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
:)
😁
:)
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 downsized 2 years ago, minimal possessions and currently live in a small studio room, 5th floor, small balcony with a view of a mountain and the cost is 5000 baht $158 usd inc rent and utilities a month.
All i own is a 135cc scooter, laptop and camera equipment, clothes and an electric fan and a few watches. My life could nearly fit in a suitcase or 2. All i need is a few more zero's in my bank account and everything is sweet.
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... ;)
Really nice thought there on buying and managing a lot of stuff we really do not need. It ends up stealing the valuable time we should have spent on useful stuff. And as a reminder, we need to be wary of the media that continues to promote acquiring new and latest gadgets. Some even go to the extreme end of associating our gadgets with happiness. They imply that once you buy, you have bought happiness. This is rarely the case. Human wants are insatiable. Advertisers know that. The new car or phone that made you "happy" when you bought it, could bore you in a very short time.
SO NEVER allow yourself to be pressured into getting that stuff because it is going to make you happy, or because if you miss it you miss out, or because there you will never have a better deal.
BUY WHAT YOU NEED, REMOVE A LOT OF CLUTTER FROM YOUR LIFE, WATCH HOW HAPPY YOU WILL END.
UNLIKE WHAT THEY WILL HAVE YOU BELIEVE, OUR LIFE DOES NOT RESULT FROM THE THINGS WE OWN.
I’ve said the same thing many times.
Back in 2008, I purged my apartment, and threw out a third of all my stuff. It felt fantastic! Only problem is that someone I’m close to is the kind of person who seems to think she needs twice the amount of items they really need.
In my opinion, the money spent on buying duplicate or useless items for the person is better to be spent on helping the poor.
Buying what we really need can help us make savings to help improve the lives of others.
My wife would love/hate this one! She is a hoarder who also loves a MASSIVE clear out from time to time. I guess it's the only way to handle things, the keepers always get kept, and the stuff we don't need always finds it's way out of the door! Oh, and totally agree on Bulk buying, except toilet roll of course, why anyone buys the two pack is beyond me, YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO USE IT!
hehe Having been self-employed for years now but unable to work because of my burnout, has allowed me to determine what it is I need tos pend on and when. Now I schedule my gaming times for my swtor subscription and take breaks from it, long breaks. I don't buy something unless I really need it and have the money for it. Recently, I was able to buy some makeup things and elf ears for my cosplay projects, for videos and photos I do. I waited until I could and I got the least expensive one but that had what I needed. I waited for a special too. Waiting allowed me to shop around and not buy on impulse, and to see if I needed something or not. We have to be smart when we buy, and doing that doesn't mean we can'T get what we want, it just means we'll get exactly what we need, when we need it, when we'll be using a lot of it and put it to good use, and at a price we can afford.
I'm guilty of this. I have so many duplicate items I don't even need. But then the tought of throwing them away irks me and I find it difficult to let some of em go.
Wonderful tips and advice you just gave. I'll try to work on some of em. I'll also try not to buy things I don't need anymore or that doesn't bring value to my life
Thanks for sharing this.
I've been on a big minimalism kick for the past several years. It started when we AirBnB'd the house for the summer and I stayed with a friend. I realized everything I really cared about fit into a Honda Accord.
I really love the guys at theminimalists.com. They talk about having a "packing party" where you box up everything you own and throw blankets over the furniture. When you need something, unpack it. If it hasn't been unpacked in 30 days, it's time to donate it or throw it away.
Of course, I think some exceptions might need to be made for winter clothes and emergency supplies. But maybe that's just the hoarder mentality kicking in again?
Buying things you dont need = wastage!
I have to accomplish more research about the end result for our waste when we discard it. I'm now endeavoring to curtail the amount I utilize asset savvy.
Also, I've been utilizing my auto to enable my family to reuse all the more, (Loading it up with boxes to take to a close-by school).
Just bought a GoPro! errr, well we are next to the Indian Ocean so I think that's a good enough excuse!! :D
LOL Maybe if you can get use out of it :)
Been snorkeling with it today, @dtube'd that!
I totally agree! I'm part of the global transition network,. Ang get inspired by people that voluntarily choose a more simple lifestyle to leave room for a more sustainable planet.
A simple life style is the way to go! What does the Global Transitional Network do?
I'm working really hard at clearing more stuff out this year. I've already done a lot but my art space is really, really bad. I have too many paints, too many vintage books, too much paper ephemera, not to mention the art itself.
But hardest of all I find it hard to let go of stuff like cards from family or pictures drawn by the kids. Stuff with sentimental value.
I'm working on it tough! 😊
Usually we buy things to impress other people that we don't like. Waste of money and time.
Exactly! It's a huge waste.
Yeah, most people buy stuff they don't even need. It's really ridiculous. You gotta learn how to be grateful for everything you already have, instead of wanting some junk that won't even be useful to you in any way...
Those people who always buy things that they don’t need are being driven by the powe of envying others. That’s too bad. Everyone should live his own life!
Good post! ☺️🌺
Yup, I've been trying to live a minimalistic life recently
really amazing post ..enjoyed a lot
I wonder how do we define " stuff " and " don't need " ? It seems that everybody has a different meaning for it.
🤔
So true!
Mass consumption is bad in so many ways
Wow. Do you think you used enough upvote bots?
Do you honestly believe this posts merits $174 SBD rewards???
This is the sort of thing that is ruining the platform.
Although this behavior on a large scale can hurt Steemit, getting mad at any individual will not magically solve things. I needed to realize this, so although I don't agree- it is not simply one user's fault.
This is true. We gotta win hearts and minds, not unlike any other struggle, and perhaps others will follow suite. I know that this users post is indicative of a larger problem with the rewards system and I'll venture to say human nature at large.
We may not have the power to solve the problem at the macro level directly like perhaps the witnesses could should they arrive at a consensus for a solution but we can certainly affect things at the micro level. Enough of us do this could lead to the snowball effect. Heck maybe the snowballs already rollin'.
Hopefully, @kaylinart is brought to reflect on the implications of this manner of posting and consider more thoroughly the quality of the post she is propelling to trending using her stake. Or maybe she really thinks this post is just THAT GOOD. If that be the case, don't think there is much that can be done.
To make quality, compassion, and teamwork infectious.
I'm there with you on that one. Even if we cannot make a large or noticeable difference right away, I like to believe that nothing is done in vain. To inspire one person, that in turn inspires three, and that person inspires five. When we look solely at our own efforts, it's easy to forget that lasting impacts do get made as well.
While it's in the rulez that everyone can use their stake as they please, we can't force anyone to do anything. Kaylin has a lot of talent and potential, all we can do is bring to attention that her amazing posts are the ones we want to see.
Hmm, very true. Time for a Spring time declutter I think. I'm going to go through every cupboard and drawer room by room. I hate clutter, and love getting rid of it. I hope the charity shop is ready!
Wow @kaylinart, you just took these words from my mouth. I think it's in human nature to be possessive and it's that habit of possession that makes people keep things they don't need.
I am a victim of your second point though which is duplicating what I have. If I have a red shirt that I like so much, I would love to have the blue, the black and so many other colours of it and just when I am done buying them and probably wearing them Ines, I become tired of them and dump them. But one thing about me is that I always look for someone to give. So it isn't really bad getting those things you feel you like in excess but it becomes bad when you don't give them away to those who need them most after you have gotten tired of them...
Buying stuff I don't need is a huge lesson for me. I need to save more money for myself anyway.
good post, hopefully get more votes and inspire the stemian in general and myself in particular
Great article! This so true!
Awesome advices!
I figure we live in times where nobody purchases things they needn't bother with. We are attempting to save money on anything conceivable. Our future ought to be fine, yet I'm stressed over the eventual fate of our youngsters.
Yeah, you are right. It is also hard for banche of people to understand what they really don’t need at that specific time. It is a gift for those who do.
You are so right! The strange part is that it is so hard to declutter.. I am working on it...constantly!
It's like watching the sun rise in the morning
This post has received gratitude of 9.17 % from @appreciator thanks to: @kaylinart.
Yup! I need to do some of this stuff like work on the junk drawer.. 😯
Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. ...
Some people are negligent of the fact that buying in excess is a waste of resource. Maybe its the availability of the finance that makes them feel less disturbed.
Great advices!
I guess we live in times where almost no one buys things they don’t need. We are trying to save on anything possible. Our future should be fine, but I’m worried about the future of our children.
You look very beautiful, slightly seductive. :)
Thank you :) Thats not me, It's a stock photo. But definitely eye catching.
I love u :) 😘
waw an amazing view, i like it very much
Thank you
yeah it s true, especially girls (lol joke). best items to buy bulk is crypto eheheh
so sweet