Stuff Minimisation and Financial Freedom

Over the past two years, we have been on an EPIC QUEST please tell me we’re not the only people for whom thinking of things as quests makes the admin feel more bearable… One of the parts of this quest, as you know, has been reduction of expenses. Another part has been self-education regarding personal finances, and a resulting increase in investment income. A third branch of the quest, one that has been essential to the financial freedom frame of mind, has been the process of STUFF MINIMISATION. 

Does your life feel like this? Time for STUFF MINIMISATION!
Photo Credit: Nathan Jongewaard (CC-BY 2.0)

Minimisation and Financial Freedom

What does STUFF MINIMISATION have to do with financial freedom? 

1.  It is about reducing our dependence on a consumer mindset, and retraining our brains to understand that STUFF does not make us happy.
2. It is about (re)discovering useful and awesome STUFF that otherwise gets buried in all the other STUFF, and therefore getting the best use/most enjoyment out of the STUFF we have instead of constantly needing new STUFF -  otherwise known as expenses!
3. It is about reducing the amount of time spent maintaining, cleaning and repairing all your STUFF, thereby increasing the amount of time available for everything else.
4. It is about creating a calm environment (minimizing stress right alongside that STUFF) from which we are better able to cope with life. We are therefore better able to make tough, long-term decisions instead of lurching from choice to choice in the sometimes inexorable grip of what feels good now.

However, STUFF MINIMISATION is a process, not a destination. We, for example, still own far too much STUFF, despite all our efforts. We live a lavish lifestyle, if you get down to the basic needs, surrounded by sentimental and useful possessions.

The fact is, that although we may admire the homes furnished entirely by two blocks of concrete and a pot plant, we have no real desire to be minimalists. Some STUFF is handy to have around, and the premise of chucking everything not currently in use seems wasteful: after all, I will need that brand new extra beater at some point when my current one fizzles, as it inevitably will. But do I need ten microscopically different baking dishes, all of which fulfill the same essential function? Nope. Might I need the work trousers in one size up some day? Yeah, let’s be honest, I might. And why buy a new pair just because I didn’t want to keep one extra folded pair of trousers in the back of my cupboard? Do I need to keep the skirt which I’ve worn once in the three years since I bought it? Well… probably not. There is a balance here, and probably a balance which comes out differently for every family.

So I can't give you a date by which we will only have the optimal STUFF left in our home. I can't show you a picture of the ideal STUFF-free home, or tell you which of your STUFF you should get rid of.

But I can tell you that embarking on a process of STUFF MINIMISATION definitely makes you think twice before acquiring: for that reason alone, it is worth considering in our consumer-mad world. 

Fill your life with freedom, not STUFF.

Photo Credit: brett jordan (CC-BY 2.0)

Making Minimisation Practical

Most of us wouldn't mind a bit of a spring clean, and most of us would probably agree that we could stand to get rid of some STUFF. The difficulty is that, well, it's... difficult. Whether because of inertia or sentimentality, the STUFF MINIMISATION process is tough to start and tougher to make significant progress in. The choices are personal, and often emotional.

How do I make myself actually make those choices on a fairly regular basis?

1. Give almost everything away. This is usually quicker and easier than selling, and it will probably give you a happy glow. Plus, (almost) everything can be given away, and not everything is saleable if you aren't going to do the massive garage sale thing. And I certainly do not have the energy for that. Most charity shops will take boxes and bags of unsorted junk with wide-embracing er, charity, and do all the sorting and  pricing themselves. Some will even collect. If they can make a bit of money out of my pursuit of freedom, awesome. 
2. Sell the big stuff. Some STUFF is worth a lot of money: you know what that might be in your home. Double financial freedom whammy: less STUFF + more money. In South Africa, Gumtree is your friend, though you need to be careful (obviously). But if you don't have the bandwidth even for this... see #1! Don't get stressed about making a small amount of extra cash here: the main goal is getting the STUFF out of your life as efficiently as possible. Keep your prices low but fair in exchange for quick, easy sales.
3. Keep a secret STUFF stash in between dumping trips. We have a big cardboard box in the garage. Whenever we decide that an item can go, we put it in there, straight away. No backsies. Then, when the box is full, we can take a trip to our favourite charity shop.
4. One step at a time. Whether you work room by room, or have a special decluttering time in the week/month, or cope with one type of STUFF at a time, don't try to do everything in one go. That's just demoralising. Rather celebrate each item of STUFF that you manage to toss. And of course enjoy using the good STUFF unearthed!
5. Embrace the process... and remember it. The pain has significant gain: if you can hold on to your irritation as you throw out another half used moisturizer, and bring it out at the right moment, you are way less likely to buy more useless STUFF next time you're at the mall.

Lastly, keep your eyes on the purpose of all your hard work: instead of gradually accumulating more STUFF, you are gradually accumulating more freedom. Instead of buying the latest and greatest, you are getting rid of the white elephants, the not-really-our-favourites and the no-longer-useful. Instead of filling your home with possessions, you are emptying it, to make space for possibility.

Make space for possibility!
Photo credit: Archana Jarajapu (CC-BY 2.0)

To freedom!
jjdaydream