Downsizing

I liked to think I'm not much of a "stuff" person. However, I looked around my house a few months ago and realized that it was packed to the rafters with, well, stuff! When Monkey and I moved into the house we rattled around in it like two marbles in a pickle jar. It was amazing to have so much space. We thought we'd never fill it up. It is now several years later and we have certainly managed to pack in the stuff. I am told this happens to everyone when you settle down in one place for long enough.

I hate feeling crowded. I feel mentally bloated. By current American standards, I have a small-ish house, however, I look around and feel like this should be more than enough space. Compared to other societies, this is an obscene amount of space. I feel like I'm being wasteful simply by using up space for what is essentially junk. My attic, basement and garage are full of stuff that no one has looked at for a year or more. (To be fair, the garage is mostly Author's stuff that he has been going through to minimize his own collection of stuff.) Do I really need any of this? For the most part the answer is no.

So Monkey and I are going on a stuff diet. Our goal is clear out all of our junk-hiding corners and maximize our use of space through organization. We are also being much more mindful of what we think we need to buy. This part is less of a problem for him as it is for me. I've practicing small amounts of retail therapy because of my trouble getting pregnant. (Didn't get a bfp this month? Buy a new whatever to feel better.) The problem is "small amounts" add up, put strain on our finances and fill our house with little bits of needless stuff. So I'm becoming more mindful about what I want to buy.

The stuff purge got us thinking about what we really wanted in our life. We are wondering if home-ownership was really the right path for us. Did we get the house just because that is what adults are supposed to want? Are we actually more urban-living type people than we thought? Would be be happier renting a nice apartment or townhouse in a more urban setting? It is too soon in this downsizing project to answer those questions but they are under consideration. We have giving ourselves 2 years to downsize our stuff, catch up with house maintenance and tighten up our budget. (This time will also "downsize" our pet population since I do believe that a couple of our elderly animals won't last beyond that. I love every one of my pets and will be sad when they pass away. However, I never intended to have quite so many.) Then we will reconsider our feelings about being home-owners.

We've already started the downsizing project by going through our clothes that no longer fit due to our physical downsizing. (Monkey, Author and I have lost over 120lb as a household so far!) It felt amazing to ruthlessly cull our clothes and get all those piles of stuff our of our drawers and closet. I'm about half way through minimizing my knitting/sewing/craft stuff as well. Downsizing is fun!