When we downsized and moved into a duplex nearly three years ago we simply didn’t have the space to store all of our belongings. Realizing we didn’t really have any other choice, we broke down and rented a storage unit, a payment I hated to send every single month. Paul and I talked many times about how nice it would be to get it emptied out, not only to save money but also to purge some things that we truly don’t have a use for anymore. I kind of hoped figured we’d choose the warmth and sunshine of a summer month to get the job done, but nope not us. We chose the middle of winter, finishing the task on our anniversary. Like I told you on Valentine’s Day, we are incredibly romantic when choosing activities for our time together. Oh, the sweet memories we will have to look back on when reminiscing about that February in 2012. Actually, that’s not too far from the truth. While we didn’t buy each other big gifts or take a romantic trip (what is that, anyway?), as a couple we accomplished some very important things that matter for our family and for our kids. We purchased that treadmill and minimized our monthly expenses, focusing on both our physical and financial health. It was such a great feeling to watch as that storage unit got closer and closer to being empty. It took giving away a piano that was taking up a large amount of the space, several trips to Goodwill with donations, and carting some things to the small storage shed where we live, but what I found to be the most amazing was the amount of stuff that was just plain trash. I can’t believe we just kept moving this thing or that to the side, all the while paying for a space to house a lot of useless items. All it took was a desire and some motivation to make it a priority to get that unit emptied out. Okay, maybe I nagged a little, too, but sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right? Girls? I’m still not sure why we suddenly got a spark of energy to do so in the middle of the winter, but I do know that it’s a huge relief. I have one less bill to pay on my list every month, which means one less check to write. We have a whole lot less stuff and that feels pretty amazing. After the last item was loaded on the back of the truck and Paul finished his amazing sweeping job (way to go, honey), we cleaned ourselves up a little and went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I have a picture to prove it. Well the cleaned ourselves up part anyway.
Way to go, you two! I dream of being able to do this with our house. We no longer rent a storage unit, but we do have just tons of extra stuff in our house from a time when we were living three places at once. Add that with all of “love” sent by far away grandparents and we are overflowing with stuff. We’ve been better about clearing things out recently, but we still have a long way to go. Maybe this spring will be our time, too!
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Spring is a great goal, you know, when the weather is nicer than when we chose this adventure. It’s amazing how quickly things can just build up, but it feels really good to minimize and I really love when I can make a little money on selling things, or donating the stuff that I can’t.
I want to pare down but I’m a total hoarder. So proud of you. Need to purge!
Thank you, my friend! I find doing a little bit at a time makes it a little easier to let go of things, plus donating feels really great!
I hate to admit it, but we have 2 storage units with all our junk in them. But you have encouraged me that maybe we can someday sweep out our units and be done with all that junk – then I will breathe a sigh of relief. Way to go you two!
I was also planning to get a treadmill to focus more on our health…Because health is definitely important and we have to take care of it always…