If this pandemic has taught us anything it is that we need to get our priorities straight. It’s high time we learn to minimize life and improve its quality with immaterial possessions.
That book someone recommended to you a while ago, the one you had completely forgotten about, is now just a click away; or a new clothing store that keeps popping up on Facebook looks intriguing; the colors and styles are just your taste. Buying things has never been easier. And so is buying things you may not think you want until they’re suggested to you. That’s because advertising has become more efficient and targeted in recent years meaning you’re far more likely to buy products when offered.
Consumerism has been with us for over a hundred years, but does it really meet our needs?
It’s not surprising given the nature of advertising and the technologies available on the internet. Since the industrial revolution, the overproduction of goods and services has created an advertising industry interested in finding ways to make our possessions obsolete while encouraging us to spend more money on the next best thing.
In fact, it has been with us for so long now that it has become part of our culture and our ordinary mindset. We expect to be assaulted by ads for the latest products and services all vying for our attention. What’s more, we are often willing to part with our money for these products and services even though we may not need them.
That’s because consumerism is an integral part of our modern world that we accept as almost natural. But is it logical to have too many things in your life you don’t need?
Minimize Life And Improve Its Quality With Immaterial Possessions
Minimalism is an emerging trend that works against the culture of accumulation that we have come to view as normal. It is not a purist stance since targeted advertising can contribute to efficient spending and therefore, minimalism; instead, it seeks to raise awareness of the values we possess instead of the possession we own.
Immaterial possessions, such as love, kindness, patience, awareness, tolerance, and many more fundamental human values can be easily cultivated, and nurtured, by an intentional approach to space. Organizing your bookshelf into relevant titles means living in the moment with curiosity, knowing exactly where to find your partners’ misplaced phone is an act of kindness, and noticing when something has changed in your environment is a demonstration of awareness.
But what do you do with all of that stuff? If you want to downsize and simplify your life you might have bags and suitcases full of things you don’t need but also don’t want to part with. At least not right away. Then others don’t want to part with possessions at all but would prefer to cycle them as and when they’re needed. For those people storage facilities are excellent, ones such as Storefriendly Storage can help you downsize without selling all your possessions, or giving them away.
If minimalism sounds like something you’d like to try, you can start right away with this handy checklist. Just don’t forget to be present and mindful when you’re organizing your living space.
Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
I have tried to be minimalistic by only getting things that I absolutely need. But it doesn’t reflect in my environment as my family thinks differently. To them, everything is something we ‘might’ need some day. There are truckloads of clutter at my place. Since I’m moving soon, however, I hope to start anew. Thanks for the nudge. š
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For me, this is timeless. Although I have worked on reducing clutter and possessions since I retired, there is always the book struggle. he books I haven’t read yet, but might, the books I might need, the books I know I need. I have eliminated most nic-knacks except the most sentimental possessions. All of which to say I need occasional reminders. Thanks for Every Day Wisdom! Michele
Corinne I’m a huge fan of living a simple and minimalist life. I’ve written several posts on it over the years and I’m very aware of the amount of “stuff” we can accumulate in a lifetime that then gets left to our poor children to deal with. I intend to keep a lid on how much stuff we have and then I plan on doing a massive cull and downsize when we’re too old for the house we live in atm. I want to be able to leave a smaller and smaller footprint on this earth as time goes by. I also loved this quote that I shared on FB today: https://www.facebook.com/crestingthehill/photos/a.873957419341434/3836417689762044/?type=3&theater
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM
Once upon a time, before a house move, we stuffed a load of stuff in our garage for viewings. A load of it never went back, as after a while we knew which things were needed and which not. We still keep it fairly tight. Quality, not quantity. And by quality I mean what means most to us. #MLSTL
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HI Corinne, we have been doing some renovations so I took the opportunity of decluttering. It is difficult sometimes not to be sentimental about items but we are taking the view of keeping what we need rather than what we want. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us at #MLSTL and have a lovely week.
I have found that when I was not happy with my life, I tried to shop to fill the void. It works briefly, then you need to shop again to get that feeling of completeness again. Once I redesigned my life, I found that I was happy and didn’t all the things anymore. I am not a minimalist, but never buy things just to buy them.