I got asked if I regret selling ALL my stuff the other day, or maybe it was the other week — I have no concept of time anymore. Anyway, it was a valid question. I sold all my stuff a few years ago, and now I need some of that stuff again. So was it worth it, or do I regret selling all my stuff?
Hindsight is 20/20, so yes, I would regret selling something if I could have used right now. However, I would have had to store that stuff. What would that storage cost have been? $50 a month? $100 a month? More? My wife and I weighed those options. We also didn’t want to leave with the mindset of coming back to the same ole stuff and the life that accompanied it.
As mentioned, my sister gladly stored my tools, and when I needed them she gave them back. I know she got some good use of them though, and having those tools surely helped when she bought her house.
We also kept a few items of clothing — mainly some winter boots and just a few items of cold-weather clothing, in case we had to return in winter for a funeral or worse — a wedding! Funny enough, I guess I kept a suit, I have no idea why. I was pretty surprised when my mother-in-law said; “Oh, and there’s your suit over here”. Uh…Qué dijiste?
But if I had a do-over, I wouldn’t change a thing. Here’s why:
Stuff owned me!
That line from the movie Fight Club rings true, and only when you’ve lost everything are you free to do anything. When you get rid of stuff you realize you didn’t need all that stuff. You shopped for the sake of shopping. You wanted your place to look like something from a House and Home magazine article. Why? Hey, I was guilty of it too, so don’t think I’m trying to pass judgement. I’m just here to offer another viewpoint. Having gone through the motions of getting rid of my stuff I’ve realized it is just STUFF. It doesn’t have to match. It doesn’t have to be new. It doesn’t have to be high-end name-brand stuff. It just has to have a function.
I evolved
I gained so much more through experiences over the past three years. From honing my copy writing skills when applying to house sits, or speaking Spanish with local fishermen in Panama, to the numerous spa experiences we’ve enjoyed. Stuff and the desire for more stuff ended up consuming my time prior to a nomadic life. Let’s face it, shopping sucks the hind one. This rings more true as every year passes for me. I just don’t get enamored with stuff.
I can move whenever, wherever!
Having less stuff allowed us to be mobile. Our lives fit into two medium-sized wheeled duffels. We received many similar remarks as we’d wheel them up to meet our home owners for a house sit “That’s all you have”? Yep. This is our life right here.
It’s not something we gloat about, it was just our reality. Okay, we gloated a little. But it was easier for us to be mobile. Shit, I’d have lugged around my own pillow in a heartbeat if I had the space.
Now that we’re stationary again we possess: my aforementioned tools, one queen size bed, one couch, a desk that doubles as our dining table, and five chairs of varying size and comfort (two were donated to us, two we got at yard sale, and one was half-off retail at $50). It wouldn’t be hard to move if we needed to. And not that we intend on moving from town to town, let alone country to country. It’s nice to know we’re not tied down by stuff, or looking to accumulate more stuff. And if we did need to sell anything, I think we’ve got the hang of how to do just that!
But I guess there are a few things I actually do regret selling and should have just asked some family to hang on to, you know, justin case:
- My Forrest Gump movie poster. Okay, not really — I recouped the money I paid for it and then some. And this Gump-inspired drawing I made in Savannah can easily replace it.
- My Sega game console. Actually, I could care less about this. A long time ago I learned of a way you can play all of those old consoles on your computer. But after a recent visit with my niece, she tore me a new one about selling it and how near and dear she felt those games were. I guess she felt we were bonding through video games? I think she was just really drunk.
Even if you don’t intend on selling all your stuff to move abroad, you can sell some stuff to downsize, declutter, or even just to hit the reset button and create a new minimalist lifestyle for yourself.
So do I regret selling ALL my stuff? Nope. And neither will you. Trust me!
Now go sell all your stuff — you won’t regret it!