Hello everyone, I found this site only a little while ago, and read through a lot of the topics. Honestly, just reading what you guys write makes me feel at ease. I have always been a neater guy than most. I can't stand clutter, I like when things are organized, and I love the idea of having only necessities. However, I am 19 years old and everything up to this point has built up quite a bit. To start, I hate the furniture in my room. I have some furniture from IKEA in mind that would go with a minimalist style, but I cannot invest in those until my family and I move (which would be this summer). However I can still take some steps towards minimalism and then finalize it this summer (I hope).
I have thoroughly cleaned my room a few times now, going through everything to see what I can throw out. I have made some nice progress, but it is not enough to make me feel very relaxed. I know I won't be 100% satisfied until I move and get a fresh start, but I'd like to get as close to that as possible.
Keep in mind I am a 19 year old college student, whose hobbies include some sports (mainly racket sports), video games (light console, mainly PC), music and movies (almost all on the PC though), and things of that sort. I am wondering at what point should I stop selling/throwing out/giving away stuff and call it quits.
Honestly, I have so much stuff that I haven't used in years, but I like to keep around some of them because of my attachment to them. I know I probably won't ever play my gameboy or N64, but the nostalgia makes it very hard to get rid of. Even my xbox and ps2 has been packed away for a long time, but I feel like I might use them. Same with a lot of objects I have simply for memories. I still have my pokemon cards for instance... :oops: Can you guys please try to "persuade" me to get rid of some of this? I love the idea of having only the bare necessities, but can't seem to bring myself to do that. I have the following (from what I can recall):
Computer
Video games/Consoles (I think I can try to get rid of some)
Some music CD's (most are on the computer)
Magazines (game guides, I can throw away the old PC magazines)
School supplies (I will probably never need most of them, but a lot of "just in case" stuff)
Personal belongings (like wallet, keys, cologne, etc.)
Books (from current semester, and also some old ones that I'll try to sell/throw away)
Clothing (Threw away A LOT, but I can still do more)
Sports items (Threw away what I don't use, I'll keep this untouched I think)
Memory items (I have a collection of things from cards, to my own drawings, to tiny gifts as memories)
Electronics (from ipod, phone, and headphones to all the wires and things that go along with them)
I can list some of the measures I have taken and would like to take to organize even more, but this post is long enough already. For those that bothered reading, I kindly appreciate it... My question would be, how I can detach myself from a lot of these belongings? Why is it that when I know I haven't used some items for years and probably won't, I can't bring myself to throw them away? And if anyone can recommend some of the belongings to get rid off (although I know it's a personal thing), I'd like some opinions. Thank you. :D
Page
1
posts 1–7 of 7
+0
permalink
Hi psx19,
When you eliminate old games/clothes/books/furniture you're actually making room for more. When you don't remove the old clutter you're taking up space and can't make room for something new.
When I moved into my new home over 6 months ago, I cleaned my closet - best thing I ever did. I removed half my clothes and donated them. This decision resulted in two things:
1) It made me feel really good to donate and help others who needed the clothes.
2) It signaled to Universe/Source/God saying that I have an abundance. When you give something away, you're saying to the Universe, "I have an abundance" and therefore the Universe responds by giving you more. Like attracts like.
Since the closet cleaning I've been attracting new clothes - from places I wouldn't even have thought! Besides the clothes I buy for myself I've been receiving new clothes from my wife, from my family and in the form of gift certificates from work.
Clean your closet and watch it fill again.
When you eliminate old games/clothes/books/furniture you're actually making room for more. When you don't remove the old clutter you're taking up space and can't make room for something new.
When I moved into my new home over 6 months ago, I cleaned my closet - best thing I ever did. I removed half my clothes and donated them. This decision resulted in two things:
1) It made me feel really good to donate and help others who needed the clothes.
2) It signaled to Universe/Source/God saying that I have an abundance. When you give something away, you're saying to the Universe, "I have an abundance" and therefore the Universe responds by giving you more. Like attracts like.
Since the closet cleaning I've been attracting new clothes - from places I wouldn't even have thought! Besides the clothes I buy for myself I've been receiving new clothes from my wife, from my family and in the form of gift certificates from work.
Clean your closet and watch it fill again.
+0
permalink
sounds like you've made excellent progress already & should not have a lot of surlus items, so wth your remaining items you can't bring yourself to throw away, don't, seal them in a box, label & date the box and store it remotely, e.g your parents house.
+0
permalink
I agree, put them in boxes and store somewhere if you feel you can't throw them away.
I'm trying to do the same thing right now, got myself some boxes the other day. Putting my old gaming magazines, old games I collect and more things I have lying around in my room that I don't actually use that often.
I'm trying to do the same thing right now, got myself some boxes the other day. Putting my old gaming magazines, old games I collect and more things I have lying around in my room that I don't actually use that often.
+0
permalink
Funny, I'm also thinking about doing the same thing. But first I want to get rid of as much as possible. Old magazines I know I will never read again, old clothes I don't wear anymore... things like that. And then the rest of the really personal stuff can be stored.
+0
permalink
Such a great thread. I just finished filling four storage boxes with stuff that I just can part with -- YET. The boxes went up on the brand new storage shelves in the garage and will be nearby should I EVER need them again (or until I overcome the next stage of packratism). I makes me feel really great until I look to my left and see my wife's workstation. OOPS!
She was so happy that I organized my mess. And I am really happy that the overload of guilt she is feeling has caused her to walk into the office and start chunking things.
Keep sharing the love. My life is better for it.
Harry the YakDriver :!:
She was so happy that I organized my mess. And I am really happy that the overload of guilt she is feeling has caused her to walk into the office and start chunking things.
Keep sharing the love. My life is better for it.
Harry the YakDriver :!:
+0
permalink
Two quotations that I came across when I was about your age and which influenced me heavily in my attitude towards accumulating possessions are as follows:
"What you own also owns you."
"The man with fewest possessions is freest."
In my own life, my brother is very sentimental and won't get rid of things that he has an emotional attachment to. Consequently, he has something like five cars and two boats and a motorcycle. One of those boats has not seen water for over 20-years, one of the cars has not seen the road for 15-years, the motorcycle has seen the light of day for about 20-years. All of this time he has had to pay storage costs for those items. He also has to fund a large place to live to store all the rest of his stuff. He hasn't traveled for long periods and he hasn't moved around much.
Me, on the other hand, I treat possessions as utilities and I very rarely get emotionally attached to anything (generally, just a few momentos from ex-girlfriends). Because I own very little, I have been free to move around. I've lived in many different countries for long periods of time, because it's easier for me to do so. I'm not tied into guarding my patch and my possessions. Consequently, I can explore, experiment and take chances that are denied to people who must support their possessions.
If you want to know more about the psychology and attitude behind attachment, then I have a post on my blog that you might like: http://www.nickpagan.com/blog/79/detachment-the-key-to-a-balanced-state-of-mind/
Take care,
Nick
"What you own also owns you."
"The man with fewest possessions is freest."
In my own life, my brother is very sentimental and won't get rid of things that he has an emotional attachment to. Consequently, he has something like five cars and two boats and a motorcycle. One of those boats has not seen water for over 20-years, one of the cars has not seen the road for 15-years, the motorcycle has seen the light of day for about 20-years. All of this time he has had to pay storage costs for those items. He also has to fund a large place to live to store all the rest of his stuff. He hasn't traveled for long periods and he hasn't moved around much.
Me, on the other hand, I treat possessions as utilities and I very rarely get emotionally attached to anything (generally, just a few momentos from ex-girlfriends). Because I own very little, I have been free to move around. I've lived in many different countries for long periods of time, because it's easier for me to do so. I'm not tied into guarding my patch and my possessions. Consequently, I can explore, experiment and take chances that are denied to people who must support their possessions.
If you want to know more about the psychology and attitude behind attachment, then I have a post on my blog that you might like: http://www.nickpagan.com/blog/79/detachment-the-key-to-a-balanced-state-of-mind/
Take care,
Nick
Page
1
posts 1–7 of 7
This Topic Is Locked To Guest Posts
It's been a while since this topic was active, if you'd like to get it going again, please post as a registered member
