The Burden of Ownership

(Note: This post is the first in a short series on minimalism.)

Ownership is a burden.  The more you own, the less freedom you have.  Our possessions act like an anchor, holding us down in one spot, keeping us from moving freely and nimbly.  They consume our space and time, cost us money and attention, and weigh us down with maintenance tasks.  They create drag in our lives, leeching our energy as we pursue our goals.  Anything that doesn’t actively help us in that pursuit is just holding us back.

As you can see, I passionately believe ownership has its drawbacks.  And while I don’t advocate a vow of poverty, we gain a lot when we divest ourselves of things we don’t need.  Technology reduces the importance of ownership day by day, as new services let us benefit from the use of the things we need and want without owning them.  But before exploring the solution, let’s get a clear understanding of the problem.

The Trouble With Owning Things

I’ve accumulated quite a lot of stuff in my lifetime.  A great many books, games, DVDs, CDs, computer parts, papers, office supplies, and just plain old junk.  I used to think it wise — important, even — to save anything that might come in handy in the future.  But keeping the item, storing it, and keeping track of it is a hidden cost of having it when I need it, and sometimes it’s cheaper to get rid of something and replace it later.  Here are some of the costs of stuff ownership:

• Space. Things take up room.  The more stuff you have, the more room it takes up, and the less space you have to move around, work on projects, and generally use your home and office.  It’s hard to use a table or desk when it’s covered with stuff.  It’s counter-productive to feel crowded when you’re working, eating, writing, drawing, etc.  Some people have so much stuff they have to buy more space (e.g. a storage unit) just to hold it all!
• Time.  Stuff costs time, too — especially when you’re doing housework!  Everything that needs to be tidied away, washed, dusted, or moved out of the way when you clean just makes the chore take longer.  Books, papers, knick-knacks, dust-catchers, and so on just get in the way and slow you down when you’re trying to maintain a clean home. Acquiring things takes time as well, though this is probably already a sunk cost — most of us already HAVE lots of stuff!
• Money.  This is a simple one — things cost money!  Also, some things (such as cars) cost money just to maintain, continuing to take money out of your pocket even after you own them free and clear.  And again, some people pay for storage units and the like just to keep their stuff in.  It also costs money to protect your possessions, through insurance, security systems, and so forth.
• Attention.  As I noted many years ago, everything around you consumes a little bit of your attention.  Right now, I’m focused on my computer, but everything in my peripheral vision is poking at my consciousness, threatening to distract me at any moment.  My things are costing me attention, putting my concentration at risk.
• Efficiency.  These costs of space, time, money, and attention combine to create inefficiency, or drag.  It’s harder, takes longer, and costs more to accomplish our goals if we’re surrounded by piles and boxes and shelves and drawers of unnecessary things.  The busier you are, the more this inefficiency problem will affect you.  It may be a tiny drag at any given moment, but the cumulative effects are staggering.
• Happiness.  And, on top of all this, consider the worries of loss if you find yourself the target of a burglary or robbery.  The more invested you are in your possessions, the more it hurts to have them taken away.  All these costs combined make possessions a heavy burden.  They are riddled with hidden costs that hold us back and drag us down.  Owning too many possessions makes us less happy, not more.

Conclusion

By choosing to own something, we also choose to accept the costs implicit in its ownership.  When we’re surrounded by material things that we are responsible for, we sacrifice some of our freedom, some of our bandwidth for more important aspects of life.  Some items provide more benefit than the sum of their discrete and abstract costs, and these items are worth keeping.  But many things simply cost more than they’re worth, and in sufficient quantities, these things can have a strong negative influence on our lives.  If you value your space, time, money, attention, efficiency, and/or happiness, it is worthwhile to look into alternatives.  In my next few Uplift! posts, I will explore one of these alternatives, minimalism.