Why Selling My Crap on Craigs has Simplified my Life
Recently as I have continued my lifelong purge of excess I have taken to selling a few things on Craigslist rather than just donating it all. My reasons are twofold. First it allows me to take a specialty item and match it up with the next recipient for a bargain price. Secondly it has afforded me the luxury of a small stipend of excess cash to spend as I see fit. In my case that means an extra payment to the good folks at American Express. In my case that is what makes me happy as I have a summer 2012 goal of being debt free for the 3rd and hopefully lasting time in my life. My debt is related to emergency aid for a family member not my frivolous spending. I’m happy I was able to help and will be happy to be done paying it back with interest too. Soon…all in good time. I sold three jackets this month and made $85. Next up organize the tools into boxes and sell the triplicates. The garage looks like Katrina raged through there and left tools everywhere but where they ought to be. I also have enough office supplies to start my own Office Depot satellite store. I got rid of a dead electric mower and the military field desk I wanted to sell was swooped up by my daughter and hauled off all in a matter of seconds. I have a pair of depression glass tumblers I want to sell but can’t figure out the pattern name and everyone says they must be rare…so I wait and see. I still can’t seem to part with the pink suede boots I bought in France which are too small now (cankles) and yet remind me of what great times I had living outside Marseille. They are beautiful with heart cut outs and made in Italy. WHY can’t I let them go? I will take photos and post them tomorrow and put it in the hands of the gods. Which reminds me of the black leather jacket I found in Marseille outside a bar in the early morning after my boyfriend had kept telling me I needed a black leather jacket. It was very bizarre. No one around and this is the alley behind the bar. Nothing in the pockets and a missing button on a jacket that fit me perfectly. My son said the fates had sent me the jacket. Sadly it no longer fits and as a solid size ten I don’t see me getting into this six ever again. I tend to infuse clothing with stories of adventures had while wearing them and so they are like snapshots of my life. I am getting rid of the beanie embroidered Marseille as I never wear a beanie…any beanie. I gave my neighbor the pink cashmere sweatshirt I embroidered with flowers down the arm because she would appreciate the artwork and the warmth of the cashmere. She did. Why do I keep the French dictionary when I can check my French grammar on a translate program before posting? The same reason I keep the Spanish one I never use…travel in the future. I know I have far fewer possessions than most of my friends and peers and yet somehow I still feel plagued by too many which are not used or adored. So I will turn back to the task at hand and turn more stuff into freedom from my debt.
Simplicity and the Art of Frugality
Another gorge fest aka Christmas has come and gone…what do you have to show for it?
1)An American Express bill heading your way with so many pages it has extra postage?
2) A pile of items for your next regifting opportunity?
3) 5 lbs around your waistline from eating dry cookies slathered in crisco based frosting?
4) A thank you letter from the non profit you supported instead of the local mall?
5) A sense of well being and happiness from a holiday spent relaxing?
Everybody who knows me knows I give gifts like fresh pomegranates off my organic tree, organic basil from my garden (yes in December) or a card from Habitat for Humanity sponsoring another project. I like it like this. My best friends took me out for a delightful dinner and my daughter sent culinary delights from New Orleans her home. My brother bought a sheep for an African family and honey bees for another in Guatemala.
I am not surrounded by wrapping paper made with toxic chemicals and tossed casually in a land fill nor must I donate the singing bass (yes I received one for Christmas a few years back) all while hoping the giver never looks for on the living room walls.
I spent part of the holiday week at the pool, hiking in the canyons nearby and strolling the beach with my son’s dog. I never camped out overnight to save on a flat screen TV (I don’t own a television) nor did I use my credit card to buy things for people who don’t need them. I never jockeyed for parking at the mall or worried they would run out of purple left handed thingamajigs before I got one. I did help a friend get started organizing her life for the new year and visited another friend in the hospital. I had time to visit an elderly neighbor and get my tax papers ready for the IRS. Not all fun things I assure you but, satisfying none the less.
One evening I stayed up late and got caught up on all my mending and even restyled a favorite skirt I had been ready to donate. Repairing those items and sewing on buttons added a sweater, a winter coat, a skirt and a bikini top to my usable wardrobe. All in all time well spent.
I have to go now because it is 80 degrees out and I want to hit the pool before dinner. Live simply and live well.
Zen Life 