This is something I&#x27;ve written about before, at least indirectly, but I believe not owning much at all has deep therapeutical value. Until recently, I was in a very similar situation to the author, I sold and gave away nearly all of my stuff (an apartment full of it) years ago, to only be left with a backpack and a suitcase worth of stuff. It was extremely liberating, I didn&#x27;t have things to look at making me wonder whether I used them enough or unfolding years of history associated to it that would burden my mind. By the time I&#x27;d gotten accustomed to this lifestyle, the only thing that mattered to me was my passport, and only because I wanted to keep travelling. The rest of my stuff could have been stolen and I would have shrugged at it. After a while, that made me realize that the problem wasn&#x27;t so much with the belongings themselves, but rather the attachment we develop towards things, sometimes to unhealthy degrees.<p>My finger in the air theory is, we teach kids to value the things they have, because as adults we work to pay for most things and we know what it&#x27;s like to not be able to afford something, particularly when it comes to providing for your close ones. Children&#x27;s concept of money is rather simplistic (or even non-existent), so I believe the value is more emotionally based (there have been studies showing that children ascribe human emotions to inanimate things, among other things). I think this emotional bond with objects remains, to a certain extent, as we grow older, which would also emphasize the idea of owning as a social signal (i.e. &quot;that person has many [friends|things]&quot;). The idea that we should be thankful for the things we have, not the things we might get, is great in theory, but explaining to a small child that they should be thankful for their very life is a bit brutal to say the least.<p>Not completely sure where I&#x27;m going with this. I suppose attachment is something for which you have to both program and de-program yourself to appreciate without being dependent. But even that is made more complicated as soon as another person enters the picture (partner, child, etc.). The way I try to make it work is to offer people tangible signs of affection, such as cooking a nice meal, playing some music, help out with a problem and so on, things that can be valued in and of themselves, but that carry little or no baggage. Likewise, I tend to ask close ones to give me something from themselves, rather than buy things. As the giver, you get to do something you&#x27;re passionate about and share it with the person you care for. As the receiver, you value the sentiment more profoundly and you learn a little bit more about the other. Anywho, it works for me, YMMV :)