Cleaning out some stuff in my room, I noticed that I have often kept packaging for various stuff—for instance, the original box that came with some electronic gadget. At times, this has been helpful for getting more resale value buying/selling used stuff, but overall it is a space-hogging activity that doesn't do much good.

It was through buying and selling used stuff that I first recognized this habit I had picked up and learned how to get over it. Usually, buying used stuff, you don't get the original packaging. And I found that this was just fine—I haven't ever really wished I had the original packaging for anything I own.

What is given?

This got me thinking that indeed it is true the most precious things don't come in packages. What comes in packages? Manufactured goods. People, animals, plants, rocks—these things do not come in packages. Nor do many human-made things. Candles, desks, shelves, and other products of traditional crafts may come in packages but this need not be so. And they certainly don't come with bar codes all the time like computer chips do, which require unique identifiers.

Tools and "Consumables"

We should understand that things don't last forever, just as we don't get infinite time to be alive on this earth. When I die, what will happen to my stuff? Hopefully the things I have will be useful to someone, so that everything I have can be put to good use. Not having as much stuff makes things simpler for obvious reasons.