Do you have too much stuff?

For most people it is a sure YES. Society has people believing you need material items to be happy. This is just not so. For example, I have no television, limited material items and a tiny netbook. However, I'm happy. I don't need a television or a big fancy laptop. I don't need a hundred pairs of shoes or a months supply of cloths that I'll likely not wear much. Everything I own (besides my vehicle) can be fit into two duffel bags and a backpack. I aim to take it down even more to maybe one duffel bag and a backpack.

I'm sure at least some of you reading this may think I'm fibbing about how much I own but I'm not. I actually used to be a pack rat of sorts. I then made a 3000+ mile move from North Carolina to Northern California with only two duffel bags and a backpack. It was liberating and scary at the same time. However, that wasn't my only move. I moved from California to Texas again with just two duffel bags and a backpack. The fun didn't stop there either, I moved BACK to California and then finally moved back to North Carolina... all while fitting everything I owned into two duffel bags and a backpack. Did I enjoy my moves? I would have enjoyed it more if I had only one duffel bag and a backpack. I may end up taking a "long vacation" to Japan someday. When I do, I hope to have at the most one duffel bag and a backpack.

I bet 99% of everyone reading these words have enough material items that they wouldn't dare move out of their state. Thing is that when you own a lot of stuff, that same stuff ends up owning you. It will drain you of your happiness, money and time. If you move, you need a bigger home just to hold the stuff. You may even have to pay storage fees to store some of it. I have the bare basics. It's liberating that I can pack up and move to anywhere I want within hours so long as I have enough money to do so.

If you're like most people and have too much stuff, you can either keep it like most or start to remove the "clutter". It will be hard and in some cases even traumatic. When I first removed my clutter for my move to California, I had so much anxiety and even some depression over the loss of so much stuff I had collected. However if I had it to do over again I'd still ditch the stuff.

Simplest way to remove the crap is to first change your mindset. Once you no longer WANT a lot of stuff, it wont be so hard to get rid of the unneeded things. After you get the right mindset start with one thing at a time. Look at it and think "Do I really need this?". Chances are if you haven't given it thought in 2 months, you don't. Eventually you will find you have much less stuff and will find a sort of freedom with less.

Less is indeed more.