#WeekendCoffeeShare Downsize Edition

July 22, 2017 — #weekendcoffeeshare, car, downsize, Mini, minimalism, real estate

big car, mini car

If we were having coffee at my house this weekend I would serve you iced tea while trying to convince you to take some of my extra artful objects home with you.  I am either giving away or selling as much of my superfluous (high quality) junk as possible.  On close examination, I find most of it has become useless and redundant.  All of the closets and cabinets in my condo contain gear I do not use.  I own a small barn on a lot across the street which is full of things that nobody has seen in years.  It is time for me to take an inventory, make appropriate adjustments, and sell the real estate I own across the street. Once I made the decision it was easy for me to sell my big 4 wheel drive Beemer which is all wrong for my lifestyle now.  I bought a tiny, darling and sporty Mini Cooper that zips around town.  It is perfect for my current needs.  I don’t need to become a total minimalist, I just need to carve away the excess from my burden of ownership so that it makes sense today.

The big car is going to be sold to a friend for his son who will take it to college.  I made wonderful use of the car.  It has served me well, but I am happy to let it go.  It will be a safe and functional vehicle for a college student in Utah.  Maybe he will use the 4 wheel drive.  After the BMW leaves for Salt Lake City my partner will be able to fit his Mustang into our two car garage.  The lot across the street has only been serving as a parking place for his car, and a place to store things we don’t really need.  We enjoy the fruit we grow over there, but I pay property taxes that are higher than developed land just to have an urban orchard. I can let that go easily. The next owner will enjoy the fruit…and pay the taxes.

We will have to move our firewood storage to the small backyard of the condo, but this is not a terrible sacrifice.  We will acquire wood in smaller amounts and when we want to feed the fire it will be right outside the back door instead of across the street.  Once I started the chain of events I started to feel very liberated. I can accomplish the give-away/shift in possessions with little effort.  The money from the sale of the land will support me for years, so it will be well worth the effort.  I will list it right away in hopes of selling it before property taxes are due in October.  That would be dreamy.  A property tax bill for less than half my current one would be a fabulous way to end 2017.

If we were drinking iced tea I would tell you the monsoon here continues.  My rain collection barrel is overflowing.  It has been raining every day, but no damaging flooding has taken place.  Fires in the forests are contained.  My writing is on schedule, more or less.  I skipped my fiction post for Friday yesterday in the excitement of trying to get rid of all my possessions.  I have enjoyed writing the memoirs, and will continue on Mondays with that theme.  I just found a picture in a book that sparked a story idea for next week.  What is key for me is keeping the memoir short and time specific.  Maybe someday I can expand that range through practice.  I also want to “cross over” to historical fiction eventually.  How has your muse been treating you lately? Have you been productive?  Creative?  Ingenious?  In my own case the muse is feeling sluggish and lazy from all the humidity.  She is around, but kind of flat.  I hope yours has been lively and helpful.

#WeekendCoffeeShare

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