Stuff steals your joy and suffocates your life.
Do you believe this? I do. I’m on a mission to become weird.
Dave Ramsey says, “Don’t be broke. Be Weird”.
He suggests to look at what everyone else is doing and run the other way. The Joneses want stuff: cars, houses, furnishings, clothes, and the bills that pay for the stuff put a noose around their neck that one hiccup in life–an accident, a car repair, a broken appliance–leaves them “stuffocated”.
Nerdwallet says the average household is $135,924 in debt.
Bloomberg says $16,000 of that is credit card debt.
No. More. Stuff.
Nearly three years ago my family of four took a vacation and all of our needs fit into two backpacks. If we had taken more stuff we have checked bags and missed flight connections. We each had three or four sets of clothes and washed them in the sink and hung them to dry. We were minimalists and it was an experience that left us thirsting for more–I mean less–stuff.
Over the last eight weeks, we have sold so much stuff. At the same time, we put our house on the market to sell. Last week we closed on the sale. No one would have said our home was cluttered. Judgments say we lived simply. We didn’t pour additional concrete for the driveway or build a shop, or fill the house with furnishings. Simply to others felt “stuffocated” to us. We leased a 997 square foot 2-bedroom apartment for four people. The girls share a bedroom and we have a dog. No amount of downsizing prepared us for the transition. No matter how small our material goods are there was still too much stuff. We still have a few boxes of stuff to take to Goodwill, and we are 100% debt free. We are FREE! Here’s what we’ve learned.
Less stuff means more life.
Travel:
Remember that backpacking trip? We can have great experiences like those more often. We can move quickly with less stuff, even be more spontaneous. There’s no house, yard, or anything else to maintain. We can go whenever we want, where ever we want to be. That thought alone leads to a lot less stress. Stuff doesn’t hold us back.
If your income comes from online sources the world becomes your playground. House sit for people around the world and your lodging and utilities are covered. Go have experiences stuff will never let you have.
Declutter:
My mom is a pack-rat. She still has my grade school worksheets. I recently convinced her to shut down a storage unit where she was storing stuff because it has cost her more than $5,000, for stuff that fit in her garage. My husband’s mom is a pack-rat. She doesn’t understand why we want less stuff when stuff can be handed down, passed around, or is generally useful. My Dad wants to know when I am coming to pick up my late Grandma’s china. It’s beautiful and I don’t have room for it. Dad chuckles when we talk about our next move. We get the, “Oh you kids…”. We’re in our 40’s, hardly kids, and this feels better all the time.
Be charitable:
Shopping is fun, and what if having extra money leads to helping causes you care about. Start a foundation to touch people and needs with care. Do the work only you are meant to do.
Be Creative
I am not saying you don’t need to buy things. Plenty of people need a house. I think people need a place to live that doesn’t own them. For my family, a house is a liability, not an asset. We move often. I wouldn’t call us nomads, but history says we move every 4-5 years. If that means selling a house in a downturned financial cycle then we have a lot to lose. Luckily, we sold our house while the market was high. Now we get to plan next steps. If you enjoy living in a house as part of the American Dream, that’s great. Hopefully, the house fits your income. Dave Ramsey suggests no more than 40% of your income be tied to a house on a 15-year term, fixed rate mortgage. You don’t have to furnish it with big-box high priced things. Shop second hand if possible. Visit a garage sale. A little elbow grease and paint can make furniture or decor something you love with a great story. Tell your story.
Open your mind and be free
On Dave Ramsey’s program, he allows people a debt-free celebratory scream. “FREEDOM”! It’s based on William Wallace from the movie Braveheart:
Don’t you want freedom from stuff, debt, and clutter?
Tell us how you plan to become free in the comments.
*Originally published as a guest post on Thrifty Guardian.
One of my goals for 2018 was to get rid of STUFF. When my mom died, I moved almost all of her “stuff” to my house. I had friends and relatives help me wrap and box everything up. She was still living in the home she grew up in and had returned to when my grandmother moved to a senior high rise. All four stories of the home (first floor, second floor of three bedrooms, walk-up attic, exposed full basement that opened into a one car garage, and a two plus car, street-level garage) were packed into totes and boxes and moved to my house. The family room became a storage room and the basement took the overflow.
The idea in 2014 was to start to sell the stuff I didn’t want or need on Ebay and the like, but it just stared at me and laughed. When we found a house in Middle Tennessee, all that “stuff” followed us. It populates my garage and barn and taunts me to do something with it.
Now, three years have passed and the stuff still sits there. After reading an article on “Swedish Death Cleaning” (It’s not as morbid as it sounds.) and another article on what your kids will inherit, I am working to minimize and sell as much as possible.
Hi Becky!
“Stuff” has a way of doing that. It stays on the sidelines, giving you the staredown, taunting you from every corner of life. For us, “stuff” has a way of weighing us down like an anchor around our necks. Interestingly I wrote this post 6 months ago. Due to these particular guest post guidelines, I can just now share this work. Our apartment lease is nearing its end and we’re about to embark on a new adventure.
Nicole,
I absolutely love this. When our kids were small we lived on one income, only had a mortgage, never personal debt. We didn’t buy expensive furniture. We had fun with our kids and even managed to rent a cottage for a week once a year.
Things changed but I have never forgotten those easy-going fun times.
So happy that you are debt free. What a wonderful thing to say! It gives a breath of fresh air, doesn’t it?
Praying for a peaceful easy move with God every step of the way.
Blessings
Janis
Hi Janis,
The guest post had a long-standing time commitment to be able to release it. As our apartment lease is nearing its end we’re about to embark on a new journey. Stay tuned for upcoming developments. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Nicole,
I hear you.
We scaled down to a smaller house four years ago. But it has to go smaller.
I’ve embarked on a path (some cringe at the word “journey”) to live off my writing.
Cutting ties with my lifelong profession at intervals.
Hmm… have been looking for the shortcut. There is none.
Now down to a two-year project, cutting it into 90-day blocks.
Experiences (traveling), and impacting others are indeed more valuable than “stuff.”
Hi Danie!
Some six months ago we sold the house. I had to wait a long time to be able to release it. We’ve peeled off so many other layers since then and are about to embark on the next new journey. It is going to be an exciting one that proves we are even weirder than this. Thanks for reading and wishing you a successful “journey,” cringes and all. 😉
Nicole, I absolutely love this post! Simplifying our lifestyle means leaving room for so much more than things can provide. I’ve never been someone who is attached to my things but I have had my fair share of stuff. Experienced many seasons where I felt I was bursting with too much of it! No sooner would I get rid of something… more would come in! Especially when my kids were growing up.
I can really relate to what you wrote about the family wanting you to take more stuff! Happens to me too. They clean out their closets and want to give me some of it! One day, my dad’s neighbor got rid of his piano and before I knew it the piano was delivered to my house!
I love what you wrote here;
If your income comes from online sources the world becomes your playground. House sit for people around the world and your lodging and utilities are covered. Go have experiences stuff will never let you have.
Hi Cori! So glad you stopped by! This post is about to get real… downsizing, packing, selling, stuffing what fits in a backpack for a new adventure. It’s going to be a gem of a good time! 😉