Life With Less

Anyone who has ever helped me move, and I've moved a lot - can tell you that I have a lot of stuff. When I say a lot I'm really not exaggerating. When I moved from my beloved, native state of Virginia to Ohio I was able to fill a 26' UHaul with no issue and still ended up filling my Ford Escape. Does a single person need that much stuff? Does anyone!?

Both my father and my husband "like" to complain about all of my junk. My husband even tries to throw things away when I'm not looking. In my defense, there have been times when he's tried to throw out items still in boxes that we needed or items Ive been searching for. And my father would have me throw out all of my food when I moved if he had it his way - but this seemed insanely wasteful and I've always refused to throw away perfectly good food.

I even move my junk drawer. No joke. I'd get out a box and dump the drawer into it and "helpfully" label it, "junk drawer."

Filled with a desire to have more space, less things to have to pick up, and a house full of items that are actively in use rather than in storage I've set about drastically cutting down.

The bar chairs I bought for my first apartment have really only useful to me back then. In fact, recently my daughter pulled another girl off one and the chair came down on top of both of the. While this was a learning experience for all involved - the chairs mostly just took up space.

Four, three-legged, side tables that look like elephants bought for an apartment I lived in over seven years ago.

The list of things like this went on and on so I've been doing my best to utilize Craigslist to clear out the house.

For any of you who may also be interested in doing something similar in your own home I suggest you only get rid of items you're ready to get rid of. First, decide if this is what you want to do. Second, think about what areas you may want less clutter in. Third, pick out items you know you haven't been using and may never use again. Then once you're ready take action towards getting them out of your house.

Remember, books and household items can be sold in a variety of ways. I suggest Craigslist, second-chance shops, and consignment stores - I don't really have the time or patience right now to deal with eBay or Etsy to get rid of certain items.

You're best off not expecting to make tons of money from any of these options. I had a four and a half foot, wooden, corner cabinet with glass doors I put up on Craigslist for $35, and after having people ask me to take multiple measurements of the item I was told the price was too high and the item was smaller than they wanted. That's just the way Craigslist is.

There's also the option of just giving things away on either sites like Freecycle or to people you know. If you live in a city you're probably aware of how often people pick up things they find sitting near the trash that they want.

I'm sure anyone who helps us move again will in the very least be thrilled I've gotten rid of approximately *eight metric tons of books.

*slight exaggeration