Trash or Treasure

When I was invited to Leyla and Rob’s house, I got excited. I haven’t seen them in a while so I really looked forward to it. Leyla and Rob bought a 3-bedroom apartment quite some time ago, and I’ve never really had a chance to see it. Time has come.

I was excited to see how they live and how everything was organized. So here I was on a sunny day, ringing at the door bell. When they opened the door I was happy to see my friends but I was surprised with what I saw – the house was completely… empty!

Rob & Leyla were happy to give me a tour straight away because they could see how curious I was.

I entered the guest room and it only had a bed. No shelves, pictures or anything else. It was exactly one bed with two pillows, a small lamp under the ceiling and curtains hiding the window. I was impressed.

I looked at the master bedroom, and they only had a bed in it, two lamps and a built-in wardrobe. The living room had a sofa, a TV and a dining table with 6 chairs. So practical!

Leyla and Rob happened to be adepts of minimalism or in other words they cared only about practical things. They believed that if they bought a lot of junk (e.g. 20 pillows, pillow covers, lamps, tables, candles, flower pots), they would not have enough money for things that mattered.

For example, as long as I have been knowing them, they always enjoyed road travelling. So they bought a new expensive car. And because they had a clear focus on what they really wanted and what they did not need, they were able to save enough money to fulfill their dreams. They rethought their wants, needs and finances and defined things that really made them happy.

If you think about it, in the end, people remember memories and experiences – not some junk they bought on sale.

So why do you need all of that garbage that costs money and doesn’t really mean a thing? Does it really make you happy? And if it doesn’t, why not selling it?

Be honest with yourself, and if you can’t imagine your lifewithout a dryer, it needs to stay. But do you really need two irons? Or all of the clothes iny our wardrobe?

When I came back from Leyla and Rob’s, I looked at my apartment and I saw lots of things that I didn’t really need nor that I cared about. I haven’t really used them and I didn’t remember a good reason to have bought them. Could you call it trash? I could. So I sold it and got some extra cash. In the end, I got more space to meditate and enjoy my life.

After all, if you need anything you can always ask your neighbors! One of my neighbors, Stacy, has become a good friend of mine. We lend each other this and that, and it is amazing how it works both ways. Stacy bought a mixer, and I bought a chopper. Think of it as Stacy saved on the chopper and I saved on the mixer, because everytime one of us needs them, we share. It is amazing how much money we were able to save by sharing the stuff that each of us would otherwise need to buy. It is simple things like this that not only improve social connections but also help to save money in a long run.