11 Signs We Own Too Many Things

 “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers[1]

Here is a list of eleven signs that we own too many things. It didn’t take long to generate a pretty long list. I stopped at 33 because three is my lucky number. This means that I also have enough to post three weeks in a row. Bonus! My lucky number drives more decisions than I care to divulge. 🙂

This week I’ll list the first eleven. Look for the others over the next two weeks. How many of these can you relate to? Unfortunately, my list was easy to make because I can relate to almost all of these.

1. We spend more time managing our things than the time we spend using them. If we spend more time cleaning, moving, or organizing our things than using them, we own too many things.

2. We have extra things intended for guests we rarely have. An example in many homes is more drinking glasses, plastic cups, and coffee cups than needed. We have two cabinets that are three shelves high packed with them. If we have more drinking glasses than we need in a single day, we own too many things.

3. We have things that add more stress than joy or value. An example is stress caused by clutter. If having things adds more stress to our lives than the value they add, we own too many things.

4. We have things that collect dust. The things that collect dust probably aren’t getting used often. This creates more work than value. If we can’t keep up with the dusting, we own too many things.

5. We can’t remember when we used it last. Oh, my. I have so many things that I don’t remember when I used them last. If we don’t use our things at some regular interval, we own too many things.

6. We used it once for something special and haven’t used it again. I once bought a paint sprayer. We used it once and we haven’t used it again. If we have things that we should have rented instead, we own too many things.

7. We haven’t used some of our things at all. If we can find things in the basement that are in their original box, we own too many things.

8. We could get rid of it and wouldn’t buy another. If we have things that we could give away and not care to buy another, we own too many things.

9. We have multiple and never use the duplicates. Once we accumulate enough clutter it becomes difficult to find small miscellaneous things. We end up going to the store to buy more. Now we have twice as much as we needed. If we have more multiples than we need, we own too many things.

10. We have collections that we didn’t intend. If people say we collect something, but we didn’t intend to be a collector, we own too many things.

11. We have things that won’t fit in their proper space because other things are there instead. We have a two car garage that only one car can fit in. Everything should have it’s own place. If we have things that won’t fit in their place because of other things, we own too many things.

Look around. What signs do you see that you own too many things? Share some of your own signs.

Peace,

Brian

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