Anyone ever just think screw it sell it all? Car....stuff? - Page 3

[Shiloh]

Yes the cash is good from selling old stuff
We just sold our bunk bed for $300 and the woman offered dh $50 bucks to set it up.... he kinda was weirded out by that I am like buddy its 50 bucks tax free that's like 100 before taxes take the money!

Me I have realised my new dream home is a 2 -3 bedroom with a small basement and a one car garage. I've also thinking that perfection could be had for 1100 square feet as long as we had a basement and garage. Possibly less. Dh is slower to get on the band wagon... but I'll get him on soon enough.

[p.s]

check out these homes...http://www.rosschapin.com/

[Shiloh]

p.s. what style they have!
sigh.... I am going to spend 20 minutes walking through those tonight!

[AngelBee]

I am thinking about selling it all right now

[Shiloh]

I am so pumped to sell it all it was a gorgeous day today the kids didn't play with any of the fru fru toys in here we were just outside. We are going to cull its going to be hard (mostly on dh) but the toys are going.

I am going to consolidate the toys into some type of play table that has options but just has a smooth work surface I can paint on a grill, burners, work table etc. Time to get that little tikes stuff on craigs list! I will keep my two favourites but the rest are going! Its going to be so cool.

Then on to dh He's still trying to buy some freaking patio set... I am like dude we need less stuff before you buy more stuff so only we can buy things that will enable us to get rid of more.

[marybethorama]

Originally Posted by Shiloh

Me I have realised my new dream home is a 2 -3 bedroom with a small basement and a one car garage. I've also thinking that perfection could be had for 1100 square feet as long as we had a basement and garage. Possibly less. Dh is slower to get on the band wagon... but I'll get him on soon enough.

That's close to what we have

I wouldn't mind a little more space but I can live with what we have. A basement and garage are wonderful.

We have a great yard so that adds extra living space in the summer.

[judybean]

I am there. So there right now. ... .. Well, I guess I should clarify, I'm there in *wanting* to get rid of it all. It's taken me a while, but I've realized we don't need it at all.

We have two vehicles (van, car). We don't need two and could easily pare down to just the van. We do need a vehicle, as dh's job is seven miles outside of town and he works late into the night. One vehicle would be more of a hassle for *me*, but because I couldn't easily get out I would end up spending far less! So we'd save on car payments (ugh, nearly $300/month), insurance (about $55/month), gas, and then the extras I get simply because I can get out of the house!!

We only live about three blocks from the library, one of the parks is just on the other side of our block, and really, we're probably about... eight blocks or so from a grocery store.

I'm just trying to figure out the best way to sell the car. I think dh is on board with this. he'll have a harder time with it than I will, since the car is pretty much 'his' ... he's the only one who drives it, just to and from work.

And teh girl's stuff?? Lordy, lordy.. they have enough to start up their own little shop. It's completely embarrassing. We Do Not Need that much stuff. It's a headache to say the least. I'm not the best housekeeper in the world and the more stuff we have... well, the messier our house is. It's messy now. Cluttered with stuff.

This is actually inspiring me at this moment to gather up stuff and either dumpster it or put in the to-sell pile (MIL is having a garage sale next weekend, our church is having one this summer, plus a local mom's group that I go to is having a sale next weekend as well -- and they all want stuff!).

(note: I understand dumpstering stuff is not the most environmentally-friendly practice. I won't dump stuff that can be gifted and/or enjoyed by another. But there is a huge awareness that comes with the dumping. I've done one big dump before, and it has opened my eyes to how much we have, and how much we have that we don't need. The 'stuff' we have now, was mostly gifted to us. Especially the girls' 'stuff'.)

[Delight]

I think I've finally "got it". I've caught the "live with less" bug. I've actually started to practice the rule that when you bring something new in, you have to get rid of something. That is the best feeling! But I think we might be addicted to getting rid of stuff! I walk the house and wonder how we can get rid of more...which I know we can!

We now have a box that is always there and that's our give away box. I've so gotten over the "oh I might need that someday" syndrome. If I need it someday, I can buy it someday. I got rid of all my knick knacks when DD started crawling/grabbing/breaking, so I really don't have much of that. My problem was the unseen stuff...the stuff in storage, basement, etc. But it's all gone now. I feel so light! Honestly, I never really knew how much of an emotional toll having extra stuff around has on you. It drains the life out of you. Just walking into my house with a clean table and clear counters makes me instantly happy.

We are also talking about becoming a one car family. We own both cars, but we are thinking of selling our van and buying a different, lower mileage vehicle with cash. I can totally relate to what judybean said about spending less by just not being able to go anywhere! It's so easy to spend money on a coffee or other little things when you are out. It adds up so fast.

Anyway...just wanted to say that I love this thread. I am excited whenever a new post pops up!

[Amys1st]

I also love this thread. We have instead of buying a new house for more space blah blah blah we turned our office into dd2's bedroom. She will be with us for a very long while but still has her space. We now have a laptop and its downstairs and dd1 calls it the family computer. Also I am not cooped up in my office but in our living space and seeing everyone-very great! I agree w what was said- less stuff, less need to tidy constantly

[DancingMom]

We are in the process of trying to sell our car and be car free -- last month the only day we drive was to show it to someone interested. 1 or 2 days a month before that....

depending on where you are, maybe you don't need to move to be free of your car --our bikes and trailer for our son have been the most freeing aspect of this process. It's as good as having a car, even better!

I will readily admit that it has been a huge mental adjustment, but toally worth it. Weather was a big mental block -- get wet? How do I stay warm? It's amazing how I thought it would be so much worse. It has also cut down on the amount of unnecessary stuff I buy -- less carrying capacity, etc. The gas savings alone have been a financial boon.

So YES! I say ditch your car, but do it slowly! Research your transport options (car share, public transit, biking, walking) and enjoy!

[mammastar2]

We sold our car a couple of months ago, and don't regret it at all. It would have been harder if we lived further from the subway, but it's important to us to live relatively centrally. We can get our groceries delivered for a few bucks if need be, and stores are all walking distance.

We have a smallish place, no garage, little bit of a yard. Not the result of downsizing though - for us this is a big step up. Feels pretty roomy to us!

[Stayseeliz]

We're getting serious about saving and doing some radical things in the next few months. We just HAD to buy a house so we financed 100% of our home. We wanted to own a home and had to have the space or so we thought! While we don't have a lot of debt other $8k in student loans and our mortgage we've decided to sell our home and move into DH's grandmother's old home for as long as we can stand it! All we have to pay is the taxes and insurance. This will save us $600 a month and allow DH to follow his dream of becoming a teacher!!

I can't wait!! I'm not gonna miss the space when we'll actually be seeing our savings grow and getting ahead financially, you know?

[judybean]

nak

i'm so excited! dh gave the go-ahead to call the bank to see what the buy-out would be on our car loan! now, of course i don't need his 'permission' by any means, but i do want him on board with all of this -- and he is!!

i hope to be a one-vehicle family very soon (provided the car sells!! i hope so, it's very dependable, quite new, no problems, quite fuel-efficient and with low mileage!)!

[mamamelia]

i always dream of this... i have always told dh that my dream ever since i was a kid was to live in a hollow tree that is a home inside (like in chip n dale or winnie the pooh cartoons). it's a dream that will never go away. thanks alot disney.

i am in love with those tumbleweed homes! when dh gets home tomorrow (he is on a business trip atm) that is the first thing i am showing him!

we currently live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home so it's pretty small compared to most homes, but it's cute and it's ours. i like it cause it's cozy and homey and dh and i are cozy and homey type people. i would like a bigger kitchen though, mainly for storage of produce.

cozyness aside, my god it can get messy in here. if my tornado dd lets the toddler bug out of it's cage, it takes around one hour to fully trash the joint.
before we moved 9 months ago we sent boxes of stuff to charity. i convinced dh that we needed to de-clutter and he said agreed. we recently did another de-cluttering which resulted in six large boxes also being sent. and it's still not enough. i need to get rid of more - around 2 more boxes worth. my new rule is if there is no place to store it, then it doesn't belong here. dh is having a hard time with that though. his rare car parts for his project car and books are things he cannot part with, and i guess i should respect that. granted, we also have shitty storage solutions (especially the kitchen cabinets) so i'm sure that is playing a big part and i wonder if i am de-cluttering too much? is that even possible?

[judybean]

oh and I did tell dh about the tumbleweed homes and he liked the idea, though it wouldn't work for us right now, he is very intrigued by the thought

[Shiloh]

his rare car parts for his project car and books are things he cannot part with, and i guess i should respect that.

if you make him very afraid he might ask a friend to keep those things at their house or his moms ... Project car that's easy get him to finish it

decluttering too much well how many times a month do you have to go buy stuff you tossed the last month? Not like I got rid of my old undies bought new ones...

dh has a real hard time with me and the kitchen gadgets I mean I can make rice in a pot so what do I need a rice maker for?.... we have a bbq he doesn't use the george forman grill....

[imgr8ful]

we're doing it! we're moving from alaska to arizona in june and we're selling everything except a few things that we just can't part with - like artwork that's been in the family for years...

my big thing right now is books - i love books, especially children's books, i used to teach elementary school and have a whole classroom library...how do i decide which ones to keep???

[tinybutterfly]

Once, while we were having a house built, we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with a small den. I LOVED it!!!

It took 30 to 45 minutes to clean the whole thing, I always knew where my kids were and could hear them, it was laid out nicely spacewise and I loved the coziness. Dh HATED it...he needs some space alone. It was too small for him.

We have talked about a townhouse type dwelling like what we lived in when we first married. Two bedrooms, 1 and 1//2 baths, a galley kitchen...I'd like a basement because of tornadoes. I am so happy he is willing to consider a smaller space for when the kids move out and start their own grown-up lives. I think for us, having an upstairs and downstairs is important for his privacy needs.

I had to laugh at the comment about as long as the poster got her jewelry box and photos, she'd be fine. That's me, too!

Dh is wanting to get another car...we have a Honda for me, a Honda for ds#1, an SUV to pull the boat...and he wants another car to drive, because gas is so expensive. Sigh. I may end up driving the SUV, because I drive less and my errands are close to home. I don't want another vehicle. ( I really don't want the boat, either, or the SUV...but um, I do want to keep my husband, so...)

Oh, my brother moved from the west coast to the east coast once and all he had was his truck packed with his stuff and a very small U-haul thingie. He took very little with him...I was so envious.

[GoGirlGo]

Originally Posted by p.s

check out these homes...http://www.rosschapin.com/

Wow. This is just the kind of home i have been looking for.