Reduce one third of the budget

IMG_1646Today, while thinking about the upcoming move to the ship - hopefully in nine months' time - I realised that I will have a similar amount of living space, but far less floor space for furniture.

In other words, if I want to have a nice and uncluttered space on board, I have to reduce my possessions by about 1/3 before the move.

In concrete terms, this means 1/3 less

 

  • Clothing
  • Documents
  • Pictures
  • Spices
  • Books
  • Decorative items
  • Furniture
  • Kitchen utensils
  • Packaging material
  • Flower vases
  • Shoes
  • etc.

I took a deep breath...that really is a lot. Sorting things out takes strength. The brain finds nothing as exhausting as making decisions, because thousands of facts have to be considered intensively and at lightning speed when making a decision. Mental peak performance. That's why things like filing are so exhausting: because you constantly have to decide: Do I still need this or not? After just 15 such decision-making processes, your brain is exhausted...and needs a rest. If you keep pushing - because the mountain is so high - you'll be totally exhausted at some point. Everyone knows that.

I want to avoid that.

Strategy 1: Sort out regularly

I will make time for sorting out after lunch on work days - occasionally more at the weekend. The fixed time is important, because planning something for „sometime“ is almost a guarantee that it will never happen. During this time, I want to organise around 20 - 50 things (crockery, clothes, documents). I then want to decide which third of them won't be allowed on the boat.

And plan what I want to do with the remaining third.

  • Throwing things away (I am extremely reluctant to do this if they are things that others could still use)
  • Give away
  • Repurpose
  • Auction or sell

The average household has around 10,000 items. In 9 x 20 working days - with 50 items per day - I should have sorted through approx. 9000 items.

Strategy 2: Do not replace some things

With some things, I assume that they will disappear over time anyway because they break or are used up.

  • Socks, underwear 
  • Cosmetics
  • Spices
  • Cleaning kit
  • Envelopes

Here, I want to try not to replace things that are going bye-bye by themselves, but to make do with less. Or, for example, to reduce the variety of cleaning products and make do with a few basic cleaners. This should - hopefully - make the remaining things manageable.

Strategy 3: Swap

There are only a few things that I probably need more of on the ship than I have:

  • Cushion
  • Bedding
  • Planter boxes for fruit, vegetables and herbs
  • Crockery and cutlery (presumably)

Maybe I can swap with some people, for example.

  • Children's books for pillows
  • Art against kitchen furniture
  • Cloths against solar chargers
  • Napkins for flower pots or planters
  • Cupboards against garden furniture
  • Everything possible against lead for the ship
  • Who has what?

What motivates me in particular for the next few weeks: It's my birthday at the end of April. There is traditionally a Birthday table - for my guests. It contains all the things I want to give away. And anyone who wants to can help themselves! It's a joy every year to see things that I no longer need find a new, happier owner.

Imitation allowed - freedom is good for you: There are even Impulses from me - slimming down makes life more beautiful and easier. Wonderful.

Impulse booklet Letting go

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. You've come up with some really great strategies and I wish you every success with them. The birthday table for guests sounds good too! Another tip from me is to organise „swap meets“, which I do myself at regular intervals (privately), as many women/mothers are often tired of lugging boxes of everything around to all the flea markets. Everyone can bring whatever they have left. But it's also okay if you come empty-handed, as most people are just happy to get rid of something. There is always a lot of laughter and many things actually find a new owner!

    1. Thank you, dear Vera. That sounds good (swap meets). I cleared out a whole box of kitchen stuff today. What I haven't needed in the last 5 years, I probably won't need in the next 5 years either....

  2. Hi Kerstin!
    When we went on camping holidays, I was often amazed at how little I actually needed and this thought, combined with the feeling of being on holiday, was so easy for me. When I'm clearing out now, this image accompanies me and I find reducing something quite liberating.
    However, I have to admit that I've never had to reduce my household out of the size of a ship....that's a different story ;) I wish you a lot of serenity!

    1. Dear Birgit....I think the idea of the inner picture of camping is great. Christoph Schalk has a new Quadro „Achieving goals“ wrote a lot about how important inner images are - and that it makes sense to consciously develop them. You're doing it intuitively right! Brilliant.
      The picture with the 1/3 helps me ...I can also count concretely ...I have just looked at a corner in the kitchen with flower vases etc. and thought about which third can go.

  3. „Life is a journey. The less luggage you have with you, the more impressions you can take with you.“
    I discovered this saying today and had to think of you.

Comments are closed.