Simplifying My Life

Last May, when we lined up all of our debt, we had about $18,000 left to pay on our car. This was our largest debt, aside from the house, that we needed to pay off. Now, a year and a half later, we have finally paid our car off! I submitted the payment  from a different bank account with the payoff amount, but since it took a few days to process, 11 cents in interest was added. I am proud to say that I transferred that 11 cents from my checking on that account and paid the car off today!  I have learned from this car experience to NEVER buy new again! I didn't know that car value drops as soon as you leave the lot. Also, we paid so much in interest the last four years, we definitely overpaid for this car than we needed to. Lesson learned!  We only have one more debt left, my teen's braces with the remaining cost of $700, and then we will only have a mortgage payment! 

I figured I shouldn't be wearing American Eagle now that I'm 32 years old. I've had these white tank tops since I was in my early 20s. I loved these tanks, but they were falling apart and I decided it's time for new ones.  This cup was really had for me to get rid of. It was a cup that belonged to my oldest as a toddler. Yes, I kept it that long.  My Norwex spray bottle stopped working. I ended up finding the Barbie's head so she was spared and saved. This curler worked so well! But I think I've used it three times in the last 14 years. The curls it makes are too small for my liking. There was one day I got rid of two trash cans full of stuff. I took pictures, but at that point, I was tired of taking pictures :| It was very helpful with the things that I wanted to remember, that I had a hard time parting with...

In my last post I wrote about how defeated I felt, freaking out about stuff I gave away. Well I came out strong! I went from panicking and asking for several things back, to only asking for one bib back. I was able to let the rest go! This is so huge for me. If I can do this, anyone can!!

I have been working super hard for the past two years of decluttering. I used to be somewhat of a hoarder, mostly because I feared what would happen if I got rid of the things. I’ve had OCD since I was 10, and if you’re curious as to what it entails, for me it’s having your worst fears played out in your head over and over again. To stop the fears, I have to do some sort of ritual: touch an object, punch myself. It’s exhausting. I received cognitative behavior therapy which helped a lot. Then three years later, a family member did something to trigger it all back. Add a pregnancy to that and it became so much worse. I have come a long way in that I’m able to give a lot more away than I used to. Minimalism has truly saved my life. But sometimes, I don’t always win. Tonight, I had a panic attack after giving some old baby clothes to a friend. She was kind and understanding and said she’d give back what I wanted (not everything, just three things out of a whole bag is what I freaked ...

I've been trying to take pictures of everything I get rid of on the daily, but I feel like I may have missed a day or two. I have continued to get rid of stuff at least once a day!  I've had this club soda in my fridge for months "just in case." And it was already expired haha! My sister gave me this because she thought the movies inside were mine, but they were actually my mom's, so I gave it back to her.  I was following a diet plan that required fancy mustard. I don't even like regular mustard haha! And this expired.  Giving this to a friend who is going to have a baby. Got rid of some old essays I wrote and other paperwork.  I stepped on this fake candle from our wedding. It made me bleed! We still have others so I let it go.  Got this from a used mom store and my baby didn't even use it! She was already too old by the time we bought it, so I brought it to the same store with some other used stuff to get...