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I enjoy having running water and shelter. Dry warm spaces. Small luxuries like my rocking chair and couch. The inner debate I have is if removal of material possessions will enhance my life.

I enjoy having running water and shelter. Dry warm spaces. Small luxuries like my rocking chair and couch. The inner debate I have is if removal of material possessions will enhance my life.

(post is archived)

[–] • 12 pts

Oy Vey! You'll own nothing and you'll be happy

[–] • 6 pts

This. That's what this post is. Had this been honest it would have asked about removing things like the talmudvision (the subscription etc.) etc. But it didn't. It went straight to bare bones of nothing but muh rocking chair. Leading with two things that aren't material possessions.

[–] • 3 pts

It worked for the Buddha. But it was his choice, not the imposition of idiots.

[–] • 0 pt

(((Buddha)))

[–] • 4 pts

You try too hard.

[–] • 2 pts

What an ignorant gesture. You probably can’t read.

[–] • 1 pt

Oy Vey! You'll own something and be happy?

[–] • 8 pts

I've lived in my house for over a year and I still sleep on the floor.

[–] • 4 pts

A heavy mortgage payment will do that.

[–] • 3 pts

I lived for 3 months in a newly-renovated old house with only a air mattress, a 13 inch TV, and a chair.

[–] • 2 pts

I did that for two months at my apartment. Then the women downstairs moving to Ohio offered me a twin bed and table she was gonna toss. More power to you man.

[–] • 1 pt

Same here. Been sleeping on a 6" thick queen size foam pad, with two featherbed mattress pads and a 1" memory foam topper for past 15 years. A major step up from the 3" thick queen size foam pad and sleeping bag I had slept on the ten years prior!

[–] • 1 pt

Buy a used futon frame and then a new futon mattress. Then you get a couple of foam mattress toppers and put those on top. For a few hundred bucks you can have something that will provide a comfortable sleeping surface.

[–] • 0 pt

I think I might remove the carpet and floorboards and sleep under there.

I don't want to get too comfortable.

[–] • 1 pt

What surface would you be sleeping on under your floorboards?

[–] • 4 pts

Sadly, I love my stuff. For years all I really had was a bicycle, and lived in furnished studios. But I also had drugs and alcohol. Since getting (mostly) sober about 8 years ago, I started accumulating 'stuff' again. Now I have 40 guitars, 8 basses, various amps and speakers, 2 PA systems, loads of power tools, furniture, wall art, etc etc. I love it all, and use most of it on a regular basis.

[–] • 3 pts

Twice in my life I've had to abandon/throw away over 90% of my possessions (clothes, accessories, tools, sculptures, books, etc.) because I had no feasible way of bringing and storing them in my next destination. Both of these times I effectively reduced the entirety of my material wealth to what I could carry on my back and pull along in a suitcase. It's not easy throwing away so much, but after it's done it really puts things into perspective. How your life doesn't change that much (so long as you're young I guess) if you are forced to go back to the pure essentials and start over again. Materialism is the result of wealth and comfort, but it's harder to build strength and character if you spend your life cushioned.

[–] • 3 pts

I've never been too attached to things, and as I get older, they mean less and less to me. Why cherish something that will go to a blockhead after your death, and probably get broken or abused? I appreciate quality in the things I use, but those things don't have any real importance for me.

You take Forrest J. Ackerman, the guy who started the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. His collection of horror and science fiction memorabilia was unmatched anywhere in the world, but after his death, nobody wanted to buy the entire collection and keep it intact. Nobody cared as much about the things he collected as he did. From an April 2009 article:

Sadly, many of Forry’s prized possessions were sold or stolen over the years, and much of what’s left will be auctioned off on April 30 and May 1. Despite his steadfast efforts to do so, Ackerman never found a permanent home for his treasure (a portion of it can be viewed at Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame).

In the end, things are just things. There's no point in getting attached to them, because you can't take them with you.

[–] • 2 pts

Do it. Start with your phone and computer.

[–] • 2 pts

Some of my possessions have a sentimental attachment, but not most. I don't buy things to have status symbols, my possessions are for comfort and enjoyment.

I have three monitors attached to my computer, would I be better off if I got rid of everything I could get by without? No. That would only make me more uncomfortable and frustrated.

Do you have a big pile of junk cluttering up your house? Are you paying for storage? If so, that would be the most straightforward way abandoning possessions could improve your life.

Are you slaving away and spending your time and money accumulating status symbols rather than enjoying time with your friends and family? You might just stop buying stuff. Maybe getting rid of some unneeded possessions could help you shift your perspective and break your addictions, but I don't think getting rid of material possessions would be all that helpful to most people.

[–] • 2 pts

My friend says I am the least material person he knows. I have minimal possessions. I am curious about two things mainly.

One: What others consider too much material wealth.

Two: if I even need more than basic shelter.

[–] • 2 pts

Personally I don't view material wealth to be a problem in and of itself, though it might be able to cause problems. A decent chunk of lottery winners end up going bankrupt, and they may have other life issues like divorce. Not everyone would be susceptible to these problems though.

There's also a point where wealthier people have a higher rate of suicide. I can't say just why that is, but there's an old saying that money is a good servant but a cruel master. I think there's a certain level of stress that comes from trying to keep up, maintaining and growing your wealth and appearance all the time.

There may also be an effect similar to, but much more subtle than drug use. Too much stuff may make everything else seem less significant. It's probably easier to appreciate a dozen things or so than it is to appreciate a thousand things.

There are some things you need just to stay alive and physically healthy. If you were to limit yourself just to what you physically need, I think you would have a fairly poor quality of life. You may need things to maintain psychological health and to have a satisfying life. An amateur artist can live without art supplies, but they'll be happier if they have them.

[–] • 2 pts

Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, had no possession other than a bowl, which he used to hold the food that was donated to him each day. One day, he broke the bowl, and realized he didn't really need it. He never got another bowl.

[–] • 3 pts

He also enjoyed masturbating in public

[–] • 0 pt

So after he broke his bowl, he ate off the ground like a dog? Maybe he was a filthy unwashed homeless degenerate.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

I used to have a lot of stuff and eventually started “minimalisn” which let to selling most of it.

It’s a simple rule for me, if I haven’t used something in the past 1-2 months I’ll think about selling it or giving it away.

I only have things I use frequently, and I try to find things that are dynamic enough to be used for multiple different functions so I don’t get more junk. Things are too specialized now a days….

[–] • 2 pts

I am a bit of a hoarder, but it is not because I crave material things. Truth be told, to be without most of these things would make my life so much better, so much easier, but the sheer amount of stuff I have makes getting rid of it a daunting task. I would keep the things that help me create, like my musical instruments, my faceting equipment, tools, sporting equipment, and firearms, but the rest? I simply spend much of my time either rearranging it, or stepping around it. A can of gas and a match has been my best idea so far, but I'm sure my family would be pretty pissed.

I know that I really don't own anything since I won't be taking it with me when I die, and in the past few years the urge to purge has gotten stronger and stronger, but I don't know if I have the energy to actually get rid of it all.

[–] • 3 pts

Urge to purge! That tickles me deeply, thank you!

[–] • 1 pt

Rule of thumb: any stuff you own that you haven't used or even looked at in over a year might as well not even exist for you, because you don't need it.

[–] • 2 pts

That $500 special tool doesn't get used much but when it does, I thank the tool truck.

[–] • 2 pts

I need a bigger thumb. I have shit that has been in boxes for 30 years. I wasn't even thinking of that crap. Dang, the elephant just got bigger.

[–] • 2 pts

My tools are my life.

[–] • 2 pts

Same, I need AND love them.

[–] • 1 pt

All the material things you buy will either wind up in the land fill or the sewer. Think about it. Materialism is a soul-squashing trap.

Invest your time and money in learning things and becoming friends with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. You only find peace when you recognize the Hand of God is with you and has always been with you. Don't worry or fear. God has it all in His hands.

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