Downsizing our household almost became an obsession with me once I got started. I wanted to get rid of everything. I never realized how much junk we’d accumulated over such a short time, but it really piles up fast.

Quitting My Job

If you read the “About Nana” section, you already know that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom when my children were growing up but never made that decision. In 2015, when I was finally at my turning point, this was the hardest decision for me. I loved my job; I hated the stress that came with it. I didn’t like being tied down all the time and not being able to spend time with my family.

There was a war going on in my mind about it. It was something like this….”Do I keep working so that I have plenty of money to do the things I want to do, or do I quit the job and have the time to do those things?”  Either seemed like a losing situation. If I had the money, I didn’t have the time. If I had the time, I didn’t have the money.

 

 

Faith Matters

Faith played a huge role in this whole process. I prayed for God to give me answers. I knew what I wanted, but I wanted to do what He wanted me to do. After quite some time, and by that I mean months and maybe even years, I got my answer. Turns out God really didn’t change my situation, He changed ME!  He made all this happen.

I was able to come to terms with letting go of the stuff that costs me so much money…the new car, the big house, and all the big bills that came with it. That allowed me the money to do the things I wanted to do. And, I was able to quit my job and stay home as I’d dreamed of, which gave me the time I needed.  Isn’t God awesome?

 

 

Putting the Plan into Action

We started the ball rolling.  We contacted a realtor and put the house on the market. Now, the house has been on the market for the past year and has not sold, so we were a little worried, but our thought process was different this time. We believed!

Next, the car went. That was a tough one for me. I loved my brand new 2016 KIA Sorento. I’d bought it as soon as it hit the lot, thinking I couldn’t live without it. I was wrong. I’m living much better without paying $575 per month for a car. “Really?”, you ask. Yes, really.

Then we rented a two bedroom duplex, and started packing; being very careful about what we put into each box. Nothing was allowed that we did not NEED.  We learned the difference between need and want. I donated more than half my clothes. I went by this rule: If I hadn’t worn it in 6 months or if it doesn’t fit, get rid of it. Women are notorious for saying they’re going to lose weight and get back in to those size 6 jeans that they wore 10 years ago. No, you are not. Get rid of them! If you do lose that weight, then great, reward yourself and go buy a new pair.

I started an online yard sale right from my Facebook account.  I took pictures of each item and listed it with a description and price. I was amazed at how quickly the first item sold, so I tried others. It went surprisingly well and I made a couple thousand dollars in just a couple of weeks getting rid of stuff we no longer needed or used.  The funny thing is, I cannot even tell you what most of those items were. That’s how unimportant they were.

Deciding What to Keep

Of course we had to have some sort of plan on how much to keep. We took pictures of the duplex, mapping out the cabinets. I measured every cabinet in there. I kept only enough basic dishes to get us through a day. We would not have a dishwasher there, so I’d be washing the dishes daily, therefore no need for so many. We did keep an extra few glasses for when we have guests.

We chose our best pieces of furniture to keep and got rid of the cheaper stuff.  We learned that more is not better, better is better. What I mean by that is, more things are not better, but better quality things are better. We now choose higher quality pieces when buying. It may have to function for more than one thing.  Examples: my cedar chest that holds my most precious possessions serves as a table for pictures of my grandbabies, a table for eating in front of the TV, a seat (if needed), and the kids even play games on it sometimes.  My curio cabinet is used in my kitchen to hold souvenirs (top shelf), extra dishes, and even my home-canned goods (bottom shelf).

If you have questions or comments about my page, feel free to leave me feedback. I’d love to hear from you. You can do that here on this page or send me an email to nana@simplelivingwithnana.com