Declutter to Downsize

I’m not sure, but I think the one thing people don’t prioritize when they are planning a world schooling adventure is their current living situation. Everything is planned for what is coming, and how they are going to do X, Y & Z. Not their current situation that will ultimately affect their leading up to voyage. From what I have noticed, people wait to deal with this at the very end.

My husband and I purchased our home just over 6 years ago. It's a decent size home in the mountains with just over 1.3 acres. Over the years things accumulate and frankly, I like knick-knacks, and those can accumulate quite easily. Whenever we're coming up on my daughter’s birthday or Yule, I always make sure she goes through her toys and we donate some, knowing that she will just be receiving more toys, even though I ask others not to give her any. I prefer activity kits over toys but those pile up too. And now, my daughter has been receiving a weekly allowance for doing “jobs” around the house. With her allowance she has been saving her money to purchase the toys herself. 

Now, I feel like I'm a decent parent for making her thin out & donating unwanted toys, however I’m a hypocrite because I do not hold myself to the same standards. So, recently on my youtube channel, I have posted a couple of shorts of how I have come up with a solution for myself. I know this won’t work for everyone but at least it’s an idea and it’s silly simple. For me, I have been filling 1 shopping bag a day with random things that I have been sitting around the home, clearly not used and filling up the bag. Doing this each day I then fill up 7 bags within a week. Sometimes more. And I have decided that on Thursday’s (that just works for me) that I will drop them  off at a donation center and then begin again. Doing this in just the first week alone, I filled up the backend of my car. I don’t feel like I've even begun to make a dent in my house yet. I still have many weeks ahead of me. 

Back of my car from just 1 week of collecting a bag a day

But the reason behind doing this now, is so I’m not bogged down with all this stuff by the time we decide to head out on our maiden voyage. If I waited until then, I would have accumulated even more things. I’m trying to thin and weed out all of the unnecessary stuff that we have. I don’t need several copies of the same book, I don’t need clothes that have been sitting in my closet for years from my previous corporate job. I don’t need that kitchen pan that I purchased a year ago & still have yet to use. I don’t need a single candle holder because its mate broke. I’m starting with the simple, what haven’t I used in a certain period of time.For me that just seems like the easiest place to begin, then I will spread out from there when I think I have eliminated all of those items. I/ we have to learn to live with less. We can only have so much on a sail boat. Lets see how I do. 

Watch my youtube shorts here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S6Vas55Rl1c

and here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pxqNXRfDp1M