This question shows you know there is more to life than material things. It also shows a willingness to detach from them. The first step is to understand the role of material things as well as the drawbacks of having too many of them. It also helps to know what is more important than material things. The next step is to do things that shift your focus from material things to the more important things. So, here is how you detach yourself from material things:
Understand the role of material things.
People owned material things ever since early humans started using tools. You can argue that it was the reason to own material things back then. Even jewelry could have been tools to help get the attention of a potential mate. This brings us to the first point:
All material things are either tools or useless.
Every useful material possession is a tool for doing something. For example, decorations are tools for adding beauty to your home. Another example is a teacup which is a tool for holding hot beverages without burning your hands. If you can’t or won’t use a material possession as a tool to do something, it is useless to you. And if it’s useless, then it’s as good as garbage.
The function of tools is to enhance experiences.
The function of a tool is to improve some experience. The experience can be passive or be an activity. The tool can make it easier, quicker, more effective, or more fun among other things. In fact, even some of the most lethal tools (weapons) make the experience of inflicting harm easier. Now it’s a good thing that most tools have more benign uses. But the point still stands.
Material things are secondary to experiences.
We know that stockpiling hammers in the hopes of happiness would be silly. That is because tools by themselves don’t bring happiness and we all know it. Yet many people stockpile material possessions with the same futile hopes. By doing so, their results will be no better than someone stockpiling hammers. And if the material things are useless, then it would be even worse. Then it would be like stockpiling garbage in the hopes of it bringing happiness.
Understand that all material things demand resources.
For every material thing you own, you must give up some resources to keep it. The most common resources to give up are space, time, and money. You give up resources when you get, keep, and sometimes when you dispose of the material thing. Even a maintenance-free item uses up space.
If the material thing is useless then it wastes resources.
A useless possession gives you nothing for the resources that you give up for it. This means that those resources are being wasted on it. For example, clothes you don’t wear are wasting space in your home.
Too many things can exhaust your resources.
Because things use up resources, too many of them can exhaust your resources. For example, many shopaholics are broke. And that is assuming that they are not inundated with debt. Things can exhaust your time too. For example, many people need to work long hours to meet expensive car and house payments. Also, they don’t even have time to have fun with their families. Things can exhaust your space too. And that discussion deserves its own segment.
Learn about the problem of clutter.
As I stated before, too many things can cause you to run out of space. If that happens, the result can be disruptive.
Every room has limited space.
Every room has a finite amount of space. If it had infinite space, it wouldn’t be a room. Also, some of that space is for people to move around and for things to make the room function. For example, a bedroom needs something that works like a bed.
Too many things will ruin the space.
The more things you put in a room, the less space there will be for each item. Running out of space means that some of the items must be out of place. When this happens, clutter will pile up on horizontal surfaces. At this point, adding more things to the room will only make the problem worse. In these cases, the things that people get to improve their lives can make their lives worse.
Learn from your happiest times.
An interesting pattern emerges whenever people talk about their happiest times. They always talk about times when they had great experiences. Also, they often talk about times when they were doing something fulfilling. Their stories are seldom if ever about the stuff they had or the cost of the stuff. If you look back at the happiest times of your life, you might notice a similar pattern. There is a good reason for this:
It was the experiences that mattered.
Experiences are what matter. This is true whether you are spending time with loved ones or pursuing your hobbies. The material things are only tools to support the experiences. So your cellphone can be a tool to arrange meetings with friends.
Seek experiences.
We all hear and read that experiences are more important than material possessions. But living the lifestyle is the only way to know for sure. If you do, you will have more fun and the memories will last longer than if you seek material possessions. It will confirm the adage that experiences are more important than things. Here is a sample of experiences that can be fun, rewarding, and memorable.
Tours
Family and social gatherings
Working with charities
Hobbies
Retreats
Declutter your space.
There are two parts to decluttering. The first part is to only buy things that you need. The second part is to get rid of things you don’t use. When you do these steps, you will notice some benefits:
You will have more available space.
Your home will be easier to keep tidy.
Your home will look better.
You will have more money.
You will have more time.
So you will notice your quality of life improving as you get rid of some things. You will understand that unnecessary things do not improve your quality of life. You will also learn that you have too many things. After decluttering, you will likely realize that you have everything you need. The satisfaction you get from this will outlast the excitement of any shopping spree.
See advertisements for what they are
The latest smartphone will not make you more popular. A bigger diamond will not create a happier marriage. A flashier car will not create a safer or more enjoyable road trip. But the advertisements would have you believe otherwise. Ads are effective tools for getting people to buy stuff they don’t need. They often do this by preying on people’s insecurities. In a twist of irony, these ads often show the characters having great experiences. So in a way, they pinpoint the importance of experiences.
In summary, people had material things ever since early humans started using tools. Also, the material things we use are tools to enhance experiences. Otherwise, any material thing that is not a tool is useless. So experiences are most important and material things are there to support them. This realization is an important step to becoming detached from material things.
All material objects use resources (such as space and time). This means that useless things waste your resources. Also, crowding too many things in a room can turn it into a chaotic mess. But decluttering can free up money, time, and space to make your life better. So you will see your life improve as you get rid of things. This is also helpful in becoming detached from material things.
It helps to look back at your happiest moments. You will notice that these moments are about experiences. You should also seek experiences. By doing so, you will verify their importance. Decluttering is also helpful. The resulting improvement in your quality of life will show that you don’t need that many things. You should also see ads for what they are. They are usually to get you to buy things you don’t need. Understanding these will help you to become detached from material things.