Tackling my Debt and Simplifying My Life

Ladybird.

Similar amount of debt here too :cool:

Re packing ebay items- I get a big load of plastic postage bags in all different sizes from eBay, much cheaper and easier to use than brown paper. Not very environmentally friendy though...

Best of luck with your journey, sounds like you are off to a great start!

katieandlee

I've subscribed too, good luck with your journey x

Jox

Hi, I don't have a diary, I'm more of a reader than a writer, keep us updated on how you're getting on

seriousDFW

We had about £20k in debt at its highest. We came to the same realisation as you that the things we had bought had not only not made us happy, but in actual fact they had made us unhappy - we lived in a house that was cluttered and messy and this made our minds cluttered and messy too!

Anyway we decluttered a lot over the last 2 years, ebaying, donating to charity shops and throwing away anything that was rubbish. We are much happier in our home now, and as you say we don't have the reminders of our costly mistakes and the money has made it easier to pay off the debts.

If I'm 100% honest with you, we haven't completely cured our cluttering ways and occasionally we do get a but cluttery again but then we have another go.

One thing I would say is it's good to declutter in stages. We found the first round very painful to part with a lot of things. The second time we attacked it, we found it easier to let go of things we had found hard to let go before. And so on and so on until we're quite happy to get rid of lots of things we were holding on to unnecessarily.

Good luck with your journey and remember to keep us updated.

[Deleted User]

Thank you cwal, ladybird, katieandlee and seriousDFW. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and and delighted to have subscribers- just hope I don't bore you with my ramblings!

The advice is great- going to look for mail bags- I must have 60+ items to list on e-bay today, that'd be alot of time wrapping and brown paper! Thanks cwal.

Its great to know I'm not the only one who has tried to buy a 'perfect' life- I hope I didnt sound too shallow and materialistic when I wrote about it- however I realise I was heading that way and didnt like it.

Although my debt has reduced over the past year, I have been on a mission to cut the clutter and sell/donate the excess. This has been a great process for me and as seriousDFW says, it cant all be done at once, much easier in stages. I am now selling/donating stuff I never thought I could have parted with this time last year.

The house is so much easier to keep clean, takes half the time now I dont have so much clutter to move around and clean each week. Thats gotta be a bonus!

I hope to go further with simplifying- the surround sound has broke on our TV- I really cant see the point of replacing it (DH doesnt agree and will take some persuading!), advertisments and other people make us feel we cant live without these things but we can. I am glad ours has broke, I hope it will be a chance for DH to see we can live without it and still enjoy the telly without it (think its a man-thing - comparing the size of sub-woofers!!!). We certainly wont be replacing it whilst we are in debt.

Think I am doing DH a disservice- in fairness he has embraced most of my ideas and is extremely supportive. He spent yesterday cleaning and photographing his car to put up for sale today. It is his pride and joy, and I havent had any part in him selling (honest). The fact is that its a large car, expensive to run, tax and insure. He hopes to sell for approx £4000 (half of what he paid for it- loan paid off now), and then spent approx £1000 for a much smaller car to use for work and ferrying our DS around. Thats a big chunk off CC and it'll be cheaper to tax, insure and on fuel.

Right, time to start on the e-bay listings- will update diary later on how many I've managed to do

GL x

Ladybird.

Can completely relate to the decluttering getting more and more cut-throat with each round!

Have a good day GL

Different_Corner

Hi Goodlife
Great approach, simplifying.
Love your quote 'trying to buy the perfect life'. Funny really when none of the things I've bought mean anything when it comes to 'me time' I like to do nothing !

[Deleted User]

Have listed 52 items on eBay, it's taken all day and I'm knackered. Selling mainly clothes of mums- mine were sold a few months ago.
Got stuff to take to charity shop aswell tomorrow.

Also, I've just swapped over my summer and winter clothes- that didn't take long as it all fits in a plastic box which I store under my bed. T
Although I don't wear uniform at work (I am a community worker), over the past year I have tried to make up my own uniform. I alternate 2 trouser suits and about 7 tops (I work full time, mon-fri).
I do need a pair of boots for the winter but will hold out for those until next payday. At weekends I wear leggings and have got a couple of tops. My clothes clutter has been reduced dramatically over past year although I'm sure I could still sort more things I don't wear regularly.

Time for bath and bed now- work again tomorrow- the weekends go so quickly. Time flies when you're ebaying!!

GL x

Jox

wow 52 items, well done that must've taken all day and some serious energy!

Good luck with selling and getting a good price for them all

Fae

Hi Goodlife,

I'm going to subscribe as well, I'm also one of those people who was trying to but the perfect life, so I know just where you are coming from. Sounds like you have been making great progress already

Fae