Why You Should Stop Collecting Things
Clear out your space, clear out your mind, and show people that they matter.
I used to think it was weird that I didn’t have a hobby like collecting stamps, or coins, or rocks, or whatever. I don’t know where I ever got this impression but I thought everyone had some kind of hobby or collection.
I thought it gave meaning to your life.
As it is, I’m not a keeper of stuff. I don’t save birthday cards or movie ticket stubs. I’m not that sentimental when it comes to objects.
My husband, on the other hand, would save every card he was ever given, for any reason, if I let him.
Being a thrower-awayer of stuff has always come naturally to me so my perspective may be a bit skewed but I honestly don’t think it’s that difficult… and to be perfectly frank, I think stocking up on items without a future intention for said item is selfish.
That’s right, it’s selfish to aimlessly load up on stuff.
I’m about to get morbid here but bear with me.
When you die, someone has to go clean out your stuff. You will either be Mr. Heckles, Noisey Girl #,1 or Noisey Girl #2, at some point in your life.
This inevitably leads to picking through items, sorting things that held sentiment for the deceased (but not necessarily for the sorter) and deciding on what to keep and what to toss.
Items nobody really likes, get saved and shoved into corners of the home to gather dust, or stored in a basement to be forgotten until the sorter’s own passing.
And collected stuff, it just piles up, it’s not useful. When you pass, you’re leaving a mountain of stuff for someone else to dig through. Stuff they probably wouldn’t normally want.
Your family, or friends, will struggle with managing your estate and possessions when you pass, please don’t make it harder.
Be smart about the things you hold on to, be smart about the kinds of items you keep. Think of what will happen to all of the stuff when you pass. Will it become another pile of junk? Will it contribute negatively to the future of the earth?
These things matter. We don’t need to be so materialistic. Stuff isn’t love. Stuff isn’t memories. Stuff isn’t nostalgia. Those are all feelings. Those things are preserved in your mind for eternity, never to collect dust, be dug through, sorted, resented, or thrown away.
Your memories are your own but you don’t get to keep your collection, it simply becomes another persons burden. If you want something to pass along to family, heirlooms are nice, but handwritten letters are better.
People want to know how you feel, how you’ve felt, what you love, what you enjoy, what memories you hold dear. That will be what comforts them in their time of hurt, not your 1,247 stamps. Not even the rare George Washington one.
