Let it Go…

Let it go, let it go! A lot of stuff is just for shoooowwww! Let it go, let it go! Financial freedom’s the way to go! Sorry, I couldn’t resist alluding to that earworm of a song. You know you probably read that to the same tune of that familiar animated film tune.

Today’s post was sparked by an email I received from the Dave Ramsey newsletter I had subscribed to some time ago. There was a feature offering suggestions for 30 ways to make extra money. This is a new year and so a lot of people have made the decision to turn over a new leaf in their finances, aspiring to have a better fiscal year in the upcoming months. Wonderful goal to have, seeking financial freedom from debt.

Seven of the suggested ways involved either selling or renting things you already own. When you consider these options, it really makes you evaluate whether you really need something or not when you are in a financial bind. Evaluating the need to hang on to things for one reason or another is also something that comes up when contemplating a minimalism lifestyle.

The need for a lot of “stuff” is something I have been thinking about for the last few months. We are currently in an apartment while our new home is being built. That meant putting most of our stuff in storage and going from 1500 sq ft of space to less than 900 sq ft as a family of four. I tried to purge a lot when we were packing to move out of our old house and did manage to sell a few hundred dollars’ worth of assorted household items in the last multi-family garage sale with my in-laws. There have also been times I have had to dig through the storage to look for vital items like the box of winter coats and clothing that I didn’t think to take with us to the apartment. That quest taught me that I didn’t label boxes as well as I had hoped.

What I have learned during the few months of living in a smaller home is that we really do not need all of the things we had acquired and are currently sitting in storage. There are some things I miss having for convenience sake but we can live without for a while. It will certainly make me think twice when we are unpacking as to whether or not I want to keep everything we put into storage.

If you are debating about clearing some clutter but have reservations, I would suggest you find some boxes. Box up the items you think you you can part with but may not be 100% sure about. Set those boxes aside for a bit whether it is one month or two, and then revisit the idea of removing them from your home by either giving them away or selling. Sometimes a little temporary separation makes

permanent removal a little easier on the emotions.

I also read a forum post where a woman was commenting about how her mother-in-law has a bad habit of shopping for home decor items and gifting them to her. Alas, the items purchased were of the style of the mother-in-law rather than the daughter-in-law and often consisted of knick knacks or, as my own mother referred to such items, “dust catchers.” The woman who wrote the forum post said she would store a box of them in the closet and then when the mother-in-law would visit, she would display an assortment of those purchases out of some sense of guilt or who knows what. Those items brought her no joy and didn’t appeal to her own personal taste for her home.

It was suggested by several others that she should simply box the items up and donate them, thus purging her home of their physical presence and the mental chains of obligation and guilt. She did and reported back that it was quite liberating to walk through her home, box in hand, and remove all of the offending items.

I share this anecdote to let you know that if purging things because of emotional attachments or a feeling of guilt, consider the liberation that could come of reclaiming space in your home. The value of that can be priceless. Plus, if what you get rid off puts a little money in your pocket, then that’s an additional benefit too.

You might be wondering if this is a Financial Fridays post or one that focuses on going green and honestly, I think it could be a bit of both. I mentioned the Dave Ramsey post about ways to make extra money because I imagine we could all use a little extra funding after the holidays. But I also wanted to point out that in selling items you no longer need or want, you are reducing your commercialism footprint. Perhaps that step would be the start of a shift in thinking – away from consumerism and towards a more minimalism approach to your purchases. This not only helps with increasing your green footprint by reducing consumerism but it also helps your financial health because the money you might be spending on impulse purchases or not necessary items is freed up to put towards other things like debt.

Welcome to 2020, dear readers. May the year ahead of us all be one where we prioritize our relationships with people over stuff and more debt. Go green, my fellow Texans!

*Feature photo from https://www.rotoscopers.com/2013/10/27/let-it-go-full-movie-lyrics/