Downsizing For A Digital Nomad Life
Posted by Dan on August 08, 2009 in The Voyage…you’re not how much money you’ve got in the bank. You’re not your job. You’re not your family, and you’re not who you tell yourself…. You’re not your name…. You’re not your problems…. You’re not your age…. You are not your hopes.
~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
I don’t need to live in a modern 2 bedroom unit at $250 a week. My second bedroom is full of things I don’t use and don’t need. Why did I buy a refrigerator that I can hardly ever fill and if I do most of the food in it will still go off before I get to use it?
I guess the explanation is that these things happened before I found the answer to how I want to live my life
Getting rid of “things”.
I emptied a box full of things and kitchen bits that are actually useful so long as they aren’t sitting in box in a spare room. I took that box into every room in the house and filled it with things that are essentially rubbish. Things that have just been kept for god knows what reason, things that have no or next to no value to sell and would be difficult even to give away. Into the rubbish with that and now I want to find some more stuff to clear out.
Reasons to Downshift
- It’s more sustainable.
- You’ll save money.
- Less stress.
- Less baggage.
It’s an essential part of lifestyle design that you control the amount of things you have so that when an opportunity comes along or if you create one for yourself you have the ability to take it without worrying too much about sorting out things like what to do with you car, furniture, white goods and other household items. You live with what you need and a small amount of luxuries that you frequently use, you find what “enough” is for you. For me this is an essential part of becoming financially ready to start the lifestyle of traveling and living abroad that I want.
Luckily I’ve managed to be pretty ruthless, there isn’t a lot of sentimental stuff I’ve held onto, many people struggle to get rid of this stuff but if you start out with just a few small things when you come back to what is left and recognize that you don’t miss the things you thought you might and the rest will more than likely be the same.
I’ve inventoried the things around my house that I will sell off before I leave but can’t offload until that time. I did this using Quicken and so it also helped my more accurately calculate my net worth. Selling off those larger items whenever you can feels good and helps with the bank balances too.
My lease ends in about two months so I’ll soon be looking for a smaller or shared apartment to move into which could save me $200 or more a month. A smaller place will force me to minimize the crap I leave lying around.
Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/mvv788
Yep, stuff definitely holds back the digital nomad in us. My parents guilted me into keeping my queen size bed/boxspring (which indeed, was new and very nice!) and a kitchen table set they’d bought me as a gift 10 years ago.
Ironically, if I’m going to be looking for an apartment in NYC, chances are good I won’t be able to afford one where I can fit my old bed, let alone a kitchen table set. I’ll be simply looking for a small room to rent. So why have I been holding onto this stuff the last 2 years and paying for a bigger storage locker to hold it?
Shrug.
I definitely agree here.
Stuff is not only a waste of money, but it is a waste of brain power. We spend so much time shopping, maintaining, cleaning and protecting stuff.
If you don’t own things, you don’t covet things. It is very refreshing. However, I still have a way to go to cut down on my possessions.
Need and want are often confused. We really don’t need that much to get along in life.
When you hit the road you really see just how little you need. Obviously travel is suited to owning little but seeing the modest ways so much of the world lives also helps you distinguish those wants from needs.
Oddly apparently mobiles are a need, think that one slipped past quietly.
Is that because the sentimental stuff is still in your cupboard at my place clutting up my house .lol
Love you Mum XXXXXX