Life without lots of stuff

I've "got rid" of stuff simply by buying less. As I've got older I don't feel the need to own as much stuff, and would rather spend my money on experiences. I've never bought a car (live in London), cycle most places, own a 2011 Macbook which I kind of want to upgrade but still does everything I need so it's hard to justify the outlay, and a PS4 and my dad's old TV. I think the most valuable possessions I have are my suits (3 reasonable suits worth about £300 each, so nothing too special there, and I need them daily for work). I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything at all.
 
the things you own end up owning you.

I went through a phase of wanting everything.
Now the fewer I have, the less I have to work and the happier I am.
 
Good on you. So many people make their lives miserable with the endless pursuit of the acquisition of things they don't need with money they don't have.
 
EGuitarStar said:
OP, why did you decide to leave it all behind?
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I dont really know, after splitting with my ex I just had a chance to change everything around, I felt I wanted to give something back to society and do something good with my life hence the career change. I also felt the stacks of possessions did not add to my happiness.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not speeding poverty, I still have a Rolex, handmade shoes, tailored shirts but I just own a very few but quality items that I really need and want in life.
 
i love people who are minimalist until you see their desktops and fine a million icons :D

i'm the opposite, i do keep lots of stuff but keep my desktop clean (as in literally just the recycle bin and taskbar shortcuts only for programs i actually use)

a lot of my stuff is things like tools or hobby equipment, i don't go in for the whole having a ton of ornaments around the place everything's got to be functional and useful for something.
 
Yep, I've started to sell pretty much everything I own. I have clothes, a laptop, a phone and a few boxes of records/CDs left which I'm slowly sticking on eBay. Material possessions don't do much for me these days.
 
toshj said:
What are you doing now? I seem to recall you were (thinking of?) set up a business a few years back.
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I set up a business back in 2002, did quite well, got involved in other business over 10 years, went to uni during that time. Now I'm a doctor in emergency medicine.
 
I will be downsizing and decluttering too. Why? Divorce! Will be skint. Not good health. Not good job. Old (50 plus:p). On a massively downward spiral. Lucky if I get to live in anything at all decent!
 
I hoarde old crap, I have boxes and boxes of old cables, fans etc. Old DVDs I will never watch again.

Do I just dump them, must be a better way to free my self of the junk.

But you never know when that cable will be needed do you?
 
Dr House said:
Completely random threat.

So a few years ago I had a big change in life circumstances, I changed my job, I got divorced, at the time I had lots and lots of junk/toys, several cars and a 6500 sq foot mansion, big home cinema system.......

So I changed the way I live, I left everything behind and got rid of most of my clothes and other positions and only kept enough stuff that could fit into one car.

I now basically only have a MacBook, iPhone, Bluetooth speaker, one watch, one car, one nice pen and the clothes I actually need and a couple of pairs of decent shoes and nothing else.

I had spent my life chasing material assets and spending money on things I don't actually need. I know its stragne but life without all the clutter is actually really nice. It's so easy to move, I don't have to worry about insuring my stuff, things getting lost or what crap I want to buy next.

Anyone else done soemthing similer?
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Poor a
 
LabR@t said:
I hoarde old crap, I have boxes and boxes of old cables, fans etc. Old DVDs I will never watch again.

Do I just dump them, must be a better way to free my self of the junk.

But you never know when that cable will be needed do you?
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go through it all, if you haven't used it in 7 years then keep it another 7 years just in case :P
 
I've spent the last 2-3 years de-cluttering and feel happier for it - still a work in progress though. With a lot of stuff I feel like I'm not using any one thing to its full potential which for some reason bothers me a bit in hindsight like I've not made good use of the time. Plus its easier to organise everything so don't spend time feeling like I should be tidying up, etc.
 
adolf hamster said:
go through it all, if you haven't used it in 7 years then keep it another 7 years just in case :p
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LabR@t said:
I hoarde old crap, I have boxes and boxes of old cables, fans etc. Old DVDs I will never watch again.

Do I just dump them, must be a better way to free my self of the junk.

But you never know when that cable will be needed do you?
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i am the same, a simple cable or adapter can be a fiver each.

moved last year to a smaller house, if you are a hoarder then the pain of a smaller place will kill you lol.
 
LabR@t said:
I hoarde old crap, I have boxes and boxes of old cables, fans etc. Old DVDs I will never watch again.

Do I just dump them, must be a better way to free my self of the junk.

But you never know when that cable will be needed do you?
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I've started to restrict myself i.e. 1x 35 litre "really useful" box for cables (can get one with compartments and a tray inside) - and discard, give away or sell the least likely to be needed ones if it is getting full.
 
When we did the house up last year we hired a storage unit. I took about 10 trips just to move all the junk into it. We are slowly going through it all, as most of it is just complete rubbish.
Still have to fight the 'it might come in useful one day' mentality.
 
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