Stop Buying Stuff You DON'T Need!
I'm always surprised by how many things people THINK they need.
We tend to hold onto so many items that don't bring any value to our life, And it's hard for us to let them go.
Duplicate Items
Many of us have duplicate items laying around. That we don't need.
It's understandable to have a few extra of things we use often or will need.
For example, I have a pack of work gloves, Because I quickly go through them at my job.
But having five slotted spoons for your household of 3 people may not be as necessary.
Getting rid of duplicates helps you save a lot of space and have a cleaner and better work environment.
Buying In Bulk
This is the same as having duplicate items. I'm guilty of this one quite often. I buy a product I like in bulk to save money. But I end up getting bored of the product, Not liking the product anymore. Or something else in life happens to where I no longer have the ability to use it.
I then wasted my money on all those extras.
Plus that extra storage space you have to have to keep the items, Possibly taking up space that could be used for something better.
It all adds up.
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy in bulk if it's a product you love and have been using for years, But consider the possibilities of the above happening if you end up not liking the product anymore.
Get Rid Of Junk Drawers!
This can be a hard one, We all seem to have that "junk" area that happens.
The thing is though, A lot of that junk is just a waste, It's not necessary or needed.
Go through those areas and decide realistically what really should go in that drawer to make it useful. Or heck Get rid of it.
I recently got rid of my bedside table And replaced it with a tiny table without drawers, Because I had the habit of putting random items in the drawers that were just causing clutter.
Yes, You Lose Money AND Time!
Heres the thing about stuff that you don't need.
It wastes time AND money.
The longer it's in your life, The more time it wastes. It will eat into your day, even if it's just seconds each day. Ultimately you may end up donating or throwing it away, Which costs you money.
Buying unnecessary items adds up financially and wastes a lot of time.
Why waste your time "Managing " Your stuff when it gets in the way, And you have to "search" for the things you need?
Great words .. well done
It is essential that we learn to not extravagant in everything
Life will not always be easy
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
That is so true. I always end up buying duplicate stuff when I go fir shopping. My brother always warn me but i am lije please let me buy haha
Ha ha! Yes, @suf1an you are so right.. the compulsion to buy, buy, buy is something of an addictive habit isn't it?
In some respects we can be forgiven (just a little perhaps!) when we consider the power that advertising has upon our psyches, something we are exposed to every minute of every day, through TV, radio, our cell phones, social media, main stream media, billboards and so on. To a certain extent THIS has created an indoctrinated form of consumerism which runs VERY deep and the sole aim is to increase the profits of large multinational companies at the cost of our precious planetary resources.
I stand completely in support of this article by @kaylinart and offer huge thanks for the kick in the bum I needed to declutter, recycle and give away the contents of my junk cupboard...
Now does anyone want an old mop and bucket (I have carpets!!!) a box of broken crockery (was planning to do some Gaudi mosaic style pots...mmm like that's gonna happen?) and some old circa 1990s christmas decorations?
Why do we buy so much rubbish we don't need, with money we often don't have (credit!!!) and count our worth in terms of our possessions, little realising that the possessions often possess US! Modern living creates this vacuum like hole in us which cannot be filled with material things, and yet paradoxically the capitalist consumer model would have us beLIEve otherwise!
Power to @kaylinart for saying all of the above...you steeming well rock!
my father did it too
The things you own end up owning you !
This guy shares some wisdom, but I warn you: Don't buy his soap!
haha!
So very true! I was far happier in the times I had nothing. Now it's vehicals and houses and clients and businesses. Actually screw this...you got me thinkin. I'm selling everything tomorrow. I'm out...Thx.
<3
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Your smile is really beautiful.💜
Ladies are so much in this business of getting things they may never get to use. Impulsive buying. A woman may get a pair of shoes because her friend(s) got it too. She may however dislike it after buying.
As much as it seems it is ladies that are most guilty of these accumulation of junks, some men are also guilty. Sometimes, we just get thingsore than we need and we eventually waste it because we've gathered a lot of it.
Even when you see something obsolete and you know you should get rid of it, a thought still whispers to you that what if you need something like this later? Knowing what to hold and we hatvto dispose of is really important in maintaining a neat environment and an organized lifestyle.
Women are responsible for 70-80% of all retail shopping expenditure. It's really a problem of women's making for the most part. If your wife is both rational about this and thrifty, it's like dodging a bullet. Too much stuff in the household is antithetical to peace of mind by the very mechanisms outlined by @kaylinart: money, time, and space.
I think the only thing we have to work on is living on one income…
Even before my husband and I got married, we both enjoyed having a clutter free space. Now about 2 to 4 times a year we go through our whole home and do a de-clutter session (usually doesn’t take longer than a Saturday morning since we both have no issue throwing stuff out and keep a tight reign on bringing clutter into the home). It still surprises me though that every time we find a box full of things we can throw out no matter how clutter free our home is. A happy, clean, free life is more important to us than owning a house full of “stuff”. Every time we throw stuff out we both feel happy and giddy – we feel the quality of our marriage and our life has been made better. And we never miss anything we have thrown out.
That is commendable. An even better approach is to combine that with not buying what you do not need.
This reminds me about a famous quote, something about people buying things they don't need, with money they don't have, to impress people they don't like.
One family member I know can be perfectly described with the above message. She came from poverty though, which could explain her habits. Some examples:
I'm thankful I did not get into this habit myself... and I live a happier life too.
I have decided some months ago to live a minimalistic life, maybe because in my head there is so much chaos and I feel like having only what I need and seeing no clutter around me calms my mind. I am 20 years old now and I have moved from Europe to Mexico just two weeks ago. Now all I want to spent my money on is the basics. A rent, food, cleaning stuff,colors and canvases.. maybe it has helped me a lot to move so far to see my life from a nother perspective and see whats really important! Greetings and resteemed with love!
The scary part is ... we, as a society, have so much stuff, that we are renting storage lockers to hold on to the stuff that we don't have enough room to hold on to.
I understand storage lockers for when you are selling a house and need a place to temporarily store stuff. But for folks who store stuff for decades?
I am also trying to buy less. I tend to do a lot of internet “window” shopping, where i will browse websites and add things to my cart and then shut down my computer and give it a few days to think over a purchase. If i think about that item a few days later that means that i really want it and will purchase it. This method helps me avoid window shopping.
This weekend i am going to focus on cleaning my junk drawer... ;)