I did it.  My first item on Trade Me has sold and will be collected today.  Whoop whoop!  On Saturday night, I listed three kitchen bar stools and five pairs of shoes.  This is the start of my “No Buying, Only Selling” campaign, which has a few flaws I know.  We still have to buy some things for the Upper Room. (By the way, Bunnings did not have one single toilet roll cannister-thingy when I looked yesterday – not one!)  And of course weekly groceries and cleaning products cannot be forsaken. But, my plan is to start going through our house and MINIMISING.  Ah, I love that word.

Isn’t it funny how when you stay at a hotel or AirBnB, everything in the apartment seems so minimal yet perfectly adequate?  I always find myself wondering why my own house can’t be like that. I’m sure that if I actually had to live long-term in one of those places, I would soon start to fill it up with a few more things.  I do think it’s a good reminder though, of how much stuff we have that we could really do without.

I have a close friend who has just spent several weeks walking the Camino trail in Spain with her husband.  They could only take a smallish backpack each, so packing had to be extremely well thought out – even to the point of “Do we take three pairs of undies each or four?”.  They are very good at that though.  Minimalism is their forte.  Their house could be on a minimalism calendar.  Ours on the other hand, yeah nah.

Last year I read a book called “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer. Amongst many other things, the author discusses how he has reduced his wardrobe down to just a few items.  In fact he has only two sets of clothes that he wears in his normal working week.  I admire that.  It must make choosing what to wear pretty simple.  Could I do it?  Absolutely not!  I would be bored out of my brain!  But I still admire it all the same.  My problem is that I have a few sections of my life that require quite different outfit types.  My public-facing work role necessitates smart (ie. I know stuff and am quite a together person ((this is where my acting experience comes in handy)) attire – not quite corporate, but nearly.  For my singing gigs, I wear SugarMousey outfits.  And these will vary depending on the type of gig.  Classy and dressy for weddings, but then quirky and playful for birthdays, markets or other events.  But none of these are suitable for days at home.  Slouchy pants, t-shirts and sweatshirts are my go-to here.  And then there’s exercise gear.  Put that all together with the fact that in Auckland, we often have four seasons in one day, which means, layers, layers, layers.  Yep, two outfits are just not going to cut it in my wardrobe.  Having said that, I feel very proud to have “ruthlessly eliminated” five pairs of shoes from my wardrobe, most of which have ridiculously high heels, and put them up for sale on Trade Me.  It took strength and determination I tell you.  Hopefully they will sell before I change my mind!

The sale of our household items will never produce enough to buy even a derelict house in France, but it signifies a change of mind-set.  I don’t want to have a house filled with things that we don’t need when we could sell them to put money towards doing something that we really want to do. And, while I’m prattling on about this, if we do end up following this dream, I don’t want to have to declutter in a huge hurry.  Hector, what a nightmare that would be!  So, while we are working this whole thing out – which might take a few years – I will start minimising and selling (not buying), even if it’s three bar stools at a time.

P.S.  Did I mention that my hubby is a hoarder?  Sorry, I will rephrase that using his words “A keeper of many useful things”.  Ah dear, there’s a bit of work ahead. 

Goodbye my lovelies. You will always be in my heart.