One More Reason to Become a Minimalist

If you have seen the images of this July’s flooding catastrophe in South-Western Germany, you might have been shocked by the total devastation.  Dead bodies, contaminated buildings and items, total or half-ripped off houses, wrecked cars, campers, and trucks, broken furniture and destroyed appliances, tons and tons of household items and memorabilia…

When I saw these masses of broken or totally destroyed “stuff” that was piled in front of houses, ready to be hauled to the dump, I felt sorry for those whose lives circle around possessions.  Video cameras zoomed over tons of DVDs, knick-kNacks, paperbacks, electro parts, shoes, cosmetics, kitchen tools, tons of bedding and towels - a plethora of objects. 

It was heartbreaking for me to imagine how sad those people must be, who lost all these (often totally unnecessary) bought-and-owned things - most of the time purchased not because they needed it, but on an impulse, because they wanted it.  These people all had such a lot of stuff to deal with or to store up. First, they worked hard to make money, wasted time and energy to buy all these things, worked to store and maintain or clean them, and now lost all of that.  Imagine how much the environment was disturbed and how much energy was wasted - for nothing…

Un-Clutter Your Life

Once you avoid shopping and hoarding, you will realize that you didn’t need all of that stuff to be happy. Living with less renders your preoccupation with being prepared for everything. For example, thirty years ago, I used to travel with two large and heavy suitcases and a big tote. I thought I was prepared for every weather and any circumstances possible. Then I bought even more items and barely could close my suitcases for the flight home. 

Thank goodness, my life changed and I became a minimalist.  Recently, at an airport, I watched travelers who had piled their suitcases waiting for them to be weighted.  And then the drama began: Almost all of their suitcases were too heavy and they had to sort out stuff, trying to squeeze into their hand luggage. It reminded me of my former life. Now, I was on a Europe trip for several months with just a big tote and nothing else. That’s all I carry with me for every trip - no matter how far and long I travel. Nothing to carry, nothing to worry about. The money I save on luggage fees, I spend for a nice meal or on museum entrances, or a concert.

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