Peace Pilgrim (July 18, 1908 – July 7, 1981) born Mildred Lisette Norman, was an American pacifist, vegetarian, and a peace activist.
She said "Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions."
From: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/anything_you_cannot_relinquish_when_it_has/325792.html