Minimalist Game Day 17

I was given some great advice today by my mentor:-)  I have a spreadsheet tracking everything I am tossing, selling or donating already.  That is the details.  I shouldn't get bogged down in the details.  I live in the details every day at work.  I need to take the time to realize what the impact is on what I am doing.  I donated some clothes last week.  I had no feelings about it, because I am focused on that 500 items by 8/31.  Someone will get some nice clothes, and I cleared out 8 bags of stuff that was cluttering up my entryway.  I was able to consolidate closet space because of this.  Lastly completing that task is worth at least taking a second to take note of.  So big Hulk Clap to me!

Still what is left feels overwhelming to try to get through.  Not that I should be surprised, as this is what I tend to do.  Go in full blast and attack whatever it is I am focused on.  I have piles of murdered books stacked up, scanned and now waiting for me to go page by page in the PDF to verify everything scanned okay.  I've barely made a dent in the eBay listings (not that eBay's apparent 100 item limit has been imposed on me will help), and boxes of donated books still sit.  There is a game plan at least, and I see some light up ahead, as well as what else goes on that path.  Amazing that this all was started from a  comment about living in a Tiny house.   I'm still not convinced I can do it, but just the research on that lead me down this rabbit hole of Minimalism, Simplification, and a host of other "alternative" ways of living.  Not that I will be getting a full-on hippification.  I will do what always do...glean the good, what works for me, what fits my values, and targets what I want...and let the rest drift into the ether.  

I listened to a great podcast on Value of Simple today also with Ryan Avery.  I am definitely an old dog, wanting to learn new tricks.  This is one that I will try, as it fits right in with my desire to simplify (something I see starting to become a key to balance the chaos).  Multiple debit accounts, each for a specific purpose, and automatically deducted from your paycheck based on percentage.  Mine might look something like this (going through my budget in more detail should help me to narrow the numbers down):

• Savings - 20%
• Travel - 10%
• Charity - 10%
• Everyday "Stuff" - 60%

This is all down the road, once I get through the de-cluttering.  I already know I will feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulder once the "stuff" that is targeted to go, is gone.  Don't worry though I won't turn in to (much of) a hippie.