Attachment To Material Things

Today's topic is something I really like talking about and I have mentioned it a few times during my blogging experience. Ever since I discovered minimalism as a lifestyle, I have been inspired by it and it changed my perspective on how I feel about my belongings and material things in general.

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This week I finished painting my room so I had to, once again, move everything out of my room except for a few biggest furniture pieces. I took this opportunity to go through my stuff again, I guess that's what inspired me to write this post. Even though I try not to compare myself to others, sometimes it does happen and I find that I look at minimalists and how little they have so from their perspective, I probably have a lot. On the other side, I know that in most of the material categories, I have way less that some people.

With that being said I want to make a few points about my thoughts and experiences on minimalism and attachment to material things:

Less stuff, more joy

I have realized that I can enjoy things I am passionate about without collecting them (with one new exception I will mention later). For example, I love doing my nails and I had a big nail polish collection (60-80 bottles) that I slowly started to get rid of and for the past few years I stay around 10 bottles maximum - currently I have 7. For some people that might also be too much but for me it's just right. Last week I donated 3 books I had left to my local library and now I don't have any other than a couple of dictionaries and textbooks. I really love to read but I have found that library has a lot of great books and it's waaay cheaper - I can't even buy one book at the bookstore with the amount of money I give for one year library membership. Having less or none in these categories did not affect my joy and passion when it comes to reading or doing my nails, if anything it made it even more enjoyable and stress free.

Embracing change

As time goes by, we grow and change as people, which is completely normal and I would say necessary so our perception/feelings around things we own also changes. Maybe one day I will start buying books I love and I might get rid off stuff that now bring me joy. I also noticed that my attachment to what I considered sentimental items also changes as time goes by. I think it's okay to have a few sentimental pieces but overall I try not to make a 'connection' with material things too much. With that being said, over the past months I got a few K-pop related stuff and it seems like I won't stop! :D It really brings me a lot of joy and I am willing to make space for it. I always used to collect something when I was a kid/teenager but then I grew out of the idea of collecting anything material but K-pop now might be an exception.

Less stress and anxiety

For someone who's dealing with anxiety, when I think of my room in high school, I realize how much clutter I had in a small space. It was really busy with all the posters, CD-s, stuffed animals and other things. Now I try to keep my furniture pieces neutral (light colored wood) and I painted my walls white again. For a pop of color I have plants, few wall decorations and I really like it that way. It took me a lot of time to start creating a space that is clutter-free for the most part, where I feel good and enjoy spending my time.

Ways to get rid of stuff

Throwing away things seems like such a waste and I really don't like doing that so I try to find a way to reuse, sell, donate or recycle stuff I don't need, especially when it comes to clothes. Ever since I found a place where I can donate and a place where I can recycle clothes, it became so much easier to get rid of it. I don't really have a problem with getting rid of clothes as long as I can do that properly, without trashing it all.

It's personal and it's a journey, not a destination

None of us is the same, has the same interests, hobbies and lifestyles so it's normal that our personal belonging are different. That's another reason I try to avoid comparison and I hope I won't fall into that trap again. I love going through my belongings every now and then - it's definitely not once it's done, you're good for life thing . Things we own break, get used up, expire or we just get over it, our taste changes and we don't like/need it anymore. On the opposite side, there might come time when we want to bring something new into our space so it's really a matter of checking in (semi)regularly to make an inventory and make sure to declutter what no longer serves a purpose.