Less is More

My emotional roller coaster of parting with our things continues on. I am experiencing a plethora of feelings; from excitement, to frustration, to a sense of being overwhelmed and unable to focus on anything. So I go online to read about how others felt during this process… Many have said it was difficult yet liberating. I say , that’s not enough to console myself during this process, I know I am not alone. Once I am done, out of the fog and we have completed the process my outlook will probably be, challenging yet liberating. Funny how often things seem so big in the moment and a little blip in the memory! Ok, back to my assessment of accessories. It’s crazy that I spent so much of my life looking for stuff, buying stuff and acquiring stuff! You know that saying” a fool and his money are easily parted”. Now I get it! It is so easy to spend, hard to make and even harder to get it back from something you bought. This has opened my eyes to my spending habits. I will admit it, if I liked something I bought it, if I thought I needed something there was no stopping me. I was on the hunt, and if I wanted it and couldn’t decide on a color, I would buy both! Now that I look back on my actions I see what I was doing. Trying to fill a void, giving myself a false sense of purpose. We all have goals, dreams, aspirations. Well, when I didn’t have a goal to work towards I would begin to feel restless and to ease the discontent I would shop. Shopping to me was like a quest for the best deal, the elusive boot (which I never did find, and am now grateful that I didn’t) the perfect little knick knack to fill that empty spot. The real empty spot was me not fulfilling my destiny. I always thought, well, if we had this, whatever it was,maybe I would feel content and be able to get out of my rut. Not the case. I was just trying to placate my desires for a different way of life with material things. I would like to blame my actions on my childhood in that we didn’t have much. Nope, that just reminds me that you don’t need much to live a full life. So, if anything, I need to get back to my roots, the basics and enjoy life. I feel like the flowers of spring, growing, slowly changing and soaking up what this experience has already taught me about myself, so I can be the flower that cherishes the glory of this wonderful life.

How to separate yourself from your stuff to get ready to live in an RV fulltime, or whatever it is that you have chosen to do.

* ask yourself, do I use this?

* do you own it, or does its memory own you?

*when did I use it last?

* someday won’t cut it if you haven’t used it yet.

* if you still are on the fence, take a picture of it and let go ( suggested by a few fellow bloggers).

*family air looms; ask family or a close friend to hold onto it, preferably the person you would want to have it if you were to die… Hey , you never know.

One thing that amazed me was how hard it was in the moment to let go of something, and the next day i seriously couldn’t remember what it was. So remind yourself that once you let go, you can go on 🙂

A couple days after selling a few of my favorite candles (which by the way is gold canyon candles, best candle ever), I was pondering the real meaning of stuff in our lives and thought of my friends and family. When I thought of them, not for a second did I think about what they have. I thought of who they are and how I feel when I am with them or talk to them. In that instant everything changed. My stuff doesn’t define me. My character, my values, my actions, those are the things that matter in life. Since that day a weight has been lifted.

So here we are, less than two weeks out from our first yard sale and rooms are filling up as we clear out the hiding spots. I really didn’t think we had this much stuff. Thankfully Mitch’s sister Cindy is coming to help!

What a blessing she is in my life. Kind, funny, giving, with a warm loving heart. She can make working in the rain, slopping through mud that pulls off your boots, a super fun time! Let’s just hope the rain doesn’t find us this time!

4 thoughts on “Less is More”

I hope your yard sale went well. 🙂

zeeb2012 says:

April 7, 2013 at 1:37 am

Thanks chicka!! It was a great day!

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Just this evening had a conversation with my daughter about all my “stuff”…and ridding myself of it. Beginning to contemplate selling all (or most) in exchange for simplicity and a RV life. I feel a strong pull in that direction. Perfect timing for stumbling across your blog!

happy travelers says:

January 20, 2014 at 5:22 am

I am a big believer in following your heart. I wish you all the best in your future plans, in simplifying, traveling and life dream achieving!

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