Less is More
I watched The Minimalists last night, and I had a few worthwhile takeaways from the film. While the film didn’t change me, it brought to words some issues that I’m already bothered by in my current day life. For example, the garage is basically unusable because of the amount of items piled on top of each other. We’ve gone through it before and cut down, but it very quickly accumulates again. So the actual issue is not addressed. The same goes for every closet in the house. It’s ridiculous.
If we could stop regularly introducing new, useless objects into our lives, I would be so much happier. I’m all for every item I own serving a purpose. Of course this is difficult with a family. My kids just want to accumulate toys and objects. Every trip to any store comes with many “I wants” from my kids. Whether it’s ninja turtle themed bread cutters or transformer toys. Though I say “no” plenty of times, the “yes’s” pile up in the corner of the kitchen. The more there is, the heavier I can feel the weight in my daily stress. I want to say “enough is enough”! We’re inundated daily with the message to consume. Buy and rebuy. Replace that which already works. Have a formal event coming up? Don’t use a dress you already have, buy a new dress. We’re being used, and the more I actually think about it, the more it pisses me off.
I’m fortunate that at 32, I finally began to realize the things that made me happy in life. The pile of objects dilutes my focus from the things that make me happy. I want to focus my life on my own happiness and the happiness of the people around me. To do that, I need to somehow cut out the noise of advertisements and consumerism. Live for yourself, not for them.