There Are Too Many Things In The World

When my grandmother died, I had to clean her apartment and throw away all the stuff that nobody needed any longer. Her rooms were filled with different things: all kinds of crockery – plates, dishes, cups, wine glasses, vases, bowls; tones of clothes – dresses, skirts, blouses, pants, sweaters, jackets, coats, shawls etc; a lot of books and newspapers, magazines, an old TV set, radio, furniture and many other things. She spent a lot of time and money; she made a lot of efforts to buy all those things. And now I'm making even more effort to get rid of them. This made me realize that we waste our lives earning money and buying tones of stuff we don't need or sometimes don't even want. Pretty often we forget about a purchase the same day we bought it.
So I decided to do an experiment. Like any average person with a steady income, I often bought things I couldn't afford. I thought, “Why not?” This time, I decided I won't buy any new things for 6 months. As such, I didn't buy anything except food, medicine and necessary toiletries. Everything else I needed I either borrowed or bought in second-hand shops. It was an amazing experience!
There are too many things in the world. We produce a lot more than we actually need. You can't even imagine those tones of clothes, furniture, gadgets and crockery. Most of them end up on the dump being hardly used.
We are obsessed with shopping and we need help. Because, in most cases, we buy things we don't need. In fact, the very act of purchasing is not a deliberate choice, but an attempt to manipulate us.
Most people believe that using second-hand is unhygienic. They think it's beneath their dignity to buy used clothes, furniture or other goods. It's weird! People, who give their things, do that with the smile. Then why do we think that this is only for the poor but not for us?
I avoid hypermarkets. Everything I need, I can buy in the shop next to my house. When I went to the hypermarket, I bought a lot of stuff that wasn't on my list. They do everything to make you spend as much as possible. You think you go there to save, but in the end you spend even more.
These 6 months were such a relief for my bank account. I didn't use credit cards, there was no financial pressure. I felt great. It's so much better to live without shopping, than to live with it plus the constant fear to go broke. It's just not worth it.
Now I know I don't need all those advertised “goods” that make my life special. And I'm totally fine without all that. The rest is as usual. I live, work, hang out with friends. Except now my income exceeds my expenses, not vice versa. The truth is, the significance of most things is overestimated.
I believe minimalism is the most optimal way of life. Stop and try to think how you act in huge supermarkets. Should you really fall for all those discounts and sales? Maybe they are just a deception?