Here and Gone, and Limiting "Stuff"

In preparation for a potential move, Sam and I have to clear out several bikes (as well as a lot of other "stuff"). If all goes according to plan, the new house we'd be moving into is about 600 square feet smaller then our current home (and we live in a small house as it is now), and it also has a one car garage (compared to the current two car). The one car garage isn't really a true garage, so it will become the art studio. Because the space is so limited, we've decided that at least three bikes between us must go. Sam is still working out which of his will go, but after some debate about which of mine should be sold, it made the most sense to sell Fred.

Fred posed for his listing shot. His basket was removed to be put on the Poppy.

It feels so wasteful to have purchased a bicycle such a short time ago that I just can't keep, but truly, of the three current bicycles of mine, he has the most limitations, or the least usefulness (depending on how one views the situation). So, yesterday, I put him up on Craigslist to attempt to get as much out of him as I could in a re-sell situation. He's basically a new bike, so I thought it was possible that it wouldn't be too bad a loss.

I had a strange, extremely low offer yesterday, to which I didn't bother responding, but this morning, I received an email from a woman who was very interested. She came to take the Om for a test ride, and it turned out to be a perfect fit for her. So, Fred has left the house to live in his new home in Denver. His new owner looked so happy riding him, and I hope it will be a good match for some time.

Letting Fred go was a bit therapeutic in some sense. Over the weekend I had to clean out my closet and eliminate a lot of clothing too that I have hung on to for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe how much excess I was clinging to. I shared with Sam that I was truly embarrassed to have so many large garbage bags full of clothing to donate, particularly when I had just cleaned out the closet a few months ago.

Eight of the ten bags full of clothes to donate

The two rules for cleaning out the closet were these: 1) If it hasn't been worn in the last year, it goes, and 2) If you're not going to wear it in the next year, say goodbye. With the exception of my wedding dress and a formal dress, I stood by those rules. There will be other eliminations coming in the near future, as we're realizing we'll have to take on a very minimalistic approach to living in order to make the potential new house functional. Everything from extra kitchen items to unused books to extra parts for various projects will need to go. We're trying to get a head start on it so as to not be caught off guard if this move actually transpires. While we may be jumping the gun a bit, regardless of whether or not we move, the extra things need to go. As someone who believes that excess is unnecessary, I'm ashamed of myself for allowing this to all grow into such a pack rats mess, particularly when there are others who could utilize these things. I have vowed that anything new-to-us coming into the house in the future will require an elimination of something else. Hopefully, this will help me to really think about purchases and not buy things simply because they are "a good deal."