The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: Capt j-rod on March 30, 2017, 08:30:24 AM
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As I proceed into my frugal ways and overall badassity, I have noticed a cool tendency. I looked back to my grandparents when we cleaned out their estate. They never made much money. Gramps worked for a small village and never made more than $12/hr. He was a WW2 vet. Ironically they both had college degrees in education that never got used. How did they do it? They always had 1 1/2 cars... A good car and a beater work car. Gardening was huge. They literally only bought meat and milk. One "good" everything. One hammer, one shovel, one lawnmower. These goods were made back when quality was easy to find.
I came home and looked at my heap of trash... 8 hammers, a box of junk screw drivers, ton's of "sale & clearance" junk that was too good of a deal to pass up. I dumped it all out on the floor, organized it, kept the good, gave away and true out the cheap Chinese junk. I was literally using three bad ones to get by. What I ended up with was 1/3 the volume, two nice extra "tool kits" and a rock solid set of professional grade quality tools. I now have a very different outlook on tools. When one breaks I buy the best one I can find and keep it.
Sporting goods came next. I literally got rid of 1/2 of my stuff. What is left is very high quality and durable goods. Gave the rest away to my friends kids to get them started.
Next up is the kitchen. The wife is gonna freak out. I'm tired of cleaning, maintaining and storing 12 of everything. In the cheap trash disposable society that we now live in, it is very easy to hoard trash that fails when we need it the most resulting in another purchase to finish the job.
I was in the planning and design phase of a shop/barn. It needed to be huge to "accommodate" everything. It is now 1/2 the size and way more feasible. I want to thank everyone in the community and give MMM a big thanks for saving me from myself!!!!
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http://earlyretirementextreme.com/how-to-downsize-your-kitchen.html
This is an interesting view on downsizing your kitchen.
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I went through a major de-clutter mode last year. Attic, basement, garage, closets. Refreshing to have so much space back and I had not even seen the walls of my garage since the day we moved into the house.
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What size of barn did you start with and end with? Im going to start saving for a barn soon. I always hear build as big as you possibly can, but I hate clutter and it's not going to be a storage shed. I want it big enough to do wood and metal work, pull my vehicles in for maintenance, and maybe a small gym area. Im thinking 30x50, and it will be around 25k. My problem right now is wanting a shop soon. It's going to take me 5+ years to save up for it to pay cash, and this makes me want to buy a smaller one just so I can have one sooner.
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I just decided this week to become a minimalist and have started decluttering. Most I have done so far is getting rid of clothes.
But yes, your comments sound familiar. We have so much of everything and keep older versions available for just in case. For example: our old not-lightweight tent with bended poles is still in a cupboard at our cabin, that has very little cupboard space. Just in case we ever want to use a tent there without bringing it from home. At home we have the following tents:
- a 1 person lightweight tent
- an old and well-used 3 persons lightweight and very small tent
- a new 3 persons light weight tent with a lot more space than the old one
- an old, but hardly used 3 persons tent that is not light weight, intended for car vacations.
I definitively want to get rid of the old and damaged one at the cabin.
In general I can comment that having a cabin is the ultimate excuse of never throwing away and old thing. It always can be used at the cabin. Luckily I have very little space there and can't store too much stuff.
More on topic, with tools we have noticed that there is a big difference in quality tool vs cheap stuff. Especially with drills that can make round holes in walls. We have thrown away 2 useless cheaper sets earlier and have now an expensive, but good quality set. Unfortunately I managed to damage the main part by using it wrongly and that now has to be replaced.
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Re Barn Size.... The old me wanted a 38x60... I'm now looking at 36x40 with a partial loft. The magic of a pole barn is you can always add cheaply.... Just move the end wall and fill in the middle. I have the cash, but I can't seem to pull the trigger. I keep buying rental house that make money. I rent a space near by for cheap and get away with it. Eventually this option will go away and I'll have to do it. Big spaces=more junk. I am always building, repairing, restoring something. a barn helps to preserve the items you already have, so there is value. I also have an extra bay in the building spoken for by a neighbor who is land locked. He said he will gladly rent a space.
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My wife and I live in a fifth wheel full time. We recently donated 6, 30 gallon trash bags worth of clothes. We have been going through everything else as well. Feels amazing.
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I have a small dump trailer that I use for my rental properties and construction. It is literally my favorite possession. I back it in the garage, load it with trash, and off to the landfill we go. I live in the township and I get 12 free trips to the landfill each year. I literally look forward to the first of the month. FWIW, I also do mulch jobs around town with the trailer too. It has been a little goldmine since I bought it. I've even rented it to people for a dumpster with delivery. I'm even considering buying a second one if it gets bigger.