First steps in the quest for freedom
Freedom to me – amongst other things – means: having less belongings (takes up so much head space as well!) and having enough financial resources to be able to do whatever I like to do. I am not interested in buying more ‘stuff’. Let’s start by those two subjects this week. And show you my first steps in gaining more freedom in my home.
Why do belongings feel so fulfilling and we all know actually they’re not!
It makes me wonder why so many of us love going on a camping holiday, having with us only the most crucial belongings and at the same time we completely stuff our houses with more nonsense. More clothes, more books, more furniture, more more more. A house. A bike. A car. A boat. Another house, in another country. One more bike, but then an Ebike. A sailboat. An extra car. A camper. One more bike, for quick trips with the camper. More more more. Oh and then insurance, for all those belongings, of course. Anxiety, over losing your stuff. I can go on and on and on why we are all hoarders in one way or another.
Less is more
It doesn’t make us happy. We think it does. Personally, it just gives me more noise in my head: having a lot of stuff. And it increasingly gets more annoying to my soul. It sucks my attention, it sucks my time, it literally sucks up space in my home and no: it didn’t make me ‘happier’. So? I am starting this journey with decluttering my house. Topic this week: selling shoes. I am deliberately sorting out what to keep and what to ditch. One of each should be enough. I am keeping:
- One pair of Birckenstocks
- One pair of summer ‘climbing boots’
- One pair of winter ‘climbing boots’
- One pair of rain boots
- One pair of sneakers (oh no, that hurt, I always want more)
- One pair of flip-flops
- One pair of super nice slick shoes to go out with.
The rest I am selling through Vinted and Marktplaats currently. The whole idea is that I want to be able to have enough belongings that fit my future camper, and still have space. I don’t need 12 towels. I don’t need 14 pairs of jeans (yes, I do have that many now). I don’t need 12 wine glasses. I don’t need 27 t-shirts. I don’t need 3 large screens. I don’t need 2 televisions. I don’t need…well you get the picture. I have extra. Spare. Too much. And the money I am creating, by selling stuff is directly deposited on my special bank account for the camper. It’s building up slowly: I deposited €40,- (shoes) + €25,- (boots)+ €30,- (boots) this month. That’s €95,- in one month. Just suppose I would sell each month around €100,-. In 24 months that means: €2.400,- for the camper and a freed up mind! And believe me: it’s going to be much much, muuuuuch more than that, since I started selling my cheapest belongings first. See, how that camper will manifest itself in my life? Not but any woo-woo or spiritual ‘Law of Attraction’ kind of actions, but by simply selling stuff I don’t need in the first place!
So tell me: how much could you save in 24 months?
Freedom in finances
I have a few other secrets I discovered how to free my mind in creating financial overflow. Want to learn in-depth and follow that private journey? Sign up for the paid newsletter and follow along!
How to start decluttering your house with selling your belongings (in 7 small steps)
- Start with selling your belongings that really don’t mean that much to you. It might very well mean a lot to someone else.
- Do some in-depth search whether you have some belongings more than once. Do you own two books with the same title? Sell one. Do you have 20 pairs of jeans? Sell 10 of them. Do you own 20 wine glasses? Sell 10.
- Look for places to sell your belongings in your first circle of influence, your warm network. It makes selling easier, because they know you and trust you.
- Make selling an act of kindness that gives you happiness as well: write a small postcard that goes along with your package, wrap it in beautiful paper, etc. These ‘random acts of kindness’ not only makes the receiver happy…believe me. The receiving is in the giving.
- Sell one item that means more to you and that you find difficult to sell. I put up my piano for sale. It hurt. But I know I will forget about it once it has found a new owner. Sell one dear item at the time. To get used to the idea that it’s just the idea of not having it that makes you want to keep it. It’s in your mind.
- If you feel you really cannot sell an item, think of giving it away for free. What? For free? Why? I promise you, it will make you happier if you give it away for free. Do it. Only once, just to experience the happiness for once.
- If you can’t sell your item, or no one really wants it, there are always second hand shops that might want to sell the items for you and keep a percentage.