There is this weird but really cool thing that happens when you prepare to leave the country

First it was emptying the loft, it literally felt like lifting the lid off life, an actually weight taken from my shoulders. 

I liked it and I wanted more. 

Next came the shed, then the loft at my gym. 

Each made me feel lighter but also the physicality of the job and being able to see a completed job just felt sort of empowering. 

Like we are meant to work in this way. An intrinsic chemical reward disproportionate to the task completed. 

Then came the ship/bin/sell/give conundrum.

Is it cheaper to ship or re-buy? 
Is this of value to us or anyone else?
What toys do the girls need?
What can go to the charity shops? 

I learned how little in the way of things I actually want or need. 

I saw my girls play better with their toys, play better with each other and become more and more inventive the fewer things they had. I got to thinking about christmases and Birthday and the tons of things they get given. 

When did we get to that?

Isn't it time we went back to giving money towards x. Instead of handing crap back and forth as we teach our children to place value in things they don't need or likely won't ever get to playing with as they get overwhelmed by the volume. 

Stuff just got so cheap we all got to appear rich and got caught in the trap of creating greed and feeding it as we confuse stuff with love
and more stuff with more love. 

As I dig through all my stuff I realise how much stuff I bought because it might make life easier for a moment without weighing up the impact of clutter and cost. I just bought but didn't give the question 'why?' the attention it deserves. Was it impulse, a quick fix, a short term need or a genuine life enhancement? 

Then there was the charity shop visits. I dug into who the money was going to once they sold the stuff. I must have taken 400 books, 20 boxes of cloths and a house worth of furniture over the last two months. I now get so many emails telling me more of my things have sold I feel like a philanthropist. 

I may be about to embark on a new life but I feel like I've stumbled upon a new way of living. 

You always get back more than you give so you cannot give away too much. 

Clean, fix, build, declutter physically and metaphorically, your soul will reward you. 

Before you buy take some time, prove to yourself you NEED it, do a cost benefit analysis. 

Google the term 'spoil', see if it motivates you to re-think Birthday and Christmases slightly. 

Freedom is not about being able to buy anything to make you happy, 

it's about not needing anything to be happy. 

Ed Ley