Minimalism - Searching for what's really important

Its a hard pill to swallow when we come to the realization that most of our lives are wasted going after the wrong things. I admit I wasted the first 35 years filling my life with things that didn't really matter or bring me any happiness.

All I was doing was becoming a "less gross than seen on TV" hoarder.

While my stuff was not extravagant, it accumulated over years and years and from house to house. Over the course of 15 years I moved 5 times. Every time I would move boxes of stuff that I hadn't had a chance to unpack at the previous house and move it to a new house. Only to sit in a storage room and wait to be moved yet again.

My stuff was controlling me. I spent "who knows" how much time dealing with my stuff and having it mock me as I went into a closet to find something and just saw it all sitting there being completely wasted. How much money did I have to earn to buy all this stuff in the first place.

But then, things started to change.

I started to realize that that year was going to be a great year for doing my taxes as I was going to donate all of my unneeded, unwanted, and unused stuff to charity and start to get something worthwhile out of it. Finally, I had a goal and purpose for all this stuff that I hadn't had before. I wasn't going to be embarrassed to invite people over to my house. I was going to be able to see the floor again. I has been no easy task and its far from over. But the sense of accomplishment has been wonderful.

With my new found enthusiasm I have challenged myself to continue my journey with the following goals.
More time.
More savings.
Less debt.
Less clutter.
More presence in the moment.
More enjoyment of what I have.
Valuing myself over what I own.

I encourage everyone to do the same.