Excess in the Wardrobe

I have been reading a number of articles  around the minimalist lifestyle and that got me thinking :  Can I fit my essentials into a suitcase?  What are the minimal number of things that I need to live on?  Maybe I should add to live comfortably on 🙂  That will clearly mean that I need more than one suitcase which will clearly defeat the purpose of the exercise.

So I decided to put this concept to the test and this was what I discovered:

1. Wardrobe:  I only really wear less than 20% of my entire wardrobe on a regular basis.
2. Gadgets:  I use all of them regularly which led to me think that I don’t have enough 🙂
3. “Stuff” :  I need 50% of the other stuff that I have and the wine collection is not part of this exercise.

My conclusion is that the only “excess” that I have are in my wardrobe.  I am faced with 2 simple decisions:  Don’t buy any new items or Give them away and at some point buy new ones.  I think that you can guess which path I will be taking.

This then lead me to a more critical point and a serious question:  What do I really need?  Need vs. Want.  Knowing full well that nothing that I have, I can take with me when I die.  So what is it that I need.  What is that I want to accumulate?  The answer lies in experiences, memories and relationships.   What we use the resources (time, money and creativity) that we have is to :

1. Build Relationships:  Family and friends and even “strangers” before they become friends.  Money only buys the coffee or meals but the fun, laughter and comrade spirit , that’s something that money can’t buy, only time spend allows that to takes place.
2. Learn:  Knowledge whether through books, studies or experiences.  Never stop learning.  Always dare to try.  Be curious and test things out.  Maximize the learning opportunities that you have.  You never know what might interest you until you try it.  As an example, I would never have thought that I would enjoy golf until I tried  it.  Now I enjoy it.
3. Decide to Enjoy the experience of this life.  Decide to enjoy your life.  It is a decision that each of us make how we want to accept the challenges and excitements that this life journey offers.   Decide to be grateful.  Decide to be appreciative.  Decide to be of service to the needs of others.  It is a choice that each makes on how we view the quality index of our life.  Decide to make this life count.

What do you think are your needs vs. wants?  Have you tried making a list?  What does it look like?  What changes would you make today?