I should start out by telling you that I haven't always been a minimalist. I used to purchase crazy amounts of clothing, random items for my home, honestly wasn’t interested in a minimalist lifestyle, and so on.

I would hoard all kinds of things, hoping that one day I would find a use for them. I actually told myself I needed those things, which lead to overspending when I should have put my money to better use.

Then, a few years ago, I realized that I had an unhealthy relationship with material things. It wasn’t just that I had too much stuff, it was that I was overspending to compensate for being unhappy with my job, among other things.

Things really started to change for the better when I quit my day job to blog full-time. And, once we decided to travel full-time, at first in an RV and now a sailboat, I’ve had to donate or give away the majority of my belongings. Getting rid of all of that stuff was hard, but now I pretty much only have the things I need to get me through the day or week ahead. [Read more…]