This article discusses how excessive accumulation of possessions can negatively impact well-being and the environment. It notes a growing trend of simplifying one's life to increase happiness. The author describes his own experience reducing consumption which freed him from being controlled by things. Buddhists believe material wealth does not lead to satisfaction, only suffering, for oneself and the planet. Simplifying life through decreasing purchases can both help the environment by creating less garbage and increase personal happiness.

1. http://www.good.is/posts/how-much-stuff-is-too-much-stuff-the-art-of-downsizing?
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How Much Stuff Is Too Much Stuff? The Art of Downsizing
The article is mainly about the relationship between of the value between happiness
and collection of personal materials.
People are increasingly sounding alarm bells over our dependence on material items:
gadgets, clothes, and technology and the affect it’s all having on our well being, not to
mention the planet.
Author Graham Hill recently talked about his struggle with consumption for the New
York Times “Somehow this stuff ended up running my life, or a lot of it; the things I
consumed ended up consuming me.” He added, that how simplifying his life have
helped him finding his own happiness.
The trend indicates that people are realizing, which is one of the Buddhists’ believes,
that material wealth does not lead to satisfaction, but rather suffering -- for ourselves,
and the Earth. The Dalai Lama wrote in The Path to Enlightenment, that a materialistic
mind is extremely fragile and unstable, since its happiness is based on the physical
circumstances, which does not last long.

2. This article is related with our garbage issue, since garbage is closely related to
purchases. If people start to follow the trend of simplifying their lives and decrease their
purchase rate, then less garbage will be dumped, which both contributes on the Earth’s
and their happiness.
Have an idea about the 5 creative ways of simplifying your life and contributing on your
happiness by visiting this place:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/01/25/5-creative-ways-to-upsize-your-life-by-
downsizing/