I have taken the decision to become a rational minimalist, which means getting rid of all the stuff we don't actively use. But it does not mean stripping down the house to the bare minimum.
Currently we have put 2 racing bikes, 2 racing wheels and a new pair of hiking trousers on the internet for sale. The wheels are already agreed sold. Someone wanted to buy the trousers, but wanted me to finance all the sending cost which was not cheap. I reclined and will wait a bit longer for a better deal.
I have gone through my drawer with underwear and removed everything that I don't wear. One nice and practically unworn bodice can be sold. I have lots of nice underwear that are a cup size too small, because my body weight has fluctuated with 8 kilograms through the years. If I ever get 1 clothes size lower body weight, they will fit again. And who knows if that might happen again if I get more active. So I've put the nicest ones in a bag and put that bag in the back of a cupboard, out of the way. -> Some of you might find this a stupid tactic, but I've burnt myself before my throwing away all clothes that didn't fit anymore and then lose 8 kilos a year later. I've thrown away all of the old underwear that I don't want to wear anymore for whatever reason. Same with sports socks. Lots of them are never used. All in the same garbage bag. I kept my favorites
I've also gone through my sweaters and taken out all the ones that I haven't worn for the past 2 or more years. They will be given away for recycling.
I have also emptied a old Amaretto tin with 150 grams of Durum flour, made pasta of the flour and threw away the tin that stood permanently on the kitchen top. And I've thrown away a high and narrow glass vase that is too high to fit into any closet and has been standing on the kitchen top for 1,5 year. Sometimes I need a high and narrow vase for when I get a single nice rose, but such a vase I already have (a better and nicer one), so this other vase could go.
I found a place for the container with dishwasher detergent. It has been standing in a window frame in the kitchen for 1,5 years (since we moved in). Now I just put it in a cupboard, together with the casseroles.
I'm gonna take small steps at the time. I have told my DH about the minimalism plan. He got a bit scared that I might want to get rid of all the hobby stuff we have. But my plan is to just reduce the piles of stuff that we don't use. And it does fit in with the plan that we want to strip down our belongings to a minimum after FIRE, to be flexible to move.
Next steps to take:
- Photographing and selling a nice bodice.
- Photographing and selling my wedding dress, which is in fact an evening gown (It was a Mustachian choice, as this dress cost less than half of what a normal wedding dress costs).
- Going through the rest of my clothes and throwing out unused clothes.
- Sorting out the camping gear and throwing away what we don't use.
- Throwing away old shoes, even though they are still wearable, but that we in practice haven't used for years.
- Clearing up some cupboards upstairs and see if I can fit our camping gear in there. Now it is spread in too many places and too easy to forget something.
- Maybe organize a garage sale to sell/give away things that can be reused. Like a moose that might fit in a children's room and a small grill.
- Testing a bunch of old small headphones. Currently we have 20 or so hanging on a cupboard knob. I should either test which ones work and are good to keep or just throw away the lot.