I was raised not to get attached to material things. When I moved countries I had to do a massive clear out of everything I owned. I ended up donating almost everything I owned to family and charity.

I have to say that after my upbringing and the move here, I have learned that it is possible to live without clutter and material possessions.

Saying that, I do have a few very special possessions that I could never part with.
Material possessions that are invaluable, things I could never put a monetary value on. Cherished items that I could never sell nor give away.

Last week, I was gifted(huge surprise thanks to John & hubby) something that I add to my short list of personal possessions that I could never part with no matter where I go in this life.






Are you a pack rat? Do you find that material possessions bring you happiness?
This painting "Zen" by John Gascot has brought me lots of happiness.

mods !

but Val, it's beyond material, that painting is a connection between you, your fella and the painting's creator and all the good emotions that came about in the sending of it to you

ZombieKitten said:

So true Charlotte, so true!

but aside from very special things given to me by very special people, I'm like you, the opposite of a pack rat I feel anxious about having loads of stuff piling up behind cupboard doors

having a garage sale was a great feeling - going through all our belongings and getting rid of half of it

ZombieKitten said:

I was thinking of you as I was creating this thread.

We get bags through the door for charities here. They want clothing and bric-a-brac (whatever that is ) I always find something to put in the bag.

MrsMdiver said:

here too, I manage to fill those things up every time!

What a great painting!!!

i am a hoarder, but am getting better...cleaned out my linen cupboard today, and donated several things to charity....(good, clean stuff...no longer being used)

when we moved, we had a huge clean out...lots of trips to charity bins, and the tip.

my spare room needs work

but i cant part with any books


i still have stuff to sell at a garage sale, but still havent organised one

The music that I own and my guitar make me very, very happy.

I have a difficult time getting rid of stuff that I once saw as functional.

Stuff like gum wrappers... no problem throwing that out because to me it was always garbage.

But old clothing, gosh I will wait forever to the point I don't even know what to do with it if I'm not longer wearing it. Stuff that don't even fit!

I noticed 8 cans of expired soup last week. I was actually googling about how long it is okay to keep it when I realized... I am basically an entry-level hoarder. You watch Hoarders and wonder how come they keep saying the food is fine as long as the lid isn't bulging... that sort of thing.

Cinnie said:

We're twins!
I actually called Campbell Soup's toll-free number to find out. They told me to basically throw it out after the expiration date. I had soup that still had the old-fashioned label on it! Throwing away food pains me.

I can't get rid of my books for anything! Amazon loves me!

Shyra said:

The old labels! lol!

Mine were newer than that but according to the expirations dates, the cans shouldn't have made it to my new apartment when I moved a year ago.

Great thread, Val. The painting is joyful and beautiful, and I love that you chose to juxtapose one of your few treasured material possessions with your most treasured love bunny. He's getting so big!

I throw things away without feeling a thing. In general I have no attachment to "stuff" whatsoever. Except cards my kids have made me, my wedding ring, things like that.

There's nothing wrong about owning stuff - I don't think anyone should automatically buy into such idealism as a token of some sort of higher values. It only gets ridiculous when you're starting to judge others by their possessions or when you start considering the things you own yourself as simply status symbols.

I do have my closets full of all kinds of things, such as old PC parts, folded cardboard boxes, VHS tapes (that I never watch), old drawings, broken walkmen etc. It really makes no difference whether they stay in the closets or reside at the dump. I've just never understood the type of "jewelbox" mentality, when you literally have highly valuable things stashed inside a box somewhere and never use them for anything else than occasionally showing off your wealth to others.

My mom wants to toss all our old cassettes we left at her house.

There are very few "things" I am attached to. In fact, off the top of my head, I can't think of a one... Though I'm sure there's something.

There's not much that I own that couldn't be easily replaced. I don't like having to replace things of course, but if accidents happen, if things get stolen, I can get something else and it won't be much of a big deal to me, other than the loss of money that may be attached to it.

And I'm not a pack rat at ALL. I've had about 12 different places of residence in the last 16 years. When I move I get rid of anything I'm not using anymore, either donate or throw it out, depending on what it is and the condition.

CarrieMpls said:

black and pink towels.

CarrieMpls said:

Wow. wow wow wow

And here I wanted to start a thread about not moving simply because of all the stuff I got

Cinnie said:

But see, when they get worn out, I can just get new towels.

I suppose there are a few books and CDs I have that could be out of print, so no longer able to be replaced. And that would suck.

OH - I had a fluffy white purse that "got lost" when I was in Miami and I LOOOOOVED that purse and it's simply gone. No one can find anything like it anywhere. I miss it and all, but in the grand scheme of things, it was only a purse. And it wasn't even particularly expensive, just really fricking cute. And clearly close to one of a kind. But I've got about 20 more purses... so, eh.

Cinnie said:

I bought my condo this past September, so now I think I'll be in one place for a while. Probably at least 5 years, for sure at least 3 (I've got a goal to use the equity I gain in this one to buy a nicer one at some point).

Otherwise, when you rent you tend to move around. At least, I did. From choosing better roommates to being able to afford better apartments as you get older, it just became a trend for me to move every couple of years. And who wants to move a bunch of crap you don't need or use? So it all goes.

CarrieMpls said:

I moved into my current place March 1, 2009 and there is stuff that moved with me but stayed in the box
[Edited 1/31/10 10:15am]

Cinnie said:

Yeah, I always have 2 boxes like that with every move. They sat in storage space since the last time I moved. But then I go through them and usually manage to get it down to, like, half a box. But then the next time there's 2 boxes in storage again that somehow never get unpacked.

CarrieMpls said:

Fluffy purse, Miami...

Vendetta1 said:

That's pretty much how I feel.

We moved from a house to a condo.. we've downsized considerable and I don't miss jack. At that, I must live somewhere where it's nice, clean, safe, and I get full/all city services. That's not a possession that's a necessity and it cost, so.

I'm a recovered pack rat. Having had to move several times in the past several years broke me of that habit. Now I live in a small apartment with exactly zero closets (seriously, none at all). I hardly own anything that isn't functional (except the art on the walls, I guess). I love it. I never miss anything that I got rid of.

I'm planning to live on a sailboat eventually, and whenever I think about buying something, I think about how I'm just going to have to get rid of it, and might as well save the money.

The only things I have that I'd feel bad about losing are a quilt my grandma made for me, a couple pieces of art, and a couple pieces of jewelry.

Vendetta1 said:

When I finally buy myself an electric guitar, I expect that will move to the top of the list of material things I care about.

I care about my current freebie acoustic, but only because it's all I've got right now.

TheVoid said:

Hush you. You are just jealous that you do not have a Gascot original.

Yeah, I'm not really attached to anything I own. Just trying to think right now... I wouldn't want to part with my computer, but it's not about this particular one, but having one in general. My camera I'm ultimately not fussed about, even though I do like taking pictures. Clothes I'm not all precious about either. Just went through my cupboard and found about 10 t-shirts to give to a charity up north. I love the t-shirts people have given me but like anything else those too will get all worn out one day and be thrown away or given to charity. These days I find I tend to favour experiences over 'stuff'. In the past I'd cry even over dropping and breaking my favourite piggy bank.

Fauxie said:

Me too. I would much rather have a few sentimental possessions and do things like travel than to have a house full of junk and go no where.


You mentioned the T-shirts in your effort to be nicer, huh?
You know Dan reads all of your posts.

MrsMdiver said:

I really do love those kinds of gifts, but there does come a time when they look all worn and old and I can't get sentimental about stuff like that anymore. Like Charlotte, I do like to get rid of clutter and clearing stuff out makes me feel good!

If you're reading this Dan, I don't know if I ever thanked you for the t-shirt. If not, thanks, I love it Though it's not like we're friends or anything.