Minimalism:
Why Does Everything We Touch Turn to Gold?
By: Meredith Miller
Published July 16, 2018
Today we’re going to address an issue that, I think, everyone has had to deal with.
Whether you’re working towards minimalism, or you’re just trying to declutter your house – you’ve encountered what I call the “Everything *insert person here* touches turns to gold” phenomenon.
“Minimalism is about intentionality – not deprivation.”
Let me give you a scenario that may sound familiar: I was looking at what I own on the decorative shelves in my apartment, and mentally putting each item into a category: Trash, Treasure, or Transfer. Then I thought about the Reason I was keeping each Treasure item.
I came across a shelf that holds some objects that had been given to me over time. These were things that either made their way into my life without my permission, like Grandma’s old vase, or I had held on to because of the person who had given it to me, like an old post-it note from Randy that says “I Love You.”
I began to ask myself, “Why am I saving these?” The note I could throw away – Randy tells me that every day, and just because he wrote it down once and I saved it does not make it any more special than when we physically say it.
“Minimalism – Because the best things in life, aren’t things.”
I realized that this phenomenon happens to everyone. Maybe not this particular situation, but have you ever not gotten rid of something because, “Grandma owned it,” or, “It was my dead cat’s favorite toy”? The excuse you’re using is, Because it was Grandma’s, I can’t get rid of it. Grandma turned her old vase into gold with her memory.
How do we get past this while working to minimize and declutter our lives? How can we possibly throw out Scruffy the dead cat’s favorite mouse toy? By accepting that just because someone owned something, does not mean that it adds value to your life, or is important enough to you to keep it any longer. Check out 10 Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home to read about some more tips you can use in your own home.
We need to remember that just because an object was important to someone else, does not mean that it has to be important to you. We also tend to hold onto things out of obligation to other people, and justify keeping them as a way to hold on to that person’s memory.
So remember, the next time you’re decluttering and come across an object that was of importance to someone else it belonged to, don’t keep it because They turned it into gold. Remember to ask yourself: Is this adding value in my life? Is there another way I can value that person’s memory without holding on to this, when I may just be holding onto it out of obligation?
As always, thanks for reading. I’d love to hear about how you get past the Everything We Touch Turns to Gold phenomenon. Please feel free to share any personal stories or experiences in the comment section below. Happy Travels!
Check out my blog on Minimalism: How I Became Interested in Less
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