Are you a Hoarder?

Every once in a while, I find myself wanting to get rid of things. I tend to collect way too much makeup, clothes and accessories and sometimes I just wish I could have a minimalist wardrobe. Yet, when I should actually be paring down such collections, I pause.

You know... that foundation I haven't used in a year, what if I suddenly want to use it and I got rid of it? What if I need it? I think back to times such as this one: the time I got rid of a camouflage shirt I never wore, only to find myself needing a camo shirt for spirit week in high school. My head thinks back to these times and wonders, well what if I will need that one day?

I read a minimalist blog now and then and they discuss these same feelings. When they were purging their stuff, they had the same urge to keep things. I think we all do. Do I really need 10 tubes of lip gloss when I rarely ever wear it at all? Definitely not. Do I think twice before throwing it away or giving it to a friend? Definitely. WHY?

We get attached to the things we own. Hoarders have this philosophy: well I might need it one day. But really, will you? Will you need the things you hold on to for years, never touching? Probably not. Even if you find yourself needed that camo shirt, chances are you can borrow one from someone else or just buy a new one for cheap.

I definitely admire those that dive head first into minimalism and have very little clutter. My new goal is to get rid of items I never use such as clothes that don't fit well and I never wear, makeup I never use, etc. I want to look at the things I own very carefully and ask myself a few questions.

Have I used this in the past year?
For clothes, does it have stains or holes that suggest I should toss it?
Do I really need it or like it anymore?
Can someone else use it on a regular basis instead of just sitting at my house collecting dust?

What do you think? Do you need to organize and get rid of things in your home? Any suggestions for me?

Minimalist Lifestyle

Lately I have been really interested in reading the blog, The Minimalists. Most of the time while surfing the web or reading articles on website, I am a skimmer. Much like that girl on the Toyota Venza commercial... "Well, I read most of the article..."

I find myself actually engaging and reading full articles from them. Perhaps it is because the minimalist lifestyle is something I wish I had, but would find extremely difficult to actually practice.

Here's the gist of these two guys, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus: they quit their six-figure corporate jobs in their late twenties to explore a life of minimalism and hopefully...happiness. They write about all things minimalism: getting rid of your "junk", finances and budgeting, turning off technology for a while, happiness, and much more.

I often get sucked into the notion of the "American Dream", which seems these days is to be rich and buy stuff. I get hooked on shopping and I obsess over things I want. I get brainwashed by advertising just the way companies want me to be. I buy things I don't need just to shop or just to have it. Sometimes it ends up being a very useful buy...more than often, it doesn't.

Yet I think the true "American Dream" is freedom and happiness. Freedom to do what you love and find happiness in life...not the material goods in life but relationships, finding your passion, etc.

So for now I am reading more into this minimalism lifestyle. While I don't hope to go to the extreme and get rid of my TV and car and everything, I do hope to stop buying useless "stuff", donate things I already have and organize things a bit more, and learn to rely on technology less.

What do you think of minimalism or The Minimalists blog?