Also, agree with #42 – there’s a difference between stuff & Stuff. One certainly needs some stuff to get by (and enjoy life!), but it’s the Stuff (with the capital ‘S’) that’s holding one back.

Actually, agree with most comments made here. haha

I ask myself when was the last time I wore/used/looked at it.

I tell myself that the local charity thrift shop could use the money it would bring if they sold it.

I add that some person out there would really enjoy this item.

Last, I put these things in my car in bags, allow myself to ride around with them in the back seat for a few days, then on donation day if I haven’t even thought about them (which I don’t) I drop them off to be resold.

It’s painless!

Its been a while in the making but finally my family and I are on the way to a simple home. Good quality wood furniture, good healthy food, nice music and good books. These are what rock our world! But they dont make it turn, WE DO. Our family.

Loving the blog, just found it today.

What a gift.

It shouldn’t be underestimated

When I was right out of college I overheard a women in a cafe say that she wanted to be the exact same person even if her house burned down and she lost all her possessions. Over twenty years later, that concept is still with me… To me, your life is maximized when all things in it serve to increase, or at least maintain, your happiness levels. What those “things” are will very widely from person to person, but that framework has helped me decide when to say “Enough Stuff” and to create financial balance in my life.

Thanks again for this delightful piece!

I may be mistaken, but the point I took was that of maximizing the enjoyment/value inherent in our stuff, and not accumulating stuff for its own sake. If something has value, then it’s not Stuff, it’s a tool or a pleasure. The minimalist/frugalist ethos just asks us to restrain ourselves from accumulating more than we can use or enjoy.

It’s like the universe is saying, “well…you seem to be handling what you have very well, so I think you can handle some more”.

Not only did his generosity keep a good employee longer than I should have stayed (it wasn’t nearly challenging enough for me), but it also taught me how to be giving and generous with my own possessions. The only thing I really won’t share is my bicycle – everything else is replaceable.

As has been said here the issue isn’t about the possessions but understanding what is important in your life to make you happy and fulfilled. In other words truly wealthy.

Your point about giving is right on. When we give to others, who have less than us, it sets us free from the tyranny of our possessions. And brings it’s own joy.

Thanks for the thoughts.

I agree with the above poster — the name of the game is really LIFE MAXIMIZATION.

Thus it is that I can choose to spend on certain things, and not spend elsewhere. It reminds me that as great as debt free and a healthy bank balance are, neither of them define ME. Any more than my possessions do. If I choose to spend money and accept that my bank balance will be lower than it otherwise would be, that is perfectly fine — so long as the money spent is furthering my life according to what I value.

Which is why I indulge in the luxury of a personal trainer. I’ve found that for me, joining a gym and hiring a personal trainer has made 1000% difference, rather than trying to go it alone, with a pair of sneakers and cheap home equipment. NOT a frugal choice — but it’s done crazy good things for me. For me, it’s money well spent.

And it keeps my home free of exercise clutter. I let the gym worry about the equipment.

-Rex

My life has changed soo much and I only feel happier.

Just an incident related to your post. I sold my E class, a jewel that I bought brand new few yrs ago (paid cash, wasn’t a financial issue). The buyer asked me how I felt parting with it. I had to make up something..like I’m sad (usual emotion). But I was so relieved after it got sold, much happier in Mazda 3. I can mention so many related incidents.

Eventually one has to part with all this “Excess baggage” that we get obsessed with.

Thanks for an enlightening post.

Vic

I made an exception once and bought a $300 suede skirt which i have only worn a handful of times as I’ve lived in fear of somehow injuring it.

This bit really speaks to me, because there was a time not too long ago where I did this… I was obsessive and fawned over every penny and shoveled it all into a savings account and heaven forbade I spent any of it.

Thankfully, I woke up and realized that I was hoarding money that I could spend, not the money that needed to be saved. So I found out that buying something I wanted wasn’t mean or horrible or awful or against financial sense, it was what money’s actually for.

Just this month, I spent most of my personal savings on a dress for an upcoming wedding (but can be worn for much more than just that), a new coat, a tote bag and another car shirt. Yeah, much of it was gone and it was a bit of a crazy shopping spree for me, but it’s all stuff that I adore. The money didn’t make me happy or add any sort of value to my life, other than net worth, which I don’t currently track. Instead, I have this awesome coat that I get to wear, a tote bag that can hold crazy amounts of stuff, a dress that fits like a glove and a shirt that shows my support for a specific movement of sorts in the car community.

I like the concept in comment #29. It’s pretty much how I am with cars. I sacrifice quantity of clothes for quality, so that overall I can spend more on my babies. (I mean, I’m a girl after all, and I still like clothes… That I can’t get rid of!)

The most effective way to live is life maximization. This includes possessions and personal finance.

You analyze what’s important to you in your life. You break them down into categories. Then, you maximize your resources–time, energy, finances–into them while ruthlessly ignoring the rest. Hence the term life maximization.

By doing this, you don’t have to self-deny anything. You can fully enjoy what you love, but do it without guilt and with minimalism. You have less accumulated stuff and activities in your life (minimalism), so you free up resources to maximize what you love (enjoyment without guilt).

Nice article on finding the balance of enjoying life without teetering over to self-denying/cheapness,
Oleg

It’s a lot less stressful when you don’t expect things to be perfect, and you can enjoy the quirks I think that’s why I like used items so much — my furniture came with a few dings!

I just forwarded this to some friends who i think will understand.

In order to repair my garage and house, I need tools. This keeps my property in good repair. In order to go canoeing, I need a canoe. This keeps me from getting wet. If I needed nice clothes for my job (I don’t currently, but that could change), that’s still Stuff.

And probably some would say I “obsess” over my Stuff. I clean out the dust from my tools so they run cooler and will hopefully last longer. I put up the drainpipe on the garage so that water doesn’t cause damage to the clapboards. I don’t drag my canoe on the ground, which protects the bottom so it doesn’t get small leaks. I keep my car clean and inspect it for small dings where paint is missing so I can repaint before rust gets started.

But here’s the thing: I “obsess” so that the things I have will last and remain relevant and functional. I think that perhaps there’s not enough “obsessing” over Stuff in today’s western society. When it’s so easy to buy something, use it without thought, and replace it when it breaks with another, it’s harder to put in the extra effort to maintain Stuff. All this creates waste as Stuff has an ever shorter useful life. And I think that waste is perhaps not adequately addressed in terms of the benefits of getting rid of Stuff.

Most of my possessions have a purpose in that they allow me to do something. I don’t sit around thinking about how wonderful my Stuff is, but I do think a lot about how lucky I am to be able to go canoeing with my Dad, volunteer at a museum with my husband, sew on a dress for myself to wear to my cousin’s wedding, sew on a quilt for my mother-in-law that perfectly matches her rug, talk to my family several times a week even though I live several hours away, and even walk in my neighborhood without being arrested for indecency. All this requires Stuff.

Maybe all those who reject Stuff as bad have come up with things to do that don’t require Stuff, but I think it more likely that they simply rearrange what they do so they can do it with Stuff that belongs to others (computers provided by the workplace, magazines from the library, etc). Stuff is Stuff, regardless of ownership. And a little less judgment of others regarding how much Stuff they have or don’t have would probably make us all better people.