boots! I could never be minimalist, like the OP. I'd miss the TV, PC, washing machine and dishwasher too much.

 

Ms. Macbeth, I guess it's an age thing.

 

I found out (through expensive trial and error) that it wasn't necessarily the things that cost a lot that I enjoyed the most, and it took me years to realize this. But that's me.

 

For those who have an expensive car that they enjoy driving or love trying out pricey new restaurants (hi, Mom!) and they really, really, enjoy it, or as Cyclone says, his possessions serve a purpose, go for it! It's your money and no one can tell you how to spend it. The problem arises when people are trying to fill a hole by spending money or are spending what they don't have, and that will catch up with you eventually.

 

It was the great American economist Thorstein Veblen who, in his great work 'The Theory of the Leisure Class', developed the notion of conspicuous consumption, i.e. a form of boasting about one's wealth and status by wearing or displaying expansive material goods. It seems we have now entered

the era of conspicuous non-consumption, where people seek the admiration of others by flaunting their frugality.

 

Lord C, I see this more and more as the financial meltdown in the US seems to be ongoing with no end in sight. As for myself, I've seen too many people who's lives have fallen apart because they take on more and more. Things, houses, cars, etc. And of course more work to pay for it all. It just multiplies exponentially and consumes them.

 

My mother was just not domestic at all, God bless her. So I took a particular pleasure in learning to cook well and clean my own house. I love learning to make things from scratch. Sometimes to save money but mostly because it always almost tastes better and you know for sure what's in it. It was also something my kids and I could do together, though my son usually figured meh, his clothes or the floor were clean enough, thanks. No need to be Martha Stewart but these are skills everyone should have.

[Scozzie]

Material possesions don't validate you as a valid and worthy human being.

 

I had they whole shabang- huge tv, surround sound, shelves and shelves of dvds,

Bags of jewellery, knick knacks, a kitchen full of the latest gadgets, etc, but had a sea chhange and

Moved to a coastal village with no tv, radio or phone signal. I realised I didn't miss any of it.

There was no microwave, so I had to cook everything from scratch.

 

Everything is packed away in storage now, but I love the free and easy life of travelling,

Not being tied down by possessions and knowing that at any time, I can throw some clothes into

My back pack and just leave.

(Ok, ok- I have several backpacks, tents and sleeping bags that I would be sad to leave behind)

 

Pity my OH has such deep roots.

[cad&abounder]

I think it totally depends on the type of possessions. For example art or antiques might bring great joy to people. You don't just have to buy consumer crap.