Living with less is so much more! While this idea may seem easy at first, it actually isn’t always so to implement.
We live in a world where we are constantly consuming. We seem to want more of everything; more money, more clothes (in my case shoes lol) more things, at times with designer price tags. All of this, is robbing us of the life we are meant to be living. What if you could just decide to redesign your life? So many of us go though life unconsciously, not realizing that the repetitive patterns we have created for ourselves, may be robbing us of our best life
I began to de-clutter about 10 years ago. When we first moved to the States from South Africa, it was so wonderful to have access to all the things we could never get there. If you want a bathroom to be coastal for example, you can buy everything from pictures to bathmats and shower hooks to match and at a reasonable price too! Before we knew it, we quickly fell into the trap. One day, we had guests coming over for dinner and I went to find crockery to set the table. I saw that I could choose from at least 6 different sets. What size, what color to choose? All of a sudden I realized that this was ridiculous, in my opinion. It was an aha moment. I decided right there and then to donate all the extra “things” in our home. In 2004 we downsized to a smaller home and we got rid of so much more. Little did I know that this would be setting us up for our future life on board.
When we bought our boat, we gave our home and most of our furniture to our girls. We kept some very special pieces for our little condo (only 500 sft) Getting rid of all the extra “stuff” in our lives. We have since rented out our condo as we spend 100% of our time onboard.
We have discovered that when we own less, we live the life we were meant to live and it’s an amazing journey to see it unfolding everyday. We live with things that we use or mean something to us. Most of what we have; a tea cup, a pitcher, artork or a tiny bowl for example, come from our travels and are a beautiful reminder to us every day. Instead of money going to huge mortgages, new sofa’s and unneeded new things, we get to travel whenever we please, go to events and dinners we perhaps wouldn’t have had the time or funds for previously and we get to just pull up the ropes and sail away from the dock whenever we want to! It’s priceless.
There really is no better way to live. If you are thinking about following a simpler lifestyle, stop thinking and just go ahead and do it! There is so much life on the other side of fear. Taking that first step, emptying that first draw or closet, is all it takes. You don’t have to live on a boat, I realize that it’s not for everybody, you don’t even have to live smaller, but think of how every single decision you make going forward will be simplified when there’s less to clean, less to organize, less to put away and less to buy/pay for
The best part of all for us, was in giving things away to people who need them more than we did. We did not sell our belongings. The blessing that has come back to us is beyond compare.
If you are still undecided, think about this…
Experiences…or things?
“I wish I’d had more had more stuff, more things, and more money,” said no one ever as they breathed their last breath”
