by Jeremy Myers

Have your possessions become you? Spend more time organizing, cleaning and storing your hoard than actually using it? Are you a slave to payments for things that don’t have a place in your life? Perhaps it’s time to become chronically un-stuffed! Here’s how to do it without loosing your mind.

1. The ego and the stuff have become linked in your mind. The ego says “I need a huge house, if I downsize my friends will think I’m a loser.” Or, “If I have a giant collection of high-end cookware, I will be a master chef.” Of course you know this is bunk, so get over it. Once you disengage it’s easier to unload.

2. Focus on what’s going to make you happy, then gently remove things that get in the way. “If I only had time for this, if only I could get to that” bla bla bla. If you need more time to visit with your granddaughter, then why in the world are you mowing that huge lawn?

3. Think about the function everything has and design your life around that-in other words focus on the ends, not the means. Example: The function you need is transportation from point A to B. This can be accomplished by an automobile, bike, feet, bus, plane or skateboard. Now assuming you decide you need a car-what is the essential functional difference between a brand new Audi Quatro and a reliable used Honda? Besides all the money you won’t need to earn for the payments on the Quatro……

4. Substitute actions for things. It’s all about what you visualize and then do that counts. Ultimately the world doesn’t give a damn if you spend the next 30 years paying for a huge house you don’t need. However, if you bought a less expensive house and spent the resulting free time visualizing world peace and then actually making it happen, you’d have something. Remember you don’t have to be the Dali Lama to make this work, besides that job is already taken.