General Question

TrevorMaryWeatherALL's avatar

I always lock the 2 doors (front and back) at night, and when I leave the house, and it seems pretty important to me. Does safe-guarding my shit fairly meticulously make me materialistic?

Asked by TrevorMaryWeatherALL (50points) July 14th, 2010

I’ve heard it’s a good idea not to put too much value into material things, and I try not to, really. But there are THINGS that mean a lot to me, and that I would like to protect here in the confines of my home. Does this make me un-free? Is this unnecessary or obsessive?

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16 Answers

janbb's avatar

Not at all; no need to make yourself feel neurotic about it. I often don’t lock my door when leaving the house during the day but I think I’m in the minority. Wanting to keep your stuff from being stolen does not equate to being overly-materialistic.

NaturallyMe's avatar

That’s not being materialistic in the least bit! Now if you put more value on things than you do on your loved ones, i might say you’re a tad materialistic then… ;)

CMaz's avatar

It seems practical to me. Possibly with a splash of OCD. :-)

trailsillustrated's avatar

no of course not I do that plus set an alarm

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

No it doesn’t make you materialistic. It all depends where you live. Around this area, the idiots steal anything that isn’t locked up. Two morons just got busted for stealing a riding lawnmower, just for an example. I have a lot of things that mean a lot to me, not for their cost or value, but for the experiences they represent to me. If someone took them because I didn’t lock up, I’d be bummed big time. Your stuff is your stuff. Don’t sweat it.

NaturallyMe's avatar

It’s SOP (standard operating procedure, LOL) for me to do this everytime we go out: lock every single door of the house, set the alarm and make sure the electical fence around the property is on.
At night time we also lock all doors as well as lock the security gate in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

MyNewtBoobs's avatar

Ask yourself this: If you had nothing in your apartment but a mattress and sheets, a chair, a desk, some tools, paper and pen, and some food in the fridge, would you still lock your door? If you answer “yes”, then you, like most people, are trying to enforce healthy boundaries and protect yourself from being violated by an intruder.

john65pennington's avatar

If it will make you feel any better, i also lock both front and rear doors and i also turn on my burglar alarm. its not materialistic, “its mine and i want it to stay that way”.

You are not alone.

marinelife's avatar

Think of it as wanting to protect your person from an unwanted intruder.

Austinlad's avatar

Materialistic? Not at all. You worked for your stuff, you care about your stuff—you have the right to be protective of your stuff.

But having said that, you wouldn’t want to make your stuff to be so important to you that you couldn’t deal with the loss of it.

Seaofclouds's avatar

I do the same thing when I leave. If someone is going to break into my house and steal the things that I’ve worked hard for or the things I care a lot about, they are going to have to work for it. I will not make it easy for them by giving them the ability to just walk right in and take whatever they want.

loser's avatar

I think it makes you smart. Who wants to have their stuff stolen?

Siren's avatar

It took time to find, shop around and buy the things you needed and wanted for you. I think if everything you own could be replaced tomorrow, it would not be as big a deal. However, some things have much practical value in your life, if only to relieve stress after a long day at work. Secondly, it’s better to lock up and feel paranoid in my opinion, then to come home to a “surprise visitor” who is also armed.

So, the short answer for me is: no, it’s not materialistic in my point of view, for those reasons.

zophu's avatar

Depends on the psychology behind the actions.

Neizvestnaya's avatar

No, it means whatever you have be it a lot or a little then it has value to you, for whatever reasons. You could be materialistic or just really practical and on limited funds to not be able to replace your basic necessities.

anartist's avatar

No, it makes you prudent.

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