I have a problem. I have cool stuff I could sell, but I seem to get lost in the thought of how complicated it would be to sell it. I will have to find it, clean it, photograph it, list it for sale, meet with the buyer….ugh…it’s all so complicated. I will put it off forever. I will sometimes donate things I know I could sell, just because it’s so much easier. What I’m learning through this minimalism is that inaction can be just as draining as action. Seeing stuff time after time and having to think, “ugh, there’s that X again. Someday I’ll get rid of X” takes energy, energy I was expending over and over again.
Case in point: The spice rack from our first home. We used to have a house with no cabinet space, but a fair amount of counter space, so we moved everything we could out of drawers and into counter based storage solutions, such as this lovely spice rack. I thought it was so cool looking, and I loved the part it played in our first home. Now we have a home with plenty of drawer and cabinet space, but very little free counter space, so I moved the spices into one of the drawers, but couldn’t seem to let go of my little rack when I unpacked the kitchen stuff.
But 12 jars and a rack….that’s 13 items, if I could just force myself to clean it out and list it. So I dumped the several year old spices, cleaned the jars, photographed and posted. In the end, it didn’t take that long, and once it was posted, it didn’t take long for it to sell and the drop off was seamless. The lesson: less stuff and more cash in my pocket is the way to go. I promise you, there will be more to come!
Hatton House Diaries 