Too much stuff? Letting go of excess property is not only better for the world, but will ultimately give you a more agile, free, and looser life.
Do you have such a drawer in the kitchen with a huge collection of batteries, pens, lighters and knick-knacks? Maybe an attic full of boxes that need to be sorted out someday?
A wardrobe full of sweaters that were once enthusiastically purchased but have now been collecting dust unworn for months? Probably, most people collect stuff like a squirrel collects beechnuts – always looking for more.
Urge to collect
Most people are collectors. We buy because we need something (or think we need something), because it gives us a moment of happiness or to ‘belong’. In the course of life, we even collect so much stuff that we often forget what exactly we have dragged into our hole. All that stuff, stored in sheds, attics, basements and junk sheds, are just there.
Being content with ‘just enough’
Not everyone thinks stuff is ballast. Yet there is a growing group of people who realize that all that stuff does not necessarily make them happier. We live in an age of excess – with more stuff than we actually need.
More and more people are therefore wondering: why do I attach so much value to all that possession? Fortunately, living with less stuff does not mean that we have to deny ourselves things. Or that we have to get rid of everything that makes a living room cozy to live in a bare space.
People who want to live with less simply see that the competition to always want more has never ended. Instead of looking for happiness outside of themselves (in things), they turn inward – towards what is really more important and essential for them to live a fulfilled life.
More with less
When we consume less useless, it means less waste and pollution of the earth. At a time when the world is begging for better treatment, that’s actually reason enough to cut back on consumption.
Apart from that, being less compulsively preoccupied with possessions also provides personal liberation. Stuff takes time and energy – from cleaning and maintaining to repairing. When we live with less, we have more energy for other, more important things. A tidy house leads to a tidy mind, they say.
You can also check out our seven internet dating tips.
Go fly
By getting rid of the superfluous in life, there is more room for peace, freedom and happiness. If you want to fly, it’s best to give up everything that brings them down. It doesn’t necessarily have to be stuff.
It could also be an energy-guzzling relationship, or loveless friendships that just go on and on. Yet many people only notice how attached they are to material things when they consciously think about it.
With every purchase, ask yourself: why do I want this anyway? There are often deeper motives than appears on the surface. The urge for more-more-more is an incessant race in your head. As soon as you think you’ve won you want, you guessed it, more.
It is ultimately liberating once you realize in depth that material things will never fill the heart permanently. Free from (excess) possessions, you are loose, agile, flexible and concise. You don’t miss anything, because you already have everything.