<center>![junk-shop-1561897_960_720.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRdxuzkgo8aHLxFnC2iGhyyYhMaG6PRAjanxNyfzgwkxx/junk-shop-1561897_960_720.jpg)</center>

# I've been saying it for years: There's too much *stuff* in my life! #

Having too much stuff is a source of stress for me. I have to think about where to store it, how to organize it, make sure it stays clean and in usable condition. I have to look at it all the time, even the stuff I never use! And if I ever want to, say, move to another country for a year, I'll have to deal with all the stuff before I can go. I would much rather spend money on experiences than things, and I successfully changed my habits several years ago so that I really don't buy "stuff" anymore. But there still *is* a lot of stuff around the house. Either things I bought before changing my consumption habits, or things that my family members have collected, or things that were given to us by relatives who wouldn't take no for an answer.

But until now, I have failed to put together a plan of action to eliminate all of that pointless stuff from my home and property. Partly, that was because I always had trouble getting my family members to agree to part with the stuff. But partly, it was because any attempt at tackling the project ground to a halt when I encountered that familiar feeling of overwhelm.

My kid is now old enough to see the value in getting rid of things to manage stress and make more space. And even my pack-rat husband has started to come around to my way of thinking. A bit. So I put a plan in place a few weeks ago, and, as a family, we've been steadily working through the STUFF.

# Here's the plan: #

### Dust off the old eBay account. ###
I hadn't used eBay for over a year, and had, in the interim, changed my email address and lost my password. When I tried to list an item for auction, eBay thought I was trying to use my account fraudulently and it shut down my listing. It took me a couple of days to get that all straightened out, but I'm glad I did! Since I've been sorting through all this old stuff, I've found quite a few items of value that I either didn't even know I had, or had no idea what they were worth until looking them up.

<center>![bookshark-collection.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVnPEzBHSJ97unrZmLsThP3fMo9jmR9AEM7u2gNBePrkZ/bookshark-collection.jpg)</center>
<center>*Old homeschool books and materials are a goldmine on eBay. I should be able to get around $250 for this used curriculum set.*</center>

### Schedule a yard sale. ###
Ours is scheduled for May 5th, so we have to finish going through all of our belongings before then! It's definitely an excellent motivator to keep on going. We're having a community yard sale at my mom's house, and a couple of her neighbors are joining in, too. So we should be able to attract quite a bit of yard sale business!

<center>![yard-sale.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW1o6TTTGanfoDf6TiBGUUnUeAHyfCZicJ75VXgrxdXRw/yard-sale.jpg)</center>
<center>*I've dedicated half of my office to storing stuff for the yard sale. This is the collection so far.*</center>

### Each week, go through one room or area in the house. ###
Sift through every single item in that room or area and decide which things we don't need or want anymore. Of those, sort into groups: Sell on eBay, Sell at yard sale, Trash, and Donate. So far, each room has only taken me about four to five hours to sweep through, so it's not something I have to devote all of my energy to for the day or the week. Doing just one room per week makes the task seem less overwhelming than if we tried to do it all at once.

<center>![desk-and-books.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYwEchXuG7waY6BnBou4uA2zWYLBfJwun73M92f9Didtd/desk-and-books.jpg)</center>
<center>*Here are some more books and things I found around the house that are going up on eBay. The little school desk is going in the yard sale, since my daughter is finally too big to use it.*</center>

### When the house is done, go through all of the junk we have stored in different places around the property. ###
A lot of that stuff will sell either at the yard sale or on Craigslist. I already got a bit of a head start by selling my dad's old pickup truck and a bunch of cattle fencing. But we've still got quite a bit of yard and farm related equipment (mostly things left behind by the previous owners of our property) that could be sold. If we can't sell it, we're taking it to the dump!

<center>![dad-truck.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNzM7J4Gq5BALJ9wu5BaF2v6hFRDdGcX1s5DV6KXdfts9/dad-truck.jpg)</center>
<center>*I loved this truck--my dad purchased it new when I was five years old, and I have very fond memories of riding in it. But it was time to pass it on to someone who would fix it up and use it. So I sold it earlier this month.*</center>

As it stands now, I've gotten through my bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. My daughter has made significant progress in her bedroom, but is not completely finished yet. Likewise, my husband has been sorting through the stuff in his studio to find things to sell. The pile for the yard sale takes up half of my bedroom, and it's growing. There's a lot of toys and books in there; some decor and kitchen stuff, and a few pieces of furniture. I'm glad it'll all be gone soon! 

All that's left inside the house for me to tackle are the bathrooms and the tool closet. Then I'll be casting my net outside toward the various sheds and junk piles to see what can be salvaged and what must be recycled or taken to the landfill.

Talk about spring cleaning! I know I'm going to feel great when this project is done. And with all that stuff out of the way, I'll be able to focus on projects that actually matter to me. And, as an added bonus, I'll have some extra funds to spend on those projects, too!

<center>![Transparent-scroll-line-.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXAYKKXPtt2KUmGgTFRWiZ3JCaJLhR8jsdnS1Z4wAjQYb/Transparent-scroll-line-.png)</center>

### <center>Hi, I'm Starr!</center> ###
### <center>I believe all human interactions should be consensual</center> ###
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