I was robbed.
I realized it the other day when I was headed out for some errands with my fiancé. Someone stole my bike from the front of my apartment complex and I don’t even care because I can’t remember the last time I used it. This event really drove home a point to me.
We often have a lot of junk that we don’t use, means nothing to us, and we need to get rid of.
I was planning to sell the bike or donate it since I wasn’t using it, but after it got stolen I really started to think about my stuff.
How many possessions do we own that we don’t value, are cluttering up our lives, and keeping us from paying off debt? Would you even care if someone stole your stuff?
Do a Quick Inventory of Your Stuff
Take a few minutes to look around at some of the things you own and figure out whether or not you’d replace them if they got stolen.
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”
~ Tyler Durden, Fight Club
A big step towards financial independence is quit spending money on things you don’t need or value. Another important step is to detach yourself from the stuff you already own. Once you are no longer attached to your possessions, you are less likely you buy stuff you don’t need.
Realize these simple facts about junk:
- The less stuff you own, the less space you need to store it.
- You can’t take your stuff with you when you die.
- You can relocate way easier without needing a moving truck.
Assess Your Own Stuff
I’m not advocating that everyone live a minimalist lifestyle, count how many things they own, and live out of a backpack. What I am advocating is that you take a real hard look at what possessions you buy, choose to own, and fill your life with.
Stand up right now, walk away from the computer or smart phone, find something to get rid of, get rid of it, and then let me know what you got rid of in the comments below. Figure out what you wouldn’t miss or replace if you got robbed and get rid of those things first. This mind shift will change how you buy, consume, and collect possessions.
Maybe that includes minimizing some of your clothing options or slimming down the space your movie collection takes up. Whatever it is, just start with one thing.
Your wallet will thank you later.
So, what did you choose to get rid of?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Caleb, I’d say that it sucks you were robbed, but it sounds like it doesn’t…
I’m actually going through something sort of similar; since I’m moving next Friday, I’ve been packing up my place, and trying to be very diligent about throwing away whatever I could (rather than packing junk). And yeah, it’s amazing how much crap I’ve gotten rid of!
It feels liberating… cathartic even.
Moving to a new place always makes me minimize my possessions and really figure out exactly what I need to hang on to.
I was looking through my closet the other day and realized how much shit I never even wear… so I threw it all in a big garbage bag and I’m going to donate/sell it all. Why do I buy so much crap that I don’t even end up using/wearing? (I need to remind myself of this next time I want to go on a shopping spree
I go through the same thing with my clothes. I pretty much never buy clothes, but somehow I end up with them… I’ve probably donated 100 t-shirts to Goodwill in the past few years.
I’m going through my house this summer and decluttering big time. I just did my kids bedrooms and I got rid of so much stuff I can’t believe it.
Through college I moved every fall/spring, so I only had a car full of stuff. Now I have an apartment full of stuff… Going to a house someday will probably stress me out big time, haha.
There’s nothing like moving to help you realize how much junk you have. I have moved 5 times in the last 6 years and while that much moving isn’t much fun, I always view it as a good opportunity to get rid of clothes I don’t wear and things I don’t use anymore.
When I finally stop moving around so much, I’d like to regularly go through my belongings to get rid of the things I don’t need. No use for finding a place for things that are better sold or donated!!
I try to make it through all my stuff at least twice a year. Just to at least look at every possession and say, “I need this” to myself.
Awesome quote from fight club to serve as a reminder not to accumulate junk.
I’m trying to down size a lot of my personal belongs and not to convince myself to buy stuff I don’t need, ie a new laptop and sell my current one since it’s a 2009 model.
The fact that you rent out rooms of your townhouse probably helps you keep your possessions to a minimum Mike. Things tend to fill the space you give them.
I think the only thing I would be pissed about if it got stolen was my laptop… I am admittedly bad about backing up to an external or “cloud” hard drive and that would suck to lose my work. But other than that. . . I couldn’t give a damn.
And I’m not being flipant. I actually WAS robbed a little over a year ago. I left my house to run some errands for a few hours in the middle of the day, came back, and had been cleaned out of all of my “worldly possessions”. Big screen TV - gone. Video game system - gone. An assortment of handheld video and still frame cameras - gone. But the only thing I cared about, was my dog. . . he was not hurt in the incident and I was happy beyond words when the cops brought him out of the house unharmed.
I’ve replaced the still frame camera; I use it for my business. Everything else - the TV, the video game system, the other crap… I have not replaced and have no intention of replacing. Getting robbed was a blessing in disguise.
I’ve heard similar stories after someone was robbed and the only things that really matter to most people is that people or animals are safe and that their memories (pictures, mementos, etc.) are still there.
Sometimes it takes a big shock to really opens your eyes.
I actually just thought of this myself. Honestly, I think a lot of the stuff I own just isn’t that valuable to begin with (I sorta like it that way), and other stuff I wouldn’t miss if it was gone. For the things I do care about, I have renters’ insurance
Right on Jeffrey. Renter’s insurance is a must for the things you do value (or would replace).
Found you through Benny’s 40 bloggers post.
Stuff is overrated.
Experiences are the real value.
Not a minimalist myself but I do throw away things that don’t benefit me anymore. I do this at least once every few months.
That’s awesome Matt. I think that people value “stuff” too much until they wake up one day.
Would I care if I were robbed?
HELL YEAH I would. I hate thieves, whether they are a thug or several guys in suits saying their doing it for my own good. Period, plain and simple. And its really not so much about the item, as the time tied to said item.
For instance. Lets say one of my game systems was stolen. $400.00. That to me, is 52/53 hours of my life that I used to earn said money, to buy said item. Now if I get nothing in return for that game system I am at a total loss, I don’t even break even.. at all.
So yeah, its more than just an item stolen, its part of your life stolen. That’s the way I look at it.
And since I already live a life where I focus on quality rather than quantity, the only thing I will be tossing is trash.
Viewing your stuff as hours spent to earn it is a good way to view whether you should buy something. With proper insurance, you should get at least a majority of the money back, so if you really value an item you should cover it.
Thanks for sharing!
Great post Caleb. I was thinking about some of the stuff I need to get rid of - we have a clarinet that hasn’t been used in 4 years in a closet. I have 3 phones with GPS and haven’t used my Garmin nuvi in a couple of years, and I’ve been led astray by it several times (its old and the maps are out of date). Those are the first items going on Craiglist tonight.
I also thought about some other ‘stuff’ we should be getting rid of - things like negative attitudes, self-doubt, guilt, resentment…. If we’re living our lives regretting where we’re at, coveting our neighbor’s “stuff”, or angry at people or institutions, we are not living to our fullest potential. Each breath is a gift, each day is an opportunity. Get rid of the ‘bad stuff’ and start living.
Your comment makes me think… I should do a post on Craigslist and how I’ve used to over the past three years. I’ve sold thousands of dollars worth of stuff on there and I don’t miss any of it!
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