How to force yourself not to buy unnecessary. Diderot Effect: Why do we want things we don't need? This item is not needed.

We live in a consumer society. Recently I had to go through a bitter experience - my father passed away. It is not customary to grieve over the loss of a loved one for a long time, because you need to have time to collect a lot of documents and notify various stations about what happened. When I completed these tasks, it was time to clean the apartment of the late father.

Where to begin?

In the process of sorting through all the things, I felt like I was out of breath, as each of them was filled with memory. It took me a week to sort out the boxes that had accumulated in the apartment over the past 10 years. I sold some, donated some, and threw some things away altogether.

This process was difficult for me, because my father spent a lot of effort to get these things. And I thought about how humanity is destroying the planet, since many of us are busy earning money to buy things that neither the owners nor their descendants need at all.

Awareness

I decided to experiment - to refrain from buying any things for two hundred days. Agree, most of those who have a regular income, spend money recklessly. Or maybe try to do without supermarkets for a while? Of course, you should not take into account the purchase of food or medicines. If I needed something, I borrowed it or bought not a new, but a used item. Through this experiment, I learned 7 key lessons.

Key Lessons

1. The world is full of unnecessary things . When I started selling my father's property, I looked at thousands of ads on the global web. I was surprised how many things are produced in our country, and then all this utensils, furniture, clothes just end up in a landfill.
2. Shopping addiction needs to be treated. At the beginning of my experiment, I began to satisfy my need for a particular product by visiting special sites. The range of goods was simply amazing, and many packaged items were put up for sale that had never been used. From which we can conclude that the buying process itself is not a conscious choice, but the result of an impact on our consciousness.
3. We used to think that used things are not hygienic . I decided to record the result of the experiment on a blog and then I came across a few comments that buying used products is not hygienic. That is, in the understanding of many people, all, even packaged products, are "infected with foreign microbes." This is very strange, you will agree. Remembering at least the volunteers who are happy to help people by sharing their clothes or furniture. Where did the stereotype come from that this is only suitable for low-income segments of the population?
4. Companies need supermarkets . During all the days of the experiment, I realized that I did not feel the need for supermarkets at all. After all, all the necessary products can be purchased in a small shop near the house, where it is always cozy and polite staff works. When you go to the mall, you are guaranteed to buy unnecessary things that were not originally on your shopping list. In such stores, everything is designed for this, you plan to buy everything at once, and even save money, but in reality it turns out differently - you spend much more money than you planned before leaving the house.
5. It is not worth it. After 6 months of no impulse purchases and refraining from using credit cards, I felt relief. Mentally, I felt a lot better. Life without shopping is wonderful, and besides, you don’t have to constantly face the fear of being left without money. Nothing is worth it.
6. You can pay one person, not in a company . When buying something on the Internet, it turns out that many sellers are decent people who really want to sell a thing that is useful to you. In such cases, by the way, bargaining is appropriate, since people are trying to return the money invested, and not just earn. These salespeople will be happy if you make a purchase, unlike mall cashiers. And you will be happy knowing that your money will end up in the pocket of an adequate person, and not a ruthless company.
7. I don't need much . Of course, there are certain things that you need to buy only new, for example, personal care products. Reasonable purchases allow you to stabilize your financial situation, because you will agree that it is much better when income exceeds expenses. I can afford to relax with friends and take a taxi home, but I do not experience stress, only peace of mind. We often give importance to things that don't really matter. In my opinion, the best way to live in peace is to strive for minimalism. And to understand this, I had to endure a bitter loss - the death of my father. I hope this article will help you understand a lot. published

Look around - you are surrounded by things, without a significant part of which you could easily do without. But all this money is your money spent in vain.

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Odnoklassniki

1. Gym membership
If out of 12 visits you have mastered only three, and the subscription period is approaching the end, the conclusion suggests itself. This is not only your problem - many of those who buy memberships or club cards do not appear in the gym anymore. Don't waste your money, there are plenty of exercises you can do at home. Absolutely free and anytime. Alone.

2. Camera
Anyone with a smartphone can easily do without a separate device for taking photos. The latest models have great cameras, plenty of file storage, and a whole host of extra features for shooting. They can take really cool pictures. So why do you need a separate camera?

3. Multivitamins
Regular intake of vitamins is the easiest way to feel like a person who cares about health. Alas, it is often just a waste of money. Before buying another package of such drugs, visit a doctor and make sure what exactly your body lacks.

4. Gorgeous wedding dress
How is it, because ideally a wedding happens only once? Exactly, which is why spending crazy money on an outfit that you will never wear again is not very practical. If you marry again, it is unlikely that you will need an old dress.

Add to its cost the cost of a garter, veil and other tinsel - then any budget will burst at the seams. To avoid overspending, rent a dress or choose a versatile dress that you can continue to use as a holiday outfit.

5. Bottled water
Putting tap water into bottles and selling it is a brilliant idea. Producers make big money on this. You can continue to support their well-being or simply buy a special bottle and pour filtered water into it before leaving the house.

6. Landline phone
Not everyone will agree with this, but in order to keep within the budget, it is worth giving up everything superfluous - including the landline phone. If every member of your family has a mobile phone, then a landline phone is simply not needed. It will be useful only to people living in areas where there are interruptions in mobile communications.

7. Workout clothes
Special suits for yoga, crossfit and training in the gym are very useful if there is nothing to fill the space on the top shelves in the closet. For the most part, this is just a scam for the money of fashionistas. Work out in ordinary T-shirts and shorts, you don’t have to go to the podium in them.

8. Semi-finished products
Their nutritional value and shelf life are often lower, and the cost and amount of unnecessary packaging is higher. Semi-finished products and ready-to-eat products should be excluded from the shopping list in the first place. Buy vegetables, fruits, and other foods with minimal pre-processing.

9. Toys
Children are used to receiving toys as gifts for birthdays and any holidays in general, but you should not buy them in large quantities at once. Very soon (weeks, if not days) the child will get bored and want something new. Try renting toys from specialized shops or trading them with other families for a while.

10. USB stick
What is a flash drive for? To store or transfer data. Is it possible to do it in a different way and not waste money in vain? Of course. Send files by email, store them in the cloud - there are plenty of options, and using a flash drive in 2016 is even somehow ashamed.

11. All for detox
I’ll tell you a secret: the body does not need help in getting rid of excess. He copes with this perfectly, because the liver and kidneys are given to us for a reason. Advertisements for juices and herbal detox blends, colon cleanses, and the like are a brazen attempt to sell people what they don't need. The very idea of ​​a detox is just a marketing gimmick that has no medically intelligible explanation.

12. Bread maker
Everyone loves fresh bread, especially homemade bread, so getting a bread maker seems like a pretty good idea. But don't let yourself be fooled - excellent bread can be baked in a conventional oven. Moreover, many people prefer bread from the oven - they say it is softer and more tender.

13. Fabric softener
Another thing that you can do without. The conditioner will replace regular baking soda. It is much cheaper, and the linen softens no worse.

14. GPS navigator
Unless you're roaming the wastelands outside of cell coverage, a separate navigation device is clearly not an essential. Any smartphone with a GPS-module will cope with determining the location just as well.

15. Books
We buy an interesting book, read it once, and that's it. Then she gathers dust in the closet, goes to the shelf for bookcrossing, or even ends her life in the trash. It is wiser to use the services of libraries or purchase books in electronic format.

16. Formal wear
It is unlikely that you need a tuxedo or an evening dress every day. For almost the whole year, these things will hang in the closet, reminding you of the amount that you had to pay for them. If you can rent formal and weekend clothes - take it.

17. Magazines
Racks with them are located right next to the cash registers for a reason - impulsive purchases do their job. Just imagine how much money you spend on what you read at best a couple of times. If you really buy some kind of magazine on an ongoing basis, it is better to issue an annual subscription to it. In terms of one room, the cost will be less.

18. Lottery tickets
Everyone is well aware that the lottery is most often a waste of money, but the thought “What if!” does not give rest. The truth is that there is no such thing as "suddenly". Statistically, you are much more likely to face an angry shark, die from a candy bar machine, or become president than you are to hit the jackpot. The second name of lotteries is “stupidity tax”, and this is clearly not without reason.

19. CD and DVD Yes, they are still bought.
Why is not entirely clear. There are many places on the web where you can find both movies and music in good quality. Subscribe to the corresponding service and save a good amount.

20. Children's shoes
Babies don't need shoes. At least until they started walking. Earlier attempts to shoe them end in failure in the truest sense of the word. All these tiny shoes and boots look very cute, but they are of no use.

21. Sandwich Maker
Let's call everything by its proper name: a kitchen appliance that performs only one highly specialized task is useless garbage. Don't waste your money on junk that will take up space in the kitchen.

22. Insurance of funds on bank cards
The possibility of criminals stealing money from your account looks pretty scary, so the desire to further secure yourself is quite understandable. Still, think before you pay a decent amount for insurance. Banks are already vigilant about security. You can get all the information about the movement of funds at any time, and if necessary, quickly block the card so that the scammers are left with nothing.

23. Pizza accessories
Pizza requires ingredients, an oven, a baking sheet and a knife. Everything. Instead of a regular knife, you can buy a roller knife, but you should not spend money on baking dishes, special scissors with a spatula, a pizza oven and other items of dubious necessity.

24. Cute bath stuff
When we want to cheer ourselves up or make a gift that will definitely come in handy for the addressee, the hand itself reaches for a shower gel, cream or body spray. So-so idea, because these things tend to accumulate at an insane pace and litter all the free space in the bathroom. As a result, the shelf life of such products often ends before we have time to use them.

25. Specialized kitchen tools
They can cause different reactions: from “Wow, what a useful thing” to “Ummm, seriously?”. All in all, you don't really need all those onion and garlic chopping and slicing tools for bananas, peaches, and avocados. With vegetables and fruits, the good old knife and fork will do just fine.

26. In-App Purchases
When you download a seemingly free application, and then it turns out that you still need to pay to get access to some functions, it infuriates. In the case of games, the obvious uselessness of such purchases is also annoying - when you get tired of the game, what will you do with the acquired weapons and clothes for the character? Do not fall for the lure of developers - most paid applications and games have free counterparts.

27. Disposable drinking straws
It would seem like a cheap thing, but if you use such plastic tubes regularly, it can cost a pretty penny. In addition, it is worth being more humane to the environment and not multiplying the amount of garbage unnecessarily. It is better to buy a reusable stainless steel straw for each family member, in the end it will be much more profitable.

28. Napkin warmer
Manufacturers simply love to cash in on young parents, slipping them seemingly necessary things, without which, in practice, you can safely do without. The napkin warmer is a prime example of such junk. Napkins can be warmed in your hands, for this you do not need to spend a penny.

29. Extended Warranty
In most cases, this service remains unclaimed. Warranty obligations imply free repair or replacement of the goods in case of breakage, but things break even after the extended warranty expires. In addition, repairs are often cheaper than the purchase of similar services.

30. Toasters with superpowers
Today, toasters can toast bread, make scrambled eggs, hot dogs, and even imprint animals, soccer balls, butterflies, and Darth Vader's helmet on a piece of bread. A joke, as you know, seems funny only the first time. These toasters are unlikely to please you for a long time.

31. Cable TV
It's time to cut the wires. If you have the Internet, television is clearly not a necessity. In order not to yearn without your favorite series, subscribe to one of the many video services.

32. Designer breeds of cats and dogs
Do you want to get a pet of an unusual breed - a labradoodle or a toyger? Prepare to throw money away. The irresponsible approach to breeding animals, which many breeders sin, leads to the fact that dogs and cats are born with serious health problems.

Some breeds are declared as safe for allergy sufferers, but no one can give a 100% guarantee, so it makes no sense to overpay for it. Millions of animals are waiting for their owners in shelters. Maybe you should shelter one of them, and not unfasten a round sum for a pedigree?

33. Musical instruments
Children and some adults quickly get excited about the idea of ​​learning to play some musical instrument, but then quickly forget about this idea. The desire to master the guitar, violin, or other expensive instrument melts away as you realize the need for regular practice and boring practice. Rent a tool and save your wallet from unnecessary expenses.

34. Vitaminized drinks
Water enriched with vitamins, minerals, flavors and sweeteners is not the best choice if you really care about your health. The benefits of such drinks are doubtful, because synthetic vitamins are not always able to replace those that we get from food. Plus, these liquids contain a large amount of sugar. Make better tasty water yourself, it will turn out no worse.

35. Invitation cards
When it comes to a large-scale event (for example, a wedding), sending out invitations to guests turns out to be quite an expensive undertaking. Although the guardians of etiquette insist on the need to comply with this formality, many will not agree with them. Send invitations by e-mail or create a group on the social network used by your guests, dedicated to the upcoming event. So that everyone can adjust their plans, this should be done in advance - about 6-8 weeks before the celebration.

36. High octane gasoline
If the engine of your car is not designed specifically for such fuel, then why overpay? Use the gasoline recommended by the manufacturer, so everything will definitely be in order with the car.

37. Home popcorn machine
If you do not produce popcorn on an industrial scale, then you do not need a special device. Heat up a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan, pour the grains there, cover with a lid and wait. It will be noisy but tasty. The gif below demonstrates another interesting way to make popcorn.

38. Baubles
Various souvenirs, memorabilia - these are all useless dust collectors. Proponents of minimalism believe that in the process of ridding the interior of unnecessary details, such things are the first candidates for departure. So do not buy them either for yourself or as a gift.

39. Diaper storage
It seems to top the list of the most unnecessary children's things. The drive is not the cheapest thing, but there is no point in acquiring it. Putting a used diaper in a bag and throwing it away is a task that does not require much mental and physical effort.

40. Fryer
A fashionable device with which you are still tormented. The deep fryer is difficult to wash, it smells of burnt oil - in a word, you do not need to spend money or space in the kitchen on this thing. For frying and deep-frying, a cast-iron skillet and refined oil will suffice.

41. Newspapers
Subscribing to them can be quite expensive, and in the digital age, this is a complete waste of money. To stay up to date with the news, you have the Internet and television. In extreme cases, you can subscribe to the electronic version of the publication, so it will definitely be cheaper.

42. Baby food maker
Are you sure that you need a separate unit (by the way, quite expensive) to sterilize bottles and turn fruit into puree? Our parents somehow coped without such equipment, and we can too. If you have a blender, a potato masher, or at least a fork, the process of turning vegetables and fruits into puree does not require other special tools. Bottles can be sterilized with steam.

43. Cookbooks
Recipe collections are a thing of the past. The web is full of resources dedicated to cooking. Here are recipes with step-by-step photos, and practical advice, and reviews from those who have already tried it. There are many cooking channels on YouTube where you can learn how to cook from scratch.

44. Fancy tools
A set of home masters is a necessary thing, this is beyond doubt. But do not go to extremes and buy too cool tools that will lie idle. When you need them, rent them - there is probably a company in your city that provides power tools for rent.

45. Products for animals
Here we are talking about excesses - toys, funny clothes for dogs, houses for cats and other things that delight not so much pets as their owners. Animals usually don't care what they play with, so they'll be fine with homemade toys.

In contact with

I, perhaps, agree with the statement of Socrates. Indeed, there are many different things in the world: necessary, optional and unnecessary. As Socrates said: "Easy pastime and pleasures obtained immediately, without labor, cannot give strength to the body, nor do they provide the soul with any valuable knowledge; on the contrary, occupations combined with hard work lead to the achievement of moral perfection." In my opinion In his opinion, by pleasure he meant things that are not needed and that you can do without without losing anything.These things are easily accessible, but they also take away the main thing - time.

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1. Hello. I think here we can agree with these two philosophers. I agree with Lao Tzu because for any old unnecessary thing you can come up with a new life. It is the same with spiritual feelings, with material ones, etc. Time passes and unnecessary thoughts, feelings go to the old plane and new emotions will always come to a new life, while the old ones will remain in the same memories. And we give these memories a new life, set new goals, using life experience that no one needs.
   But Socrates is right. Unnecessary things must be discarded. Probably they were created in order to be unnecessary in a timely manner, and old rubbish is always disposed of in order to acquire new one. This is the essence of life. We gain something, but we need to get rid of something!

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2. Good evening! I agree with Socrates, because, I believe, not every thing in the world can be useful to a person in one or another branch. A person has exactly as much as he needs for life. Sometimes, for some reason, a person cannot acquire this or that thing, but it happens that a person simply does not need this thing. Thus, each person has his own value, his own essence of the thing that he needs. After all, there is not much or little of something, there is exactly as much as a person desires. When we want this or that thing, we acquire it, but after a few days it turns out that we do not need it at all, and we do this a second and another time. Before buying something, you need to think, do I need it? And for what? Will this thing be of any use to me? It is better to follow the fact that many things in the world and in truth are of no use to us. And if you have already acquired some thing, then be kind and appreciate it, next time you will be wiser. I totally agree with Socrates!

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3. Hello! On reflection, I agree with the quote of Socrates, and at the same time I support the statement of Lao Tzu. There are indeed many things in the world that we do not need. But we need these things, and someone needs these things. For example, I have a lot of new all kinds of clothes that I did not wear for some reason. But there are poor, homeless, destitute people for whom clothing would be in dire need. Everyone has their own unnecessary things. But just because you don't need them doesn't mean others don't need them either.

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4. 
   Having read these statements of two philosophers, I can say that I adhere to the point of view of the philosopher Socrates. Since, not always some thing is needed by a person in life. For example, if a car is not important to me in my life, it has no value for me, then I will not buy it.
   But, on the other hand, Socrates most likely means the moral values ​​of a person. For example, someone values ​​​​his honor, while another does not need it at all, and therefore such a “thing” will no longer be needed by a person.
   Therefore, here it is worth thinking not only about material things, but also spiritual ones. After all, for whom this or that thing will be more precious than gold, and for whom it does not have a drop of value at all or he does not need it at all.

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5. 
   I cannot choose a certain side, since both philosophers are right in one way or another, the quotes colorfully and succinctly reflect the essence of human mood and striving for perfection. But however, Socrates' quote does not contradict Lao Tzu's quote at all, because Socrates does not give statements about the use of things, especially for any specific purposes. On the contrary, it confirms that in our life there are many things that we do not use, and we do not encounter many things at all. Accordingly, we do not need them! And if a person lacks something, then an inquiring mind connects, and we begin to look for a thing that could replace what is missing. We use things that are already unsuitable in one area or another, slightly modifying them and starting to use them again. That's when the statement of Lao Tzu will be appropriate!
   For example, the educator has his own piggy bank, where there are a lot of unnecessary things, but he does not throw them away because he knows that they can serve sooner or later for some purpose.
   That is why, in my opinion, both philosophers are right. Yes, there are many things in the world that I do not need, and yes, if a thing is not suitable for one purpose, then it can be used for another.

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6. Good afternoon, Svetlana Leonidovna. The great and wise philosophers offer us a little reasoning. I personally adhere to the opinion of SOCRATES. Why do we need things? Apply in action! But many of us never use it. Even the ones you just bought. Why? Yes, only because the impulse to buy a beautiful thing obscures a simple and important thought, why do you need it, you need it. Many things, in essence, remain in the chest "for later", suddenly come in handy. And these chests with things, already dusty and "decayed", we finally take out to the landfill, thereby freeing up space for new "unnecessary" things. Rights and Lao Tzu, arguing that things can be used for other purposes. Yes! But if there are not many of these things, and you know what these things are and where they are. But, if you have a lot of these things, most likely you will buy or make a new thing, for a specific purpose, than you will look for it in your "chests" to use it not for its intended purpose. How many developments do educators have, various games, manuals, etc. They accumulate every year, because new games, manuals, and developments are made. It’s a pity to throw them away, and they lie like a dead weight in boxes, drawers, and pantries ... Only sometimes, a general cleaning takes place, everything is reviewed, very old developments ... they are thrown away, some things are taken out and used, and the rest again adds up to " long box." And games are being prepared again ... etc.
   Free up your space. Breathe freely. There are so many things that I, and you, do not need.

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7. Hello, I believe that both philosophers are right to some extent. After all, there are things that really become unnecessary for us, and for some we find a new use, give them a new life. That is why both Socrates and Lao Tzu are right, we don’t need everything, but we don’t throw everything away either. Also, from a spiritual point of view, we forget about something and it becomes unnecessary for us, but we save something and find a use for it for any purpose.

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8. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna!
   I agree with the quote from Socrates and Lao Tzu. Indeed, there are things that do not constitute any value in life. We acquire them, and then get rid of them without hesitation, or use it in some other need. And of course, again, depending on what things are we talking about? You need to look at things with an open mind and understand why you need them.

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9. Hello! Svetlana Leonidovna. According to legend, Socrates said these words when he got into a rich house and examined its decoration.
   I heard this a few years ago and agreed with my mind. But I really deeply felt, realized them now.
   What did Socrates say? Yes, that the more you can create, the less you have the desire to acquire, consume, absorb. I realized that the more stable self-esteem, the less you need to reinforce it with elegant fashionable fine clothes, furniture, accessories, chains, a luxury car, a director's chair.
   I began to appreciate and love in a new way those things that I classify as "tools". I carefully choose them, because they are my assistants who come to the rescue in a tense moment. Not sparing money for their acquisition, because these are a computer, a camera, a car. I am attentive to the condition of my house, because it protects me from bad weather and heat, welcomes me and my family, and helps to relax and gain strength for new steps forward.
   And everything else...
   Souvenir shops, endless rows of stalls with clothes, furniture, jewelry, with something completely incomprehensible to me - they are always full of customers. Psychologically, they are vital.
   

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10. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna.
    Each philosopher born in his era thought in his own way.
    Socrates and Lao Tzu are both right in their statements.
    Each person has a different understanding of the value of things. Someone will first acquire a thing without thinking about whether he needs it. And some, before buying, weigh all the pros and cons very well. But there are people who will still have this thing or not. I think every sane person should have his own concept and reasoning about the meaning of things, both materially and spiritually.
    

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11. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna.
    I agree with the Socrates quote.
    To be happy, it is not necessary to have a yacht, a car, a lot of money. It is much more important not to be burdened by the past, to rejoice in the present (here and now), not to need anything and not to be afraid of the future.

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12. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna.
    I believe that Socrates is right, indeed, there are so many things in the world that I do not need. But Lao Tzu is also right. If a thing is not fit for one purpose, it can be used for another. For example, I was presented with some thing, from my point of view, I do not need it. She lies idle, but now I have an idea to make crafts out of this thing and take it to work, to kindergarten, where it will come in handy!
    I would combine these two sayings into one: "How many things there are that I do not need, but if a thing is not suitable for one purpose, it can be used for another."
    Udovina Galina

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13. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna!
    “There are so many things in the world that I don’t need” (Socrates)
    We really do not need many things in life, but our human way of life in everyday life says the opposite. We are accustomed to stocking up “just in case”, “what if it comes in handy”, but from my point of view, this is not right. We litter our lives with unnecessary things. It is necessary to take as a rule: clarity, necessity and necessity.

    “There is a thing that is not suitable for one purpose, it can be used for another” (Lao Tzu).
    Maybe you are right. But in life, the priority of the goal should prevail. If I set a goal, then I should go to it, and not exchange opinions.
    And in conclusion:
    How many people, so many opinions. There is no single life. Some will adhere to the opinion of Socrates, others Lao Tzu. Therefore, you need to set a purposeful goal and strive for it. Develop and try to live by the rules.
    

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14. It is difficult to say which phrase is closer to me. There is some truth in both one and the other. I agree with the Socratic phrase, because it is probably difficult to imagine a person who can use all things, objects, since a person is limited by life time, interests, profession, social circle, etc. and, on the other hand, the phrase of Lao Tzu appeals to me, since all people are again different. And it's great when a person can come up with a non-standard purpose for a thing. This trait is a creative personality or, conversely, a pragmatic one. Due to such people society is changing, progress is taking place.

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15. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna!
    Janusz Korczak "How to Love a Child"
    "to lie, do not lie, steal, do not steal..."
    My principle: "Let the child sin" is not beautifully written, paradoxically not beautiful and not smart ... The child begins to learn the surrounding phenomena and life in all its manifestations, offered by parents while still in the crib ... Loving a child does not mean what is needed, smiling to pick up a nipple for him, which he throws on the floor or casually and already rudely pushes away a glass of milk and spills it ... Already from this age, one must carefully and carefully monitor and direct his actions. in the eyes of my mother ... Already catching on the word and on the actions of the parents!
    Growing up a child gains life experience. For parents, for many, he remains a child for many, even very many years. The love of parents for a child globally depends on themselves. , with a criminal past. Well, very positive parents: judges, lawyers, teachers, diplomats, presidents ... Now we will directly answer the question: Korczak J. "How to love a child." What should be the dose of "bad for vaccination? A child , growing up, acquires colossal experience: bad and good. A smart parent, with his love, directs the child on the true path: punishes (as he does), forgives, knowing that the child thoroughly realized what he had done and "wound", as they say "by the mustache". To love a child is to put him on his feet. Try to make him an honest, fair, naturally intelligent person, well, educated. That's how you need to love a child ...

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16. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna!
    "How many things in the world that I do not need" (Short-
    ancient Greek thinker and philosopher).
    Things that surround a person, starting from birth, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, are needed as needed. First, we note: in order to survive, i.e. for an elementary existence in the world around him. Things to eat, develop mentally and physically, have a relatively normal rest, sleep ... The presence of things that are needed and surround a person is completely from the "type" of this person, so to speak, from his attitude , character, his hobbies. Basic, i.e. global aspirations to achieve something more in life, as well as "hobbies", i.e. small hobbies. Each person has his own individual ...
    Socrates, a thinker and philosopher who lived in ancient historical times, had his own living environment and those things that he encountered in everyday life. He used those things that interested him, that he needed, that were in his area of ​​attention. ..
    From here we will say that there were a lot of things that he did not need and naturally he did not use them. In our present time of the 20th century, with an even greater mass of things, aspirations and hobbies, similarly for any person (individual) - many things are not needed .
    "If a thing is not suitable for one purpose, it can be used for another" (Lao Tzu - Chinese philosopher and thinker).
    In those very old and ancient times, such a huge country as China, with a huge population even then, lived and developed not so comfortably ...
    A large population experienced a shortage of precisely those things that Lao Tzu mentions.
    If a thing is not suitable for one purpose, it was partially altered, modified and used for another purpose, or in general this thing (device, all kinds of tools, aggregate mechanisms were used for other purposes. They worked by performing other functions, operations, getting a certain positive result.
    As a result, our little philosophy, according to these two statements of the great thinkers and philosophers Socrates and Lao Tzu, is as follows ... The great thinkers and philosophers Socrates and Lao Tzu, in my opinion, of course, are both right.
    

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17. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna!
    "There are so many things in the world that I don't need" Socrates
    "If a thing is not fit for one purpose, it can be used for another"
    Lao Tzu
    These statements sound different, but I agree with both Socrates and Lao Tzu. One quote complements another. Each person interprets them depending on their visions, experiences, fantasies.
    If you look at the generation of our grandmothers, then every thing was necessary, because it got the hard way, and was stored in the house for many years and was always used.
    But now we live in a civilized world that has everything. When buying a new thing, we try to throw out or give someone the old one.
    Everyone decides for himself what he needs and what not. However, indeed, we sometimes surround ourselves with things that are not at all necessary. As they say, just in case.
    If a person from the civilized world is interchanged with a person from a tribe living in harmony only with nature and with himself, he will not be able to survive there without "supposedly unnecessary" and necessary things to which he is accustomed.

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18. I think Lau Tzu is right. Something that is not useful in one, may be useful in another. A person must be diversified. If a thing does not suit him in one, he can accept it in another.

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19. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna! I agree with the statement of Socrates. According to legend, Socrates said these words when he got into a rich house and examined its decoration. Indeed, we surround ourselves with things that we don’t really need, but there are times when unnecessary things become my helpers who come to the rescue in a tense moment. For example, a wrench may be needed once and lie for years, or it may be needed the next day. But I also agree with Lao Tzu's statement. There are a lot of things that some of them seem unnecessary, while others need the same things to create beautiful, and sometimes irreplaceable items. For example, corks from plastic bottles, from which you can make a beautiful garland or a flower bed from an unnecessary car tire. From there, my conclusion is that unnecessary things become necessary. If your imagination is developed and if you can create, then for you an unnecessary thing will turn into an object for creating something beautiful, necessary, and useful.

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20. Hello Svetlana Leonidovna. I am more inclined to Lao Tzu's statement "If a thing is not suitable for one purpose, it can be used for another." Let me give you an example: 2017 has been declared the year of ecology. A thing that has served a person can gain a second life. For example, any packing boxes can serve as bird feeders, substitute toys for children, hand over waste paper, thereby saving the forest. Those things that are not needed according to Socrates (household items) can be useful in various charity events.

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21. Hello Svetlana Leonidovna.
    One can agree with the statement of Socrates, indeed there are many things in our life that we can do without. For example, you can live without fashionable gadgets, the Internet, TV, car, etc. And you don't even have to be fashionable! To follow fashion means to live someone else's opinion, and not be the master of yourself and your life!
    It is more difficult to agree with the statement of Lao Tzu, because each created thing always has its own functional, direct purpose and there is simply no need to look for some additional functions.

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22. The statements of both philosophers are equally close to me.
    Let's turn to history...
    Socrates lived in constant need. "The less a man needs, the closer he is to the gods."
    He did not care about the maintenance of the family. "We must eat to live, not live to eat."
    Socrates always walked around the city barefoot, in one cape. Often, looking at the many things for sale, he said to himself: "There are so many things in the world that I can do without." And this was important for him, since he was used to being content with little.
    In our time, Socrates would be called a minimalist.
    A minimalist is a person who values ​​his time and spends it on his family, and does not scroll through a ton of unnecessary information in search of something incomprehensible, a person who appreciates simple things and simple relationships with them, a person who understands that comfort in the house is created with with the help of their own, special gizmos, valuable for their history, and not bought in a fit of shopaholism at a random sale
    A person who adheres to the principles of minimalism rather refuses unnecessary purchases consciously - because he understands that it is not worth overloading his house and life with things, that it is quite possible to do without a new acquisition - he does not suffer if he refuses to spend.
    It seems to me that minimalism is, fortunately, a universal worldview. And everyone can apply it to their life situation to the extent that they are ready, and based on their own needs.
    And now, regarding the saying of Lao Tzu, “If a thing is not suitable for one purpose, it can be used for another,” I want to recall one parable. Diogenes (who slept in a barrel) once saw a child drinking water from a stream, scooping it up by handfuls. "Old bastard! - shouted the sage, immediately snatched an earthenware jug from the knapsack and smashed it to smithereens. “And I have been carrying this weight with me for so many years.” And that's it…
    We are educators, we teach children to create at first glance from unnecessary things.
    And obsolete things acquire a new life. And it's wonderful!
    

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23. Hello Svetlana Leonidovna! Both statements are suitable in our time and everyone will understand it in their own way. I adhere more to Socrates. There is only one life and you don’t need to live in the past, you have to move forward!

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25. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna. I believe that both philosophers are right as they live, and Socrates says that there are many things that he doesn’t need, but he doesn’t think and doesn’t want to think about what he doesn’t have, but Lao Tzu says that no matter how much you don’t have unnecessary things, each and absolutely everyone can be used for other purposes, but if there are a lot of things and they are really not needed, then you need to review your chests and say to clean your thoughts and your house from unnecessary things. You always need to think before doing things, because today you can say that you don’t need “it”, and tomorrow you won’t be able to live without “it” and everyone has their own idea of ​​what he needs and what not. It is worth respecting your choice and the choice of your loved ones, many people think that they don’t need this or that thing, but they don’t think about their relatives, because if you don’t need this thing, it’s not a fact that your loved one cannot help but need it. You need to take care of things and think not about where to put it or where to shift it, you need to think about the fact that this or that thing can be used somewhere else, adapted to another place, in any case, I think that things need to be protected.

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26. Hello, Svetlana Leonidovna. I think both great philosophers are right. Indeed, there are things that some people do not need, but other people need. It all depends on the person himself, on his hobbies and type of activity. Each thing has its own purpose, and if it already exists and is named, then someone really needs it. Socrates said very wisely and gave food for thought. There are things that are in people's houses and they don't use them at all, then it's worth thinking about. Why should it be stored at all? You can offer someone to give it away and then this thing will be in demand for more than one year. Lao Tzu says that one thing can be used for other purposes. I began to think about what things can be used for other purposes. And I found a lot of bright and wonderful ideas. I came to the conclusion that the statements of Socrates and
    Lao Tzu can be combined into one statement. Things that are not needed can be used for other purposes and enjoy things with a new story.

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27. Elena Yarunina
    I, probably, will support the statements of both philosophers, since in the statement of Socrates there is a truth that in fact the things that we have sometimes turn out to be completely unnecessary to us. But we don't always get rid of them. And here the truth points to the statements of the philosopher Lao Tzu, since it really happens often - a thing that seemed completely unnecessary to us suddenly acquires a second life if we find a completely different use for it. And even if we don’t give them a second life, we can let others do it by giving these things we don’t need, to those whom they can still serve ....

It's useless to fight it. The desire to drag a lot of valuable things into your mink, to keep them longer is characteristic of all living things, even gophers. It remains only to relax and enjoy. And yet, you can optimize stocks, their position in space and your attitude towards them.

What is rubbish is a truly philosophical question. This is where the whole point lies: if you understand that there is rubbish, consider that you got rid of it.

Trying to define rubbish subject by subject is a hopeless business. For some, egg shells are garbage, and for some, valuable fertilizer for their favorite cabbage; to another, a bunch of old cogs and bolts is rubbish, and to another, a future transistor receiver. There are things that are rarely used, there are those that will never be useful, they lie and lie. Sometimes they warm the soul, sometimes they don't. Rubbish is just something that is never used, lies like a dead weight and does not warm the soul, but only makes you want to put it away and not see it.

Rubbish is not born, rubbish is made

The process of turning a normal thing into rubbish is complex and mysterious, the reasons and features of it lie in our soul. Here's a good thing, it's a pity to throw it away, maybe it will still come in handy. And a hopelessly out of fashion, but very high-quality coat or a bunch of children's rompers are sent to the mezzanine in anticipation of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In a couple of years, even illusory hopes will melt away that the grandchildren will wear it, but the thing is good, it’s a pity to throw it away, well, suddenly it will come in handy.

But this thing will definitely come in handy! And another board is dragged into the house, which should become a handmade super chest of drawers, or a piece of fabric is bought, from which someday, when I learn how to sew, I will sew a dress. And it doesn’t matter that I’ll never learn to sew anyway ...

But this wildly cute little thing, of course, is not useful at all. But she is so cute that there is simply no way to throw her away. And empty perfume bottles, coffee jars, candy boxes and old wall calendars with crumpled but wildly cute pictures are stored, stored in our house.

Sometimes very good, useful and necessary things become trash. Only now they are useful and necessary not at all to us, but to someone else, but we, crushed by stereotypes in the spirit of “every decent family should have a crystal vase”, litter our house with cheese cutters, turbo mops, coffee sets and smart books that we don’t want to read even under pain of death. All this is neatly folded into cabinets and is never used in life, because it is perhaps more pleasant to bite off cheese from a large piece, and drink coffee from large mugs.

Various (useless) little things that are rarely used, but are difficult to store, litter the space very well. It is much easier to buy new candles for a cake at X hour than to look for where you put the old ones.

The apartment is almost hopelessly cluttered with various large-sized rubbish. For example, an old, solid and dull wardrobe or chest of drawers. He will survive both you and your grandchildren, but your grandmother could not look at him without tears.

Junk is possibly very good, but potentially unnecessary or hopelessly outdated things. All this accumulates, occupies cupboards, mezzanines and pantries, collects dust, fills the living space, requires care and consumes energy. We need to get rid of all this, and the sooner the better.

The fight against rubbish comes down, in essence, to just two actions. First - you need to understand that it is he who is in front of you. The second - you need to find the strength in yourself to throw him out of the house. And this should be done easily, effortlessly, so that not only your house, but also your inner world is cleared of rubbish.

15 ways to get rid of junk

Let's play moving.

During cleaning, periodically ask yourself the question: "If I were moving to a new apartment now, would I take this thing with me?" If a thing is not needed in a new apartment, then why keep it in this one?

Matroskin's first lesson.

If you want to get rid of junk and enjoy it, sell something you don't need. Imagine that you have no money at all, and you are forced to sell things. What would you sell first? So sell it, and with the money you get, buy something you really need.

Matroskin's second lesson.

To sell something you don't need, you must first buy something you don't need. But we will not do this. Before you buy a big thing, imagine what will happen to it in 5 years. You can't imagine anything good or reasonable, you don't need this thing.

"Boogie-woogie kick 27."

Right now, get up and walk around the apartment with a garbage bag in your hands. You must find 27 things you don't need and throw them away immediately. The trash lies right in front of you, you just need to look at it in a new way. Pay special attention to magazines, newspapers, expired medicines, old batteries, non-working pens and markers, empty cassette boxes, empty bottles, old sponges and rags, torn tights and socks.

We throw out on flylady.

Look at the item and ask yourself the following questions:

I love this item? Have I used it within the last year? Is it really trash? Do I have the exact same item but better? Do I really need two of these items? I love this item because it brings back memories to me and feelings? Or does she make me feel guilty and sad when I see her? Clear the room of everything that does not make you smile.

Man is a friend of a dog.

Get a puppy. A kitten would be fine too. Everything unnecessary will be quickly gnawed and torn to shreds. Everything that you thought you needed, but did not hide in time - too. And now you can throw it all away with a light conscience

Organize a hellhole.

Let's be realistic: it's impossible to achieve the ideal, it's impossible to get rid of rubbish completely. Therefore, we will give our home junk a cozy place, for example, a small bedside table. And we will store all the rubbish in this wonderful bedside table, and only in it. Sooner or later, the bedside table will fill up, there will be nowhere to put a new portion of rubbish, and we will have to solve the problem of what is junk from our household junk, what to put in the bedside table, and what to throw out after all. A sanctioned viper is an extremely convenient thing: the amount of trash in the apartment is limited, everything is in one place, and at the same time, you don’t have to step on your favorite corns and completely get rid of old jars and cones set aside for a rainy day. But remember that there can only be one viper in a house.

holiday season

Dacha is wonderful and useful. It helps to easily and without remorse rid the house of a boring solid chest of drawers, out-of-fashion curtains with teapots and old jeans, but here it is important not to go to extremes and not deliberately litter the dacha itself.

In the best traditions.

It seems that in Italy it is customary to throw rubbish and old things out of the house on New Year's Eve. Isn't it a wonderful tradition? A holiday of renewal, a holiday of getting rid of junk. Be sure to celebrate it at least 2 times a year.

Trash can.

With its help, it is very convenient to get rid of various trifles. However, if the basket is large, then it can help in the fight against larger trash. All that you don't know where to put; all that you do not know what to attach to; everything that you think is useful to you, but it is not yet clear how, you put in this basket. Let it lie down. Once a week, month, quarter, the entire contents of the basket are mercilessly thrown away. The really necessary things will already be extracted from it by that time, and everything else is rubbish.

Formatting the hard drive.

This method helps well to deal with papers, documents, disks, photographs. Imagine that the filing cabinet is not a cabinet, but a hard drive that you have to format tomorrow. Everything of value must be saved today. Everything else will be destroyed. Save what you have the strength and desire for. These are really valuable things. And the rest is not a pity to throw away.

Worse than a Tatar.

This method is similar to the previous one, but requires a truly samurai endurance from the performer. First you hide everything of value, and then you invite guests and offer to take away whatever they like from the rest. As an added bonus, you get the opportunity not to take out the trash from the apartment - the guests will take everything out themselves.

Gifts you don't need.

About a bunch of unnecessary gifts that fills our house several times a year, I want to say separately. A napkin from Marya Petrovna from the staff, a vase from Elena Mikhailovna from the accounting department, an apron on duty from her mother-in-law, 24 postcards to “beloved class teacher from 6 b” .... It is good if there are checks on the gifts and they can be returned to the store. If there are no checks, unnecessary gifts can be re-gifted. Napkin - beloved mother-in-law, a vase - Marya Petrovna. It will be more difficult with postcards, but you can also get rid of them - write thanks to each student on the postcard in response and return them back. The main thing is to crush the “inconvenient and dishonorable” complexes in oneself, it is inconvenient to store all this, and dishonestly to throw it in the trash.

If you can't change the world, then change your attitude towards it.

If you stubbornly fail to throw away the trash, you can change your attitude towards it. For example, you can declare yourself a collector, and then your school folder with crumpled postcards will become not junk, but a collection. Can't you throw away the bronze chandelier that your beloved mother-in-law decided to keep in your apartment? Call it a family heirloom and tell guests the tales and legends associated with this antique.

When getting rid of rubbish, it is important not to fall into two extremes: on the one hand, do not turn into Plushkin and still rid your house of various junk, on the other hand, you must remember that, in fact, some are old and unnecessary we need things.

A few words in defense of trash

Probably, each of us in childhood dreamed of a house with a large attic filled with all sorts of things; or at least about a big grandmother's chest, where every time you find something new and interesting. Probably, today it is worth starting to create such a chest for your future grandchildren.

Yes, and we ourselves sometimes need to look at the dress in which she danced at the graduation, or even at the corner in which you were discharged from the hospital; re-read old letters and newspapers, paint the entire bathroom mirror with expired lipstick, smile at a teddy bear with a torn off paw.

Smirnova Tatiana
qyl.ru

The famous French philosopher Denis Diderot lived in poverty almost all his life, but the turning point came in 1765.

By that time, Diderot was 52 years old and his daughter was about to get married, but her father had no funds for a dowry. Despite his lack of wealth, Diderot's name was widely known as he co-founded and authored a monumental work called the Encyclopedie, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of the day.

When Catherine the Great, Empress of the Russian Empire, learned of Diderot's financial difficulties, she offered to sell her the personalized library for £1,000, which is about $50,000 today.

This successful deal largely saved Diderot from disgrace. He could afford a lot and soon acquired a new scarlet (the solemn outer garment or mantle of monarchs or kings of purple or scarlet color). From that moment the problems started.

Diderot effect

Diderot's outfit was incredibly beautiful. So handsome that everything else in his clothes and home decoration looked ridiculous and slovenly, and this made Diderot feel disheartened. He saw the only way out of this situation only in buying new things.

First, he replaced his old carpet with a new one from Damascus. He decorated his house with sculptures and a beautiful kitchen table, bought a new mirror and a leather chair.

Now craving for such spontaneous purchases is called the Diderot effect. This effect describes a situation where the purchase of a new item creates a so-called consumption spiral, that is, it leads to the purchase of other new items. As a result, we keep buying things we don't really need.

Portrait of Denis Diderot. Artist - Louis Michel (Louis-Michel), 1767. The painting depicts Diderot in a robe very similar to the one whose purchase once provoked the effect of Diderot.

Why do we crave things we don't need?

The Diderot effect should not be underestimated: unfortunately, we are all prone to making unreasonable and rash purchases. You can buy a new car and in addition to it, you can buy a bunch of different gadgets and equipment: a tire pressure monitor, a car charger for a mobile phone, an extra umbrella in the car, a first aid kit, a penknife, a flashlight, rescue blankets, and even some - some knife for cutting seat belts.

You can meet a similar pattern of behavior in other areas of life:

1. You buy a new dress and be sure to buy new shoes and earrings for it.
2. You buy a subscription to the gym and consider it obligatory to buy a new sports uniform.
3. You get a new sofa and think: maybe you should update other elements of your interior?

Such is the nature of man: we do not simplify something, we do not reduce it to a minimum, but on the contrary, we enrich, increase, develop.

How to control the Diderot effect?

The Diderot effect teaches us to focus on what matters most. There are too many things around us, and our resources are limited, so it is useful to be able to separate the main from the secondary. How to do it? You can try the following:

1. Avoid triggers. Almost every habit is activated by some kind of trigger. One quick way to reduce the power of the Diderot effect is to avoid the triggers that make it happen. Unsubscribe from online shopping newsletters. Call the retailers who send you product catalogs and cancel your subscription. Meet your friends in the park, not in the mall. Block your access to your favorite online stores.

2. Choose items that go well with what you already have. If you stick to this principle, then when buying a new dress or sofa, you will not be tempted to buy something to go with it. Buying electronics? Make sure that you already have all the available adapters and adapters for connecting equipment.

3. Set limits. Limit your shopping. Designate a specific amount, more than which you will not spend, and keep your word.

4. Bought one, gave away one. Every time you buy something new, donate your old item. Bought a new TV? Give someone an old one. Don't move it to another room, just donate it to someone. The idea is to avoid the accumulation of things in your home. Leave next to you only what brings you joy and happiness.

5. Go shopping-free for a month. Next month, do not allow yourself even the most insignificant purchase. Instead of buying a new lawn mower, borrow one from a neighbor. The more we limit ourselves, the more conscious our behavior becomes.

6. Don't follow your desires. Of course, no one will ever reach such a level of awareness. We always want something. We always strive to acquire something that will be better than the previous one. But such a line of behavior will only lead you to permanent frustration: you bought a new car, but after a while you wanted another, more expensive one, and so on. Not getting satisfaction from one, you are already drawn to the other. Learn to enjoy what you already have.