Preparing to Downsize

Finially emerging from the endless sea of "stuff!" Steps and tips we used to help us downsize with the least amount of stress and tears.

In preparing to go on the road fulltime, we knew the first thing we had to do was de-clutter. I'm almost ashamed to admit, my husband and I are impulse shoppers and recovering Amazon addicts...LOL. Joking...but, seriously, we had a real problem. Needless to say, over the years we accumulated a lot of "stuff." Tons of unworn clothes, unused (or barely used) gadgets and small appliances, baby clothes, some with tags still on it (my youngest child is 5), and a host of other nice but completely unnecessary items that we had no use for.

“My husband and I are impulse shoppers and recovering Amazon addicts...LOL.”

The thought of clearing out all the "stuff" left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, I felt like a huge weight would be lifted once we were rescued from the sea of raging consumerism and overindulgence. I thought it would be liberating..and it was to a certain extent. However, I didn't immediately feel liberated, but instead felt a bit of sadness. I had no idea I had any emotional ties to all the stuff I had stored up. It actually caught me by surprise. I don't think I was sad about getting rid of my useless treasures so much as what the treasures represented in my mind. It represented "the familiar." It represented a life (or lifestyle) that I was now leaving behind. Ladies and gentlemen, I was scared.

"I had no idea I had any emotional ties to all the stuff I had stored up. It actually caught me by surprise."

At this point, I knew this new lifestyle was not only a physical change but also a mental and spiritual change that left me wondering if I was even brave enough to embrace such a drastic change. After going back and forth with myself going over pros and cons and much prayer, we finally agreed that minimalism is what God placed in our hearts and it was time to downsize. But where do we even start?

A Good Place to Start

The best place to start may be different depending on the person or situation. However, the best place to start for us was the closets. I pulled everything out of the closets and threw it on the bed, Marie Kondo style! I then made three piles; keep, donate, and trash. DO NOT do a "maybe" pile. Trust me on this one. It's counterproductive. If you haven't worn it in the last 12 months...it's time to donate. It was bumpy at first but, we got through it.

Once we finished the closets, then we headed over to the kitchen. This part of the house was even worse than the closets. Mugs, wine glasses, cups, pots, pans galore! We had over thirty mugs! Why in the world did we have OVER THIRTY MUGS?! There's so much I could say here but, I'll save myself the embarrassment and just say we got rid of a lot of stuff.

After we managed to climb out of the kitchen disaster, we headed over to the bathrooms. We got rid of any duplicate items we may have had (lotions, body washes, shampoos, conditioners, etc.)...and we had a lot of it.

Once we got rid of all "the stuff" we felt like we could breathe again. Minimalism is the way to go! We don't ever plan to get caught up in "the stuff" ever again whether we're living in a big house or a tiny RV.