[Lovable]

I do, a lot.. I think it's hard. My last roommate proclaimed that things to him was just stuff.. Didn't mean anything to him at all.. He could just leave it all and by something new. I could never do that..

So could you? Leave all your things and just take off or?

 

[Aeppolaen]

When I was young (14- yo, I think) I really felt emphatic to them, meaning that I'd be on the verge of tears when one of my rulers would break, or if a chair at home would loose a leg and be replaced. Perhaps it had to do with the entire phenomenom of the irreversible arrow of time, or simply with an emotional bond I felt towards anything that could be identified with an object.

Fortunately, the intensity of those feelings subsided but still I rarely throw things away or lend stuff. Stuff is mine, I have memories with them and it'd feel like treachery letting them down.

 

[00Hikaru00]

Depends on the $value. LOL

 

[SilentScream]

I used to a lot. But I move around a lot too which I value more so I stopped collecting things and instead started collecting memories and experiences ... At the moment if I had to abandon everything I have, I would only take the watch my wife bought me as a wedding gift - and of course the jewelry my mom has given her (since that's part of my mom). I'm not attached to them, but my mom is so I have to respect her possessions.

My wife on the other hand does get attached to things, but I've noticed it's only her grandmother's things ... I think it's because she wants to retain parts of her so I never tell her not to not get attached.

Don't let your roomie or anyone else convince you otherwise. If you're attached to things, you have perfectly good reasons to be. As long as you don't become a compulsive hoarder that has to buy warehouse space for your things, you're fine

 

[odinthor]

Yes. Everything is infused with its circumstances, to about a third degree of proximity, which in turn have some appropriate niche(s) in my consciousness/subconsciousness. Throw away, say, that old damaged hammer, and you've thrown away my precious direct link to particular moments with my father, to how I felt about any moments with my father, to my father himself.

I don't understand how people who are not like this get anything of value out of life.

 

[Kirjuri]

I'd rather use a familiar object than a different one every time. I tend to have exactly one item of cutlery and dish in use at any one time, and I wash them after each use. I prefer to use everything up until they sing their last psalm.

 

[stormgirl]

Only if the object holds emotional meaning for me, otherwise no.

 

[Songs unsung]

No. I can't think of anything I wouldn't be willing to give up at the moment. But I would happily replace everything with prettier things, so I'm not a minimalist at all. I like to have 'stuff'.

 

[lavendersnow]

Some of the things I have are expensive, like books or paint. But I'm not attached to anything that I have. If I had to uproot and I had the funds the repurchase whatever was a necessity - I could. It would be a bit of hassle since I'm very specific with what I own, but I don't own anything that is irreplaceable.

 

[Windblownhair]

I’m not attached to my physical things. If my house burned down, I’d grab my dogs and be perfectly happy.

It’s not to say that I don’t have belongings that I don’t enjoy. There are particular gifts that bring me a lot of joy. But the meaning isn’t intrinsic to the item. If it’s lost or broken or stolen, I don’t lose any of the joy. And if someone has given me a gift that isn’t a good fit for me or my lifestyle, I don’t have any qualms passing it along to Goodwill. I appreciate the sentiment and thoughtfulness, but I can keep the feeling without needing to hold onto the physical thing.

In terms of things I’ve bought myself, I am picky on some level. If I can find something of quality that works well for me, I’ll buy multiples of it. But it isn’t about sentimental attachment, just me having very particular taste.

 

[Vivid Melody]

So could you? Leave all your things and just take off or?

Well I basically will have to do this one day since when I die, I can't take my stuff with me. This thought is forever on my mind and therefore, my answer leans towards detachment towards things. That being said, I do value what I have a great deal and take good care of what I do own. I don't like taking things for granted. I don't like buying things I'm not in love with or is overpriced. I'm not an impulsive spender. I don't like accumulating lots of stuff though there are things that I do tend to collect such as books.

We have had to down size a lot since moving from state to state. However, it was mostly my INFJ hubby who had to do the down sizing because he owns the most books and games etc. When getting rid of things, I'm the one who is more likely to be able to let go of things more easily without too much thinking. At the last minute, my husband had to leave more behind than he had intended because he didn't have time to go through the last of our stuff + we wound up running out of room. He still randomly remembers certain things he had to leave behind and it still makes him sad. The idea of not being able to access it bothers him. For him, things trigger memories and stimulates his imagination. So even if it's just a book, just the act of looking at the book triggers all of that for him. So the absence of it makes a difference to him. I also think he likes the idea of things more than the things themselves. Like sometimes he'll buy games with the plan of sharing it with someone later on, not really so much for himself. Even if he had never used the thing, he still values it. That surprises me because I'm different. If I haven't used the thing, I question how much I actually value it and why on earth did I buy this thing in the first place?

I do like surrounding myself with the things that reflect me and who I am because my home is my sanctuary and the way things look create an emotional atmosphere for me but there aren't too many things I get sad about the thought of losing....other than childhood toys that just disappeared and I had no say in the matter of what was do be done with them. My main fear is of my things being tossed away or not going to someone who can appreciate them as much as I do/did. I often think about who I could donate my things to before I die.

 

[raschel]

I sometimes think I'm attached but I easily accumulate new things... so it's not a problem at all
In fact I'd like to be happier with minimal.
I even have a purge now and then; and throw a ton away.

I would be sad though with some clothes I have, two of which was my mother's.
And my diaries, I guess

I don't like the feeling of hanging on to anything to be honest.

 

[Drecon]

Yes. Although money in itself has no value to me (honestly, if I want something it's the same if it's 1 dollar or 1000 dollars... although I can't always spare 1000 dollars of course, I still value eating every day as well) I am very protective of my possessions. It sometimes feels bad to realize that I'm materialistic in that way, but I can't stop it. I guess I'm a hoarder at heart.

 

[AOD III]

It depends. Sometimes an object will hold an emotional sentimentality for me, and then it's very hard for me to let go of it. Otherwise, I could care less about stuff. I try to live as simply as possible. I consider conspicuous consumption to be a major character flaw.

 

[Snowflake Minuet]

In general I get much more attached to relationships, be they with people or animals, than a place like "home," and likewise a culture much more than a country in many cases.

However, I do care a lot more about my things than a lot of people I know. I've almost never lost anything, and the few times I temporarily did I've always been lucky enough to be able to find them again! Which is good, because for some reason it makes me so incredibly sad to think of that poor lonely little whatever out there somewhere, uncared for! Silly, I know, but I can tell myself that as much as I want and it won't make a difference!!

I can also be pretty picky and one could almost say "territorial" about my things. Like, don't you dare leave that precious CD case sitting halfway off the table, or how can you just keep leaving the lotion bottle facing backwards, it's just better the other way and you know I care about it!!! You know, goofy obsessive stuff like that!

 

[Froody Blue Gem]

I have a huge collection of things, figurines, plushies, movie/TV show/fandom collectable stuff, DVDs, books, just anything that has meaning to me and I keep it in orderly chaos. The collection continues to grow whenever I find anything else of interest to me, and I don't intend it to stop growing.

Moreso chaos than order though... xD :fall: I also love to draw and have trouble throwing away old drawings. There are huge piles of paper and scraps that I doodled on. I'm a big packrat and don't like other people touching my belongings.

 

[Marvin the Dendroid]

I've never been able to get attached to things. The less I have, the better, and I've never had a single item I loved.

I thought getting attached to things was something Fi-people do. Guess I was wrong :-/

 

[wums]

No, I have a weak connection to this mortal world. In fact I tend to enjoy a clean slate. I'm attached to my view of things, not the things themselves. I'm attached to my potential to create the world around me that I see in my mind, but not attached to the world around me as it currently is.

Don't get me wrong though, I like things, I like nice things, but I'm not afraid of losing them, they are replaceable to me.

 

[odinthor]

I've never been able to get attached to things. The less I have, the better, and I've never had a single item I loved.

I thought getting attached to things was something Fi-people do. Guess I was wrong :-/

For me at least, I'm pretty sure that my own super-energized Se plays a big part in . . . well, being attached to things is maybe not quite what it is, more like appreciating them as irreplaceable individual manifestations, so to speak (yes, that particular thing which was mass-produced by the millions at a factory is still an irreplaceable individual manifestation in and of itself; it was those particular molecules that [long catalog of personal experiences ensues]). Se, with Ni chiming in with mystical reflections on it; and then perhaps Fe trying to infuse the inanimate thing with sapience and then Fe-ing it up with it. Ti, however, just rolls its eyes at the whole proceeding.

 

[Marvin the Dendroid]

For me at least, I'm pretty sure that my own super-energized Se plays a big part in . . . well, being attached to things is maybe not quite what it is, more like appreciating them as irreplaceable individual manifestations, so to speak (yes, that particular thing which was mass-produced by the millions at a factory is still an irreplaceable individual manifestation in and of itself; it was those particular molecules that [long catalog of personal experiences ensues]). Se, with Ni chiming in with mystical reflections on it; and then perhaps Fe trying to infuse the inanimate thing with sapience and then Fe-ing it up with it. Ti, however, just rolls its eyes at the whole proceeding.

Ok. I do generally suffer from feeling that all things physical are too ephemeral to pay much attention to, except when Se comes on one of its 5-minute visits. It's a lot like bowel movements really ... nothing you pay attention except when you need to go.