Living Car Free - Getting rid of your stuff

This goes along with the idea of living simply ...

Have any of you gone through your stuff in order to get rid of most of it?


If so ...

1) what was your motivation? In other words, why did you do it?

2) what did you do with the stuff you got rid of? Did you give it away? Did you sell it? Did you just throw it out?

3) if you sold your stuff, how did you go about doing that?

4) any regrets?

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At the beginning of December, I embarked on my "December Project":


Getting all my stuff out of storage, and going through it all to see how much I can get rid of by selling it, giving it away, or tossing it.

Early in December, my father and I hauled my stuff out of storage, where it has been for the past 4 years, and I began sorting.

My motivation ... the less I keep, the cheaper it will be to move to Australia.

It's been an interesting experience. In some ways it's a bit like Christmas, opening boxes and seeing my things which I haven't seen in 4 years ... but in some ways it has been sad, and there have been, and will be, some tough decisions.

I need to get through it all in the next week or so, and then I need to actually do something with the stuff I've decided to get rid of. And I'm not sure what to do with it all yet.

I have been getting rid of some stuff. Motivated to have less around in case I move someday.

But more than getting rid of stuff, I am trying to figure out how I get all this excess stuff in the first place. It seems like it is a lot of extra work to collect it all, but I notice that I pick up quite a few things from my kids too.

I recently decided to totally simplify my life, and get rid of anything I hadn't used in the last year, which actually turned out to be most of it. I was shocked by how miserably I failed in this task. Some things, like clothes, were pretty easy: if I hadn't worn it in the last year, out it went. (That left me with about four pairs of pants, eight shirts, a suit, and three pairs of shoes.) Old computers were also not a problem: I gave them away with ruthless efficiency. Outdoor equipment was more problematic. I'm not as outdoorsy as I once was, but even so, I could simply not part with snowshoes I hadn't used in three years, a large backpack I hadn't used in two, or even a pair of backpacking boots that have given me blisters every time I've worn them. I couldn't even part with my kayak paddles, even though I no longer own a kayak. Books were the worst: I have a LOT of those, the vast majority of which I haven't opened since I originally read them, in some cases, decades ago, but I simply could not part with any of them. So here I am: a lot fewer clothes, only one computer, only one bike, a bunch of outdoor equipment I hope to use again some day soon, and hundreds of books, most of which I will never open again as long as I live. I'm absolutely amazed, and a little disgusted, by the power some of my possessions hold over me.

I moved into a tiny apartment to save money for my tour and didn't have room for much furniture so I gave the excess away. It had been given to me freely anyway so it didn't seem right to sell it.

I have had no regrets. I still have more to get rid of but I'm undecided on how to go about it. I often equate throwing away anything with some use left in it with being "wasteful". I also have tons of stuff that serves as a memento and sometimes feel like tossing it is turning my back on that experience and that I will quickly forget the memory. Silly sentimentality. I also have stuff given to me by friends and family so I have a sense of shared ownership with them and don't feel right about disposing of it.

I'm not to the point that Thoreau talks about in Walden where he advocated frequently burning all our old possessions to release ourselves from their hold. I'm not yet sure I even want to be there.

I also have tons of stuff that serves as a memento and sometimes feel like tossing it is turning my back on that experience and that I will quickly forget the memory. Silly sentimentality.

I've been taking pictures of that sort of stuff. Some of it I'm keeping - the hold of sentiment is too strong ...... but I'm taking several photographs of some of the other things, and then putting them into the "give away" pile. I've found it interesting that after taking several photographs, I feel something like a release ... like it's OK to let go.



I also have stuff given to me by friends and family so I have a sense of shared ownership with them and don't feel right about disposing of it.

And these things I'm either giving back to my family, or at least offering it to them.

Are we talking about bike stuff? I pared down from 8 to 3 bikes a few years ago, now I'm back up to 5. When I pared down, I decided I didn't need that many rides, and I didn't want to move them all. I sold them via garage sales and craigslist. Sometimes I wish I would've kept my Raleigh Sports, but...

I'm off for the next two weeks, and reducing is in the plan. Usually one of us is in a throw-away mode but not the other. Right now we're both feeling it, so we'll be hauling van-loads to goodwill.

Are we talking about bike stuff? I pared down from 8 to 3 bikes a few years ago, now I'm back up to 5. When I pared down, I decided I didn't need that many rides, and I didn't want to move them all. I sold them via garage sales and craigslist. Sometimes I wish I would've kept my Raleigh Sports, but...

Well, some of it will be bike stuff - I'll likely have to get rid of at least 2 bicycles.

But most of it is household stuff.

I sometimes hold on to things that I totally do not need, but think someone else will need either next time I see them or at some time in the future. That is why I have a few more bicycles than I use or want.

I really like the feeling of being able to give someone a bike. As well, I hate the thought of sending my junk to the landfill.

So.. it is nice to be rid of the stuff, but moving it to the nearest dump is a poor solution. I would rather turn my house into a cluttered collection of totally useless stuff...

So.. it is nice to be rid of the stuff, but moving it to the nearest dump is a poor solution. I would rather turn my house into a cluttered collection of totally useless stuff...

Ah, but I think there are other options ... I would rather not throw my stuff out because most of it is still in very good condition. But I cannot have a cluttered collection of totally useless stuff because that collection would cost me a fortune to keep.

So, I'm considering:
-- consignment places
-- auction places
-- thrift/charitable organization places, such as Value Village or Salvation Army
-- electronics "round-ups"

Let's see:

Tiny apartment, so I ended up ditching my bedroom set, except for the dresser, and most of my living room stuff. These were just given away. I now use a futon.

I've taken a handful of books every now and then to half price.

Went through my closet a while back and loaded up some clothes for Goodwill.

Pared down from a ton of hand me down dishes to a 4 place setting. Other dishes went to family. I'm going to get rid of some of my pots and pans and other appliances.

I had a good deal of "stuff" in storage from 2003-2008 and I'm actually glad I paid $5400 to keep it all. Unpacking it into my new place this year was better than Christmas!

I have packrat in my genes and have to purge occasionally. My mom keeps...
- empty milk jugs
- empty cottage cheese containers
- empty grocery bags
- rubberbands from newspapers, broccoli
- styrafoam trays meat comes on
- paper bags
- plastic tableware
and on and on

I had a good deal of "stuff" in storage from 2003-2008 and I'm actually glad I paid $5400 to keep it all. Unpacking it into my new place this year was better than Christmas!

If that's all it would cost me to keep it, it would be no problem! :D

I used to have a time line on when to get rid of items that I kept, and that being if I had not used it in twenty years, it was time for it to go. I'm now look at maybe reducing it to ten years, gotta make room for some more new stuff. :D

It took me a month to really think about selling my equipment. Finally in Spring 2007, I sold 1,000+ records, DJ setup, rack unit w/ gear, tabletop grooveboxes (synthesizer/drum machines), mixing board, mics/stands, etc. I never planned on selling this stuff. I only thought I would buy more and more, especially records.

I collected them for 12+ years. Why should I stop now? But when I thought about it, this stuff was giving me a sense of security. Pathetic, but true. So I made up my mind to sell all the stuff, which I did with great success. And with that money, I bought my first bike along with accessories and what not. Regrets, not really.

For me, this was a smart decision. Instead of sitting around playing and/or making music, I can be outside riding my bike and enjoying life. Thank you craigslist. :D

I’m not much of a consumer so most of what I have I either inherited, was given, found or bought on the cheap. The stuff that I am most attached to is my art collection, music, books, tools, fine furniture, kayak, canoes, bikes and kitchen equipment. I’ve slowly got rid of a lot of the stuff I did not need by giving it away to charity or friends or I sold it on the buy and sell. I keep thinking that I will continue to travel on the epic scale and that I have to continue to scale down my belongings but I am slowly starting to realise that my traveling day are over and that I should focus on my career, home and travel locally.

I really think I am experiencing some kind of travelers withdraw symptoms!

This thread might motivate me to sell more of my stuff. Does anybody know somebody who lost everything in a fire or flood? I don't. It would be interesting to hear from someone who has experienced the loss of everything and learn how it affected them.

I lived away from home for a year when I went to school in a different state. I had a car full of stuff and no more. All of it fit into two closets in the room I rented. I didn't buy much stuff that year and honestly I didn't feel the need for anything else. My clock radio was not so fancy. It would have been good to have a Bose Wave Radio in its place. They sound really good. Maybe if I got off my butt and sold some stuff I could use the extra money to buy one.

I have packrat in my genes and have to purge occasionally. My mom keeps...
- empty milk jugs
- empty cottage cheese containers
- empty grocery bags
- rubberbands from newspapers, broccoli
- styrafoam trays meat comes on
- paper bags
- plastic tableware
and on and on

I once had a friend who kept every copy of the local newspaper in his living room. The guy had been doing it for years and years. The stacks were nearly 6 feet tall and you had to manoeuvre through maze-like corridors to get anywhere in the house. He had apparently started in the basement and worked up through the whole house...

If you've ever seen such a phenomenon (sounds like you have with your Mom...), it is quite spooky. A kind of monument to the amount of rubbish we send to landfills.

I get rid of stuff every time I move. I usually try to donate things, but some crap has to be disposed of. I keep most things that are good enough to sell.

For those of you who have used ebay and craigslist ... how did you find the packaging and shipping process?

I've got so many little things that I'm thinking if I had to package and ship all that stuff to individual buyers, that could be a full-time job.

A yard sale or garage sale might be your best bet. Spring is the best time. Try to organize it with your neighbors and share the costs.

Yeah--I'm constantly trying to lighten our lives. :) My motivation is that I think better when my environment is not cluttered. Guess that comes from having been poor when I was young. Still, a clutter-free environment just generally makes me in a happier mood. :thumb:

Yeah--I'm constantly trying to lighten our lives. :) My motivation is that I think better when my environment is not cluttered. Guess that comes from having been poor when I was young. Still, a clutter-free environment just generally makes me in a happier mood. :thumb:

+1 ... and I don't think it has anything to do with being poor. Having clutter around distracts me too much and makes me feel scattered, restless, and edgy. There's just too much for the brain to take in and process, and it is hard to focus on the important things.

I once had a friend who kept every copy of the local newspaper in his living room. The guy had been doing it for years and years. The stacks were nearly 6 feet tall and you had to manoeuvre through maze-like corridors to get anywhere in the house. He had apparently started in the basement and worked up through the whole house...

If you've ever seen such a phenomenon (sounds like you have with your Mom...), it is quite spooky. A kind of monument to the amount of rubbish we send to landfills.

I had a great-aunt like that, and my wife has an aunt in New Zealand like that. Just pathways through the stuff.

This is motivating me even more to purge

For those of you who have used ebay and craigslist ... how did you find the packaging and shipping process?

I've got so many little things that I'm thinking if I had to package and ship all that stuff to individual buyers, that could be a full-time job.

Most of the buyers were locally. Some came from L.A. and Orange County. I never shipped anything. Not even meet halfway. They all came to me. :D

Forget garage sales. You can get more money selling it on craigslist. That is of course depends on what you're selling. Good luck and be patient.

I once had a friend who kept every copy of the local newspaper in his living room. The guy had been doing it for years and years. The stacks were nearly 6 feet tall and you had to manoeuvre through maze-like corridors to get anywhere in the house. He had apparently started in the basement and worked up through the whole house...

If you've ever seen such a phenomenon (sounds like you have with your Mom...), it is quite spooky. A kind of monument to the amount of rubbish we send to landfills.

I almost got to that point once. My ex-husband and I really struggled through the 1990-1992 recession/depression and I started keeping everything. Among many other things, I had stacks and stacks and stacks of newspapers - they do seem to be a popular item to keep for some reason. But when my ex and I split up in mid-1999, it was like a light came on, and I hauled 17 large garbage bags of stuff out of the relatively small apartment in a matter of weeks. Over the next couple years, I hauled out at least that many bags of junk again ... I lost count.

But one of the first things I did in mid-1999 was to cancel my newspaper subscription. I just don't see the point of getting a newspaper anymore ... if I want the news I'll watch it on TV, listen to it on the radio, or check online.

Most of the buyers were locally. Some came from L.A. and Orange County. I never shipped anything. Not even meet halfway. They all came to me. :D

Forget garage sales. You can get more money selling it on craigslist. That is of course depends on what you're selling. Good luck and be patient.



Ebay has quite high fees for selling stuff ... how is craigslist for that? And have you ever tried kijiji? that one was recommended to me recently.

Ebay has quite high fees for selling stuff ... how is craigslist for that? And have you ever tried kijiji? that one was recommended to me recently.

Craigslist is free. Ebay actually owns 25% of craigslist. They wanted to start charging people, but it never panned out. Kijiji, from what I heard, is ebay's own kind of craigslist. I've never used that myself.

I've recently decided to embark on a quest to whittle my entire field of belongings down to nothing but what will fit on the bike (not including household equipment/furniture, tools, appliances and such)..

That sounds like a massive cutdown - but the bike is an Xtracycle complete with wideloaders, front panniers on a big surly nice rack, and a 23 litre saddlebag, so its actually still quite a bit of stuff :)

I've moved frequently which should keep the levels of stuff down, but with ancestors dying I seem to be accumulating more and more stuff. Most of it comes down to papers, software, computers books and bicycles.

I divorced and moved to Arkansas almost 4 years ago. There were several weeks of going through everything piece by piece. Fortunately for me, most of the stuff that I had to leave behind, my ex wife included in a series of garage sales.

The one thing that sticks out as something I should have brought with me was a no-name Korean 10 speed(Le Prix). It really did have a sweet frame and was such a great beater bike.

Most of the stuff came in a container from ABS. There were 7 other boxes shipped directly, including a bicycle. Though I had checked before hand and it should have cost about $250.00 to ship them, the way my ex did it ended up costing me over $700.00. I chalk that up to the nature of ex-wives. :innocent:

Now, 4 years later, I find myself going through my stuff, trying to pare it all down again. It's like you said Machka, sometimes a treasure trove. Just a couple of days ago I found a Led Zeppelin tape that I hadn't seen in 4 years, and I had been keeping the case, just in case. Turns out it was in an old Walkman that got pitched into storage. It was in the middle of playing "Dazed and Confused". Well that was an apt description of my mental state back when I lost it. I also found "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis that I had started reading just before I moved. So I've picked it up again.

It's hard to know what to do with family papers and old objects from my professional portfolio. They are unique in the world.

At one point, when starving, I did sell a book on eBay that I had gotten from my grandmother. Now I find that not only has it gone up in value 8000%, but it's also made me a historical footnote in literature, because it's value is largely based on the my description of the book when selling it on eBay. As the movie "The Red Violin" shows, things have their own lives.

I don't have much that would go into a garage sale. I've made a box for the Goodwill and have yet to fill it. But some stuff can go. The tax documents from the business I had in California are now over 3 years old, and now I have a paper shredder bequested me by my last employer as we shut down the office. That's a box of paperwork that will be gone soon. I did find some good and new computer animation books that I had somehow bought two copies of, so I gave them to the library, specifically requesting that they go into the libraries collection. Now I go and visit them occasionally. That feels good.

Overall, it's personal and family papers, software boxes and manuals and bicycle bits that seem to overwhelm me. Furniture? Hah. I have 2 pieces of furniture that I bought new, a 30 year old drafting table and an inflatable mattress. 4 pieces of furniture I bought used, two rolling bread racks, an office chair and a director's chair. The rest just kind of showed up.

That's one of the strangest things about growing older, how much you accumulate even when living a non-materialistic lifestyle and moving frequently.

Craigslist is free. Ebay actually owns 25% of craigslist. They wanted to start charging people, but it never panned out. Kijiji, from what I heard, is ebay's own kind of craigslist. I've never used that myself.

OK, I see that both craigslist and kijiji are local ... in other words I can post up ads for stuff and have them appear in the section for my own city. That's handy ... like you mentioned, people can come to me rather than me having to package and mail stuff. I will definitely have to look at these both in more detail to see what's what.

When I was looking into Ebay, I was turned off by the user fees, and by the idea that I might have buyers all over Canada and would be spending half my time packaging stuff.


Oh, and as for my time frame ... the sooner the better, but I would like it all gone by the middle of May at the latest. But part of my difficulty here is the time factor ... I'm moving away from it all for the month of January, and when I get back in February, I'll be in a time-consuming practicum, and quite possibly working a pt job as well, till the middle of April.

USPS will send you boxes and paperwork (like customs) for free.http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductCategoryDisplay?catalogId=10152&storeId=10001&categoryId=13354&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=11820&top_category=11820

I'd suggest using Priority and/or flat rate.

USPS is best for books, CD's, DVD's and other (media mail is super CHEAP).


She can't use USPS because she lives in Canada.

It would be interesting to hear from someone who has experienced the loss of everything and learn how it affected them.

I lost everything I own except for my clothing. Wasn't due to a natural disaster though. It was a divorce. :notamused:

To tell you the truth though, Machka, I was never happier. I was in the US military (in Austrailia nonetheless) and just about everything was provided for me so I didn't need stuff. It felt very liberating. Could you imagine what would happen to our consumer based economy if everyone did this?

To tell you the truth though, Machka, I was never happier. I was in the US military (in Austrailia nonetheless) and just about everything was provided for me so I didn't need stuff. It felt very liberating. Could you imagine what would happen to our consumer based economy if everyone did this?

I'm going through some very mixed feelings. One minute I feel liberated and I'm motivated to get rid of most of it ... the next I feel a bit sad and start second-guessing. But I know when all is said and done, it will be liberating. In 2004, I got rid of about half my stuff, and although I did have a few regrets about a handful of items, it felt good to let go, and in many ways I wished I had gotten rid of more then.


Now, I have discovered something through this process. If I eat regularly while I'm sorting, and my blood sugar levels are good, I'm much more likely to put stuff in the "get rid of" pile ... but if I let my blood sugar levels drop, I have a much tougher time making decisions and letting go.


I'm also discovering that I'm finding it quite easy to put stuff into a pile designated as my "get rid of" pile ....... but figuring out what to do with it after that is a problem.

What would you do with stuff like ...

1) Old books that are no longer current? (i.e. 8-yr-old computer books)

2) School supplies (i.e. paper, pens, folders, envelopes, binders, art supplies, etc. etc.)

3) Old magazines (i.e. mags from the 1980s)

4) Ancient Encyclopedias (i.e. from the 1950s)

What would you do with stuff like ...

1) Old books that are no longer current? (i.e. 8-yr-old computer books)

2) School supplies (i.e. paper, pens, folders, envelopes, binders, art supplies, etc. etc.)

3) Old magazines (i.e. mags from the 1980s)

4) Ancient Encyclopedias (i.e. from the 1950s)

The school supplies I would donate to a local elementary/middle school. In that states is seems there are always children and teachers that need the supplies. The teachers are having to dip into their own pockets to supply things like that for their class rooms. Magazines can be recycled. Old books? Possibly a used book store?

I am trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of old software discs...anybody need a copy of Microcrap Office 97?:wtf:

Aaron:)

What would you do with stuff like ...

1) Old books that are no longer current? (i.e. 8-yr-old computer books)

2) School supplies (i.e. paper, pens, folders, envelopes, binders, art supplies, etc. etc.)

3) Old magazines (i.e. mags from the 1980s)

4) Ancient Encyclopedias (i.e. from the 1950s)

1) Discard

2) Donate

3) Recycle

4) Check with book collectors about purchase; but if they're worthless, throw them out.

I'm mostly getting rid of my late father's stuff. Some went to Goodwill. Some I've given to friends/relatives. I had an estate sale. I've put some stuff on E-Bay (zanesman is my E-Bay name, BTW.)

What would you do with stuff like ...

1) Old books that are no longer current? (i.e. 8-yr-old computer books)

2) School supplies (i.e. paper, pens, folders, envelopes, binders, art supplies, etc. etc.)

3) Old magazines (i.e. mags from the 1980s)

4) Ancient Encyclopedias (i.e. from the 1950s)

1.) Recycle
2.) Keep--I roll through that kind of stuff
3.) Recycle or Ebay. I got rid of a wall's worth of National Geographic, some going back as far as the nineteen teens. God I'm glad to be rid of it.
4.) I have a set of Encyclopedia American from 1892. I tried to give them to the local library and schools, no bites. One day I'll find a good home for them, but for now they have place on the top shelf.

For a while I helped care for an elderly man who took trimming things down to an extreme. In an eight room house with a two car garage he had a sofa, a coffee table, a floor pad and sleeping bag, a big bag of something I could only call human kibble, a spoon, and a cooking pot. At least I got him to save the mail and I sorted through it for him. His Conservator got anything relevant and I recycled the rest. He used just one room and all else was shiny clean. Folks, please, if you can, have some family member, or very trusted friend go through your discards. The item they save might just be, say, your Passport or an Original Birth Certificate.

Folks, please, if you can, have some family member, or very trusted friend go through your discards. The item they save might just be, say, your Passport or an Original Birth Certificate.

Well, believe me, I'm not quite down to that point! I haven't even started on going through old paperwork yet, but I need an intact papertrail of my life in order to immigrate so I've got to be very careful what I keep and what I discard in all of that.



Plus ... I've been taking pictures of almost everything so I've been setting each item aside with careful consideration and photographic documentation. I'm up around 350 shots already and still going.

1) what was your motivation? In other words, why did you do it?

2) what did you do with the stuff you got rid of? Did you give it away? Did you sell it? Did you just throw it out?

3) if you sold your stuff, how did you go about doing that?

4) any regrets?


So far, it's just been clothes that I don't wear anymore (and, in some cases, have completely forgotten I've even bought). So,

1. It was the first step to cleaning out stuff, partly to just do it, and partly to make my place more habitable for a possible inauguration rental (which I might not do, and let my cousin stay for free while she covers it).

2. I put it in a couple big garbage bags and took 'em to the Goodwill. I wonder if I could've dropped them off at the church on the next block, too.

3. Nope, didn't sell anything. If I do, it'll be via Criagslist, probably.

4. No regrets yet. If I really start clearing things out, I'll end up like you and have some hard decisions to make. If I have to move into a larger residence, it would be nice to put some of those memories on display somehow.

So far, it's just been clothes that I don't wear anymore (and, in some cases, have completely forgotten I've even bought).



:lol: I was digging through my closet a couple months ago, and came across a few items I'd forgotten about too!! You know you've got too many clothes when .............. :D

:lol: I was digging through my closet a couple months ago, and came across a few items I'd forgotten about too!! You know you've got too many clothes when .............. :D

I gotta illustrate this...

You know how when you get jeans or some shirts they have a label about 1"x12" that shows the size so you can see it easily while it's folded and on a shelf?

One of my shirts still had that label. I haven't got the slightest idea of when I bought it.

In 2001 my husband and I moved from Kansas to Indiana - packed the truck ourselves. Had to get the largest truck U-Haul rented, and HALF of that thing was filled with boxes of books. We were both grad students and had sentimental attachment to all the books, so we couldn't part with them.

After moving all that stuff, I lost my sentimentality. While in Indiana, we sold most of our books to Half Price Books. Didn't get much for them, usually just enough to pay the gas to Indianapolis and a lunch out, but the relief of not having to move all the books from Indiana to Michigan a few years later was huge. While in Indiana we also got rid of most of our other stuff. Just put it out at the curb and it disappeared. Turns out the kid next door was getting ready to move out on his own and really appreciated all the free furniture (and lots of bookcases).

I'd get rid of more stuff in a heartbeat. It's great to know someone else is using it and it's so much easier not to have to move everything.

Take some of the books to a used bookseller. What they won't take probably isn't worth saving. It's hard to part with stuff like that, but once it's done, it can be a huge relief. I used to be a total pack rat, saving absolutely everything. Now I find myself wanting to get rid of everything and I notice that I'm a lot less attached emotionally to my stuff. It used to be MY stuff. Now it's just stuff that's living with me until the next person can use it.

I gotta illustrate this...

You know how when you get jeans or some shirts they have a label about 1"x12" that shows the size so you can see it easily while it's folded and on a shelf?

One of my shirts still had that label. I haven't got the slightest idea of when I bought it.

Might it have been a gift?

I'd get rid of more stuff in a heartbeat. It's great to know someone else is using it and it's so much easier not to have to move everything.

And that's definitely one of my goals.


I used to be a total pack rat, saving absolutely everything. Now I find myself wanting to get rid of everything and I notice that I'm a lot less attached emotionally to my stuff. It used to be MY stuff. Now it's just stuff that's living with me until the next person can use it.

I've just been going through a large box and shaking my head at the stuff I kept. A good portion of it is now in a garbage bag. I can't even remember what emotion prompted me to keep all that!

And that's an interesting perspective ... "It's great to know someone else is using it", and "Now it's just stuff that's living with me until the next person can use it." ...... something I'll have to think about. Part of my attachment is that I've been thinking that it would be a waste of money to get rid of certain things, but if I'm passing it on, and someone else is making use of it, maybe it's not such a waste after all.

i'm on the same path

getting rid of stuff

i am probably down to 1/2 of a small U-haul, total property to my name.

just this last week, i moved my things from a storage facility into part of a garage.

i ride a Surly Big Dummy (Devo and The Dummy (http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=391518))

a Hunter 29er, a Pugsley, and i have a Fondriest Road bike complete with Zipps and Record groupo

bike tools, and camping equipment are the bulk of my junk

a 24" iMac, and a MacBook... which i use when i'm on the ramble

sometime ago, i started taking pics of everything, and came to a point where looking at the pic of the object was enough, as compared to actually keeping the object.

its an age old method of living simply, i was raised that way, living in a van with my dad in the 80's

however... now at 40, vs my adolescence, the experience is much different.

i think...

i want to ditch even more of my junk

peace...d

I'm being forced to move (landlord got foreclosed on) so I've been reevaluating my crap.


Everything I MUST save fit in two bins--paintings by my mother and grandfather, photos, letters and tax records.
There are three bulky items--a HUGE couch, a recliner (my bed), and the antique dining table--that I would like to preserve.
Everything else that I want to keep could be moved by bike in several trips. But I admit that I'll probably borrow a pickup or SUV instead.
There's about 10 garbage bags of discards--mostly clothing, books and miscellaneous crap.
For some reason I don't fully understand, my stepson and our best friend have more stuff in my apartment than I do (not really, but it seems that way). They are under orders to "move it or lose it."

I moved everything in three SUV loads 30 months ago. It's amazing how much more crap I've accumulated in such a short time. Such is our American way of amassing detritus.