I love minimalism.

Living this kind of lifestyle has done a lot for me. It has:

Allowed me to spend less time on housework , which I despise.

, which I despise. Kept me from spending so much time looking for things I’ve misplaced.

Allowed me to pursue sailing and writing , my passions.

, my passions. Allowed us to live comfortably on one income.

on one income. Helped us to get out of survival mode and be less dependent on earning a certain amount.

Two years ago, I did the “great purge” and seriously decluttered our house. I’ve spent a lot of time going through items, and eliminating those that we no longer need. The end result has been very freeing.

As far as decluttering is concerned, I have not found Ithaca poor.

But I have to confess that I don’t enjoy the journey.

Decluttering makes me angry. Which is interesting, because I don’t feel anger all that often. So it’s kind of a unique experience. But still.

I get angry, because:

Accumulating all this stuff wasn’t my choice.

I feel obligated to keep so much of it.

The stuff is preventing us from realizing our dreams.

We are paying money for the storage of the stuff.

We are spending our free time on the management of the stuff.

Getting rid of the stuff is so incredibly daunting!

In the past, I’ve set goals, such as eliminating 100 things in a day, or taking one carload to Goodwill, per day. That worked well, but we have not pared down enough to easily fit it all in a minivan-sized motor home. So I’m emptying out one room per day, and fitting all that we’re keeping into the motor home.

What have I done, to deal with the anger brought about decluttering, as well as the fear and general feelings of being overwhelmed by the change in situation? I’ve plowed forward, doing only one room per day, and I’ve taken frequent breaks to refresh. I ride my bike instead of driving, whenever I can. I make it a point to do things I enjoy each day, while I am taking breaks.

After today, the living room and kitchen will be emptied, except for the furniture. I will post pictures for you tomorrow.