Whether it is storing berries for the winter, or adding to our expansive collection of DVDs, human beings perceive a larger quantity of something to be more desirable. However, if you stop and consider the stress the accumulation of these things creates in your life, you may be able to reverse this thinking.
That's where I'm at - trying to reverse that thinking. I know I have way too much for comfort, even, never mind necessity.
Another reason I crave more Stuff is fear. After a long period, some years ago, with no income, I now fear that that will happen again and I will have to choose between buying shampoo and toilet paper, between soap and the bus fare to a medical appointment. The thought of finding myself in that situation again makes me scared to get rid of even the smallest of things. "What if I need it?" is the mantra. But it has to change.
I have improved already with this, a lot, but it still underlies a lot of my procrastinating about what to keep and what to throw. Giving things to someone else who will use them helps, it makes me feel less wasteful, and especially if I can give it to a charity shop I know that it benefits me, it benefits the charity, and it benefits the person who buys the item for a bargain price.
which, appropriately, I have borrowed from the library, it has become clear to me that there is too much stuff around us. Around me in particular.