minimalism

Cut the Crap- My Minimalist Beginning

on/28 comments

My Journey to less

Less stuff. Minimal crap.

This ought-ta be fun. Join me!

Since I lost my job in September of last year- I’ve been looking for another one with no prevail. (Another blog, another time…) I’ve always been the kind of person who’s mind constantly goes a million miles an hour and this only made it worse… how am I going to pay bills? My student loans? Buy food? Gas? Medical bills for my kidney stones? Gahh.

First thing’s first- I did what a lot of people would do- bawl. Then I’d go from crying hysterically to laughing at the hot mess I got myself into. Then cry again. Then drink a bottle of wine.

Then I got real. Staring in November of last year I started selling my things on EBAY. I’ve been doing it on and off over the years when I needed extra cash- and now that I REALLY needed the money, it seemed obvious to start again.

It was then that i realized how much freaking CRAP I really have accumulated over the years. (see pictures below) The articles of clothing I would find in places I never knew existed- clothes that probably wouldn’t fit over one boob if I tried. The old books from the second grade, excess jewelry, electronics, purses.. oh does the list go on and on and on and on and on. Half the stuff I didn’t even knew existed! Plus, most of it has no sentimental value… so I thought perhaps some of it has monetary value. Heck, a dollar at a time could add up, right? (Yes, I know all about the fees of selling things online too, ha ha)

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***Side note: This is one bedroom. ONE. Don’t even try to imagine the rest of the house. ANNNNDDD interestingly, we have moved 5 times in 6 years and thought we ‘weeded’ out a lot of stuff already. Right.***

Another reason why I started selling my stuff is due to a bit of soul searching. I felt selfish for having so much. I am pretty poor, but I do have lots of excess things that just sit in drawers. If others can use it, why should I be selfish and keep it? I have to kick myself in the butt sometimes when I’m having my own personal pity party…(hey, we all deserve one once in awhile) … times when I think about all the things that I don’t have and all the things I want. A new car, a big ol’ diamond, money to actually put IN my wallet, trips to luxurious places around the world. After the personal butt-kicking, I would remind myself of the less fortunate people in the world and how many struggle to simply have a roof over their head or food on the table each day. I decided to stop whining and be just a tad bit less hypocritical everyday.

Reading post of minimalists on the internet, it amazes me how some of these men and women can part with literally THOUSANDS of items in their home. I’ve read blogs and sites of some who only have 100 things. Or 288 things – like I read on Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus’ website. It seems impossible- but it also seems so liberating. I’d love the feeling to literally be able to fit all that I have in a car and go travel at the drop of a hat. To not do a thousand loads of laundry every week for two people. TO NOT LET MY ITEMS OWN ME. To not let them control me. To not constantly have to clean all the time, or find places for junk. Today, I think I have something like 8 junk drawers. Sick. I’d love the feeling of only having the necessities and getting my pleasures of life from EXPERIENCES, not tangible items. So instead of thinking about it some more, I’m gonna’ DO IT.

index                      minm

Plus, trippin’ over my crap literally makes my blood boil. Lets get rid of it. GET RID OF IT ALL!

Back to selling stuff. Its January 22 and as of right now I have a mere 82 things on eBay. They have this sweet promotional thing going on for the next some-odd days to list over 1,000 things for free- so I’m going to be taking advantage of that and be an eBay selling ninja.

Some of you may not care that I’m selling as many of my things as I can, or why- but I needed to post it online as a sort of… personal accountability. Even if zero people read this blog (my first, by the way) I will still feel the personal obligation to fulfill my end of the deal – which I think will make me more successful in the end.

While I am selling things, I’m going to weed through the things that probably aren’t worth anything. Things I can toss/recycle, donate, give away, etc. I can’t even muster up the gumption to count my stuff as a starting point, but once this journey is done- I hope to easily be able to. That’s kinda the whole point, right?

Follow me on my own journey of sales and minimalism, or heck- start your own journey with me! Check back for updates!

Warm wishes are always welcome! 🙂

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There are 28 comments

  1. laurie

    I wish you best of luck on this journey. we have down sized and I blogged about it and other life mysteries for several yeas but just made the decision to take a break for a bit, from blogging not from down sizing, down sizing was THE best thing we ever did, it has created such a sense of calm and order I would never trade back to the life of ” stuff “. I am also going blind so that was another reason, less stuff means easier to find what I’m looking for. Don’t worry , we have all been where you are with stuff, you will be fine, slowly slowly, baby steps, best wishes on the new blog, oh and many sales on Ebay!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. reneex12

      Thanks for your kind words and input! I strive for that sense of calm and order like you achieved! I’m sorry to hear about going blind- and I know ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it- but I get the sense that you are a strong person and will thrive. And yes- it takes LOTS of baby steps.. heck- I’ll crawl if I have to! 🙂 Have a great day

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  2. howtobejillian

    I think it’s fantastic that you’re doing this! I have always been fairly minimalistic, but it’s amazing that there is always more to sell or donate. I don’t even understand where it all comes from! I hope you start to feel more free 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Heather

    I wish you the best. It’s great you are setting the seeds of change at a young age. I am now 40 and have been a simplest/minimalist most of my life- since I was 16. It sure makes your life so much easier. Don’t give up and enjoy the process and know that’s it’s going to ebb and flow, just like life. Looking forward to more of your posts.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Joy

    Best of luck to you – I feel the need to declutter a lot, especially with Spring coming around. I tend to not have enough time to actually put things up for sale so much of my stuff just goes in a bag for Goodwill – at least it is out of the house and going to someone who needs it! Thanks for the follow as well 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Benjamin J. Gohs

    Half my life I tied my happiness to the ability to buy stuff. Shopping was a gleeful event, and the race to gather more, more, more never seemed to wane. There was no single aha moment. But, slowly, I began to realize all the stuff in the world wasn’t going to make me happy. Kudos on your decision to reduce your reliance on the false security of inanimate objects.

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  11. grammyg53

    It’s incredibly freeing to actually have empty space in cabinets, drawers, closets, cupboards… the garage… can’t wait to read more of your blog 🙂

    Try Craigslist, too. I am amazed at how much crap you can sell on it. We did it when we moved 2 years ago. And Facebook… depending upon where you live there should be pages where you can have an online yard sale. Supposedly. I’m not on facebook any more… part of my decluttering of life and getting rid of the toxic crap.

    FREE!!!!!! it is wonderful… wonderful… wonderful 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  12. jenniferhastonsays

    Great post! Hope that you are still working hard on it. Like someone else said, its not a one and done thing.. you have to constantly be on guard for not “accumulating more stuff” while still purging the things that you are getting rid of, we are about to do this because we are moving soon– so NOT looking forward to that!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. bisaster

    Awesome, awesome, awesome. How’s the journey going? We are in the process of minimalizing too. Very overwhelmed at the moment. Just to give you an idea we have 10 bicycles in the house…..for two of us.

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    1. Renee

      That’s definitely a problem for me too! I’m trying my hardest to not create ‘sorting’ piles but just to deal with the item as I pick it up. If I fill a bag of garbage or a donation bag – I TRY to get rid of it right then.

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  15. violetannie63

    I wish you all the luck in the world in de-cluttering and simplifying your life. I have tried many times and failed. I am a hoarder…not quite at the certified level of hoarding yet but gettin’ pretty close… But I live in hope of getting better and getting by with less…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Renee

      Thank you! It’s taking time and patience.. but its slowly transforming me into the person I want to be. Good luck with your journey as well..I’m sorry to hear that it’s ended up less-than-ideal many times. But failure often leads to success – you learn from it! anything I learn that may be able to help I will share with you.

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  16. Mike Dale

    Hi. Just come across this post (thanks for liking one of mine btw) and it made me smile. I have moved home often and always have a major ‘claret’, but I still come across things a year later that I didn’t remember having. When I last moved, four years ago, I found two tea-chests in the basement of the old house that had still not been opened – so I threw them out without looking. Radical, eh? 🙂
    Good luck with the challenge and I will keep up with new instalments.
    Mike

    Liked by 1 person

  17. 29andbr0ke

    I have a question! What are the fees like in comparison to what you make? Like, I have a lot of stuff I could potentially sell to help get my debt snowball rolling, but is it really worth it to sell something for $10 when shipping eats up $5 of it? Should I get a minimum amount before I sell something to avoid making more work for myself than necessary? What do you think.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Renee

      Great questions! You charge THEM for shipping – so you don’t lose out. ebay usually charges a final selling fee based on a percentage of the price of the item sold – but that doesn’t eat away too much of the profits! eBay and craigslist (no fees) are what I use! And it’s very simple to get started! Let me know if you have any other specific questions!

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