Our #1 priority since January has been to GET OUT OF DEBT. And we have made HUGE progress this year. We’ve slashed 1/3 of our debt (whoop!) and as of right now, we are slated to be out of debt in January 2014. However, if we can pay an extra $1700 between now and then, we will be out of debt in December 2013. NEXT YEAR! I know it is only one month difference, but that one month totally changes our frame of mind. Being able to say we will be out of debt NEXT YEAR (versus two years) is so incredibly motivating!
So Matt and I have been cleaning out. Bathroom drawers, bins in closets, nightstands, dressers, etc. We are getting rid of anything/everything we do not use. We are paring down. Not only is this preparing us to live with less, but we are also finding LOTS of stuff we can sell!
I am AMAZED at the crap we seem to hoard. I honestly had no idea we had 27 bottles of half-used lotion, 84 pens, 312 cables/wires, and 752 buttons.* None of which will get us much in the way of cash, but we did find some stuff (in multiple quantities) that we can sell. Do you hoard any of these items? What are the strangest items you hoard?
What we are selling this week on ebay/craigslist:
- TEN old cellphones
- SEVEN watches
- FOUR iPod/mp3 players
WHY have we kept these things for so long? If you are in the same place we are… start cleaning out drawers and cabinets and let us know what you hoard! We also have some single items we are selling too… we hope this “found money” will get us the $1700 we need to keep us motivated! 16 months and we’ll be debt-free! Then we start saving for our life afloat…
*some of these numbers may be exaggerated. I didn’t actually count.
That is awesome you guys! We found the same thing when we moved out of our house. There was just so much stuff! I would not even say I am a hoarder, I am actually on the minimalist side but it was amazing how much we got rid of! Now I am doing my best to just not buy anything before our trip. And as of yesterday that includes food! We have six weeks to go and I am on a mission to eat only what we have (plus a few staples here and there)!
SIX WEEKS!? That is awesome! I can’t wait for the day we start counting WEEKS! :0) So excited for you!! – Michelle
Yes, we found at least a half dozen cell phones during the big un-stuffing process. On the boat, every time we bring something ON, we take something OFF.