Downsizing

My family is going through a downsizing and minimizing process.  It has been very interesting.  My husband and I have decided that we will no longer be owned by our stuff.  We took a good long look at our budget and realized we are working for our stuff.  So the serious discussions about our priorities and what we want out of life have led to some drastic decisions and major changes.  The biggest one is that we are moving from our 4400 square foot "McMansion" into our large RV that is about 300 square feet.  Ha! (Those numbers are correct, no typos here.)

Yes this is a choice.  Intentional.  Thought out.  Prayed about.  A decision.  (Side note, did you know that the Hebrew word for to decide is the same word as mutilate, cut off, maim?).   Interesting that when we make a decision we do have to let go, ie, cut off some stuff in order to follow through with that decision.

We are doing this not out of financial necessity, but out of spiritual and emotional necessity.  Oh, our finances will definitely be impacted, hopefully in a positive way.  I keep thinking about Jesus and the verse that says He had no place to lay His head.  Now, rest assured that I am not going to end up selling everything I own, but I am thinking of my possessions very differently.  Truth is, everything we own will be gone through by somebody else after we die.  It will end up in yard sales, thrift stores or the trash, mostly.  We are born with nothing and we will leave this life with nothing.

I have no illusions that full time RV living will be easy or carefree.   However, I do believe the sacrifice and changes we need to make will be worth it.  Perhaps we will only make it one month. Maybe nine.  Maybe longer.  Who knows?  God does.  That's who.  We have decided to be all in and follow this minimized lifestyle for a time.  We will see where God leads.  I have been feeling a gentle prompting that says "get ready" for some time now.  Get ready for what, you ask.  I don't know.  Just that we need to "get ready". Admittedly a bit of a challenge when you do not know what you are getting ready for.  But I trust God and I will follow where He leads and think of it as an adventure.

  For the past few months we have been selling our possessions.  We've had a moving sale that seems to have lasted for months thanks to the Internet.  We've donated stuff to charities.  We've given stuff away.  For at least 2 months.  And you know what I have felt during this time?  Primarily a sense of freedom, relief each time an item leaves the house.  Hopefully it is going to people who will actually use and enjoy the stuff.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with stuff, in and of itself.  That's not what I'm trying to say.  However, the amount of stuff we had accumulated gave me a knot in my stomach.  I was disgusted at the amount of stuff that we had.  I've also felt sick to my stomach when I think about how much money we have spent on these things we "had to have" that ended up gathering dust in a closet or cabinet somewhere.

I had no intention of blogging about this, but due to several comments and discussions with others, I decided to start and share my thoughts as we continue through this process.  I am not 100% sure where it will go or how much I will blog, but I will share thoughts as time allows and God leads.