If we tried to count and go through all of the stuff we have it would be impossible. If you look in our basements, bedrooms, garages, and pretty much everywhere else in our homes, you'll definitely find stuff everywhere. Whether its clothes from 5 years ago that we don't wear, a book that we've already read twice, or that art project from elementary school that we've been meaning to throw away, you'll come to find that we barely throw anything out. It's not that we're hoarders or that we feel the need to constantly buy new things or keep items that we will never use, we as humans just like stuff.
You may find that your parents have a box full of your elementary school art projects or that you have a hard time getting rid of your first stuffed animal which might not live to see another day. When you think about it, these are all things that we don't need and don't have any type of purpose, but they hold some sort of meaning. Each art project you completed and brought home shows your imagination as a child and was something you were so proud of to show off. Your first stuffed animal from when you were just a baby is the one you couldn't fall asleep without. It went everywhere with you no matter what. Even though it may not seem like it now, you'll look back one day and realize that it was right not to throw out those things of meaning.
A lot of our belongings hold sentimental value, but a lot of them are materialistic items that make us happy. That new purse or new pair of sneakers holds the potential to make us the happiest person in the world once we get it. Once a year passes by though, we start to get sick of what we refer to as our old sneakers or used bag. We're on to looking for the next new thing we can get our hands on. Maybe it'll be a trendy new pair of sunglasses or that new outfit that we've been dying to get. Also, shopping and buying new things tends to make us happy. Especially when we're down. The thrill of trying on that new outfit or picturing yourself on the beach in that new bathing suit makes you excited at the moment. As time goes on though, the thrill of the purchase wears off, and all you're left with is the desire to buy more. The truth of the matter is that whether it has a sentimental value or not, we feel the needs to keep all of our belongings for longer than necessary, and when the time has come to get something new we couldn't be happier.
