Stop Collecting Things and Start Creating Experiences

How living with someone who owns too much stuff can make your life stressful

As humans, we always strive to find happiness in life. For some, it may be as easy as a walk in the park. For others, it’s a tough journey.

As I got older, the more I embraced the rule of “less is more.” That means I made a conscious choice to lean into experiences rather than things of fleeting nature.

And if I had a choice, I’d become a minimalist or a semi-minimalist and choose to stay that way.

But embracing a minimalistic lifestyle is tough when you live with someone who tends to be the opposite of what minimalism preaches.

I’m talking about my husband here.

He owns so much stuff it’s hard for me to wrap my head around it. He has about twice as much stuff as I do. Since the day we married, he brought over half of his stuff to our new home. Even some things from his childhood.

And no matter how hard I’ve been trying to plead with him all these years to get rid of them, he won’t let go. He has an emotional attachment to things and is deeply connected to them.

I’d probably trade a million for him to agree to get rid of some of his stuff. Yes, I mean it — if it was up to me, I’d order a bulldozer to come and pick up his stuff and bring it to the dumpster.

One downside of owning too many things is that it creates clutter and less space for you to breathe. As a person who likes to be organized, clutter has no place in my life. It shuts down my brain. Clutter is the enemy of my mental health and my productivity. And extra things only make it difficult to live a more organized life.

It takes two to tango

Men usually point fingers at women for having a lot of stuff. They tend to say that women own too many shoes, too much clothing, or too much paraphernalia. But little do they know how much stuff they own. For women, some stuff that men own is vague and useless.

The staff I’m talking about? Video games, tools, old gadgets, and heavy equipment. Need I mention, a personal GYM that barely gets used? I can go on and on…

Letting go of personal possessions is hard, especially if a person has grown up in a household surrounded by trinkets, gadgets, video games, and so on.

And if you’re someone who grew up in an environment surrounded by too much stuff, you’ll most likely continue that way into adulthood. Because what you see is what you become.

The environment you grew up in shapes you as a person and will later affect your life in many ways, from habits to your taste and preferences. If you see value being placed on things rather than experiences, you’ll grow up to favor things over experiences.

But having too much stuff won’t add to your overall happiness. If anything, owning more will make you unhappy.

Too many things create confusion and take away your brain power and focus. Things that have no value create mental and emotional distress.

What if you owned less but experienced more? Imagine how your life will turn out to be.

Simplicity is the key to a happy life

How you live your life will determine how happy you will be.

It’s a known fact from psychology proven by countless research: things don’t add value to your life — it’s the experiences that do.

The foundation of a happy and fulfilling life is built on simplicity. By simplifying your life, you’re creating more room for experiences. It’s that simple.

Surround yourself with material things, and you’ll quickly notice how empty your life will become. On the other hand, if you fill your life with rich experiences and focus on building meaningful connections, you’ll see how much more improved your life will be.

Better mental health

Living life with fewer possessions is also good for your mental health.

When I downsized and got rid of a lot of things I no longer used or needed, not only did I experience clarity of mind, but I was able to focus my energy on things that mattered the most. Not to mention, I became more productive.

Physical things are fleeting in nature, whereas experiences stay for a lifetime.

My simple piece of advice — stop adding things to your life and start creating more experiences.

Your life will only be better for it.

Things you bought yesterday will be forgotten tomorrow, whereas experiences will stay in your memory forever.

And when you’re in the final days of your life, you can look back with no regrets and realize that you’ve lived your life to the fullest.