When did having more stuff become more important and more sought after than things like: conversation, writing letters, spending time with family and friends, walking barefoot on the earth and other simple pleasures? And when did working long hours that prevent you from seeing your children/being with your spouse/spending time appreciating the world around you, in order to get the stuff become a normal, acceptable, expected way to live? And when did that then extend to TWO people having to live like this to get the stuff we think we need to own to have what we think is a good life? And now the children are growing up to repeat this cycle!!
When we moved from Townsville to Brisbane we panicked. House prices in Brisbane were more expensive. We couldn't afford to buy the equivalent of the house we lived in and might even have to settle for much smaller!! The horror!! So we went through the house systematically disposing of everything we didn't consider a necessity. We gave away/took to the dump shop/donated to lifeline 5 loads of stuff. 5 two tonne truckloads!! 10 tonnes of stuff!! That we had lying around not being used and not needed. As fast we unloaded the truck at the dump shop people were picking it up and taking it home for a little fix up to be given a new life.
As it turned out we didn't have to settle for a whole lot smaller and we even gained a pool. The house we have now has about 1/2 the storage space the other house had. I love this because every year I go through and sort it out and have not needed any extra storage other than a chest of drawers that the kids share for their clothes. Have we missed any of that 10 tonnes of stuff? Not one thing.
Downsizing not only saved us money in shipping and storage costs, it has saved us money in that we haven't needed to replace it. None of it. Because we don't need it. We didn't need it in the first place and we won't need it in the future.
Not only have we downsized our stuff we downsized our cars. We had two cars in Townsville because there is no viable public transport system. One of them was a car we bought second hand at auction and was still under a new car warranty. The other we bought new and paid cash for. Moving to Brisbane meant access to a train system that works brilliantly for us. So much so we sold the bigger, older car and survive quite nicely with our 4 cylinder Lancer. Our everyday living is getting the kids to and from school, scooting out to get groceries/run errands and visiting friends. I'm continually confounded by the number of really large cars and 4 wheel drives I see during the school and shopping runs. I don't need a 4 wd to traverse city streets. I don't need tonnes of boot space, just enough for groceries and school bags. I don't need an 8 cylinder motor to get me from one set of traffic lights to another or to drive 3km to school. Our 4 cylinder often takes us on holidays away. It handles highway driving really well and has plenty of space for luggage and other paraphernalia we need to take with us. A smaller car means cheaper to buy, smaller fuel costs, smaller insurance costs, smaller registration costs, smaller depreciation costs and smaller maintenance costs. We saved ourselves thousands of dollars (if you don't believe me, do the sums - there are plenty of websites that give info on the costs of owing a car) and the environment a whole load of carbon gasses by downsizing our cars.
We are living very comfortably with less stuff and with smaller stuff. It means I don't have to work, we know we can pay our bills because we are debt free and we know that if life throws us a yorker (for those cricket fans among us) we can live very well with exactly what we already have for an extended period of time. It's a nice feeling. Downsize your stuff and you'll downsize your stress.
You'll also have more time. Time for family, time for friends, time to cook dinner, time to be. I know that many people have trouble with that. Living at a fast pace for an extended period of time gathers momentum. It can be difficult to transition to a slower paced life. Especially when most of the Western world is bombarding you with the message that you need to do and have more, more, more. Less is more. You will stop looking for validation from others. You will begin to feel just fine the way you are. You won't need to have lots of stuff to feel good about yourself and the life you are giving your family. You won't need approval from others to feel worthy. You'll seek out people who accept you for who you are not who you are when you have lots of expensive, shiny, new things to admire. You'll stop feeling the need to justify your choices. You'll feel happier and more at peace with yourself.
Life isn't a contest. There are no winners and losers. Life is a journey. Don't spend decades chasing "stuff". Spend decades enjoying the earth, it's peoples and it's joys. When the journey ends I won't be saying, "I wish I'd had bigger and better stuff." I'll want to be saying, "I'm thankful for the joy, the love, the earth and the precious moments. I've enjoyed my family and friends and laughed a lot. See, I have the wrinkles to prove it!" ♥
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