Simplify

Part of my journey for a different life comes back to the same theme:  Simplify!  I think this is necessary for a myriad of reasons.  Obviously a big one is just simple economics.  To find a life based more on the pure enjoyment of the world around us, it seems to me that removing a lot of the extra crap (please forgive my language :) ), that goes with modern living.   I'm tempted to put the last word in the previous sentence in quotes - "living".  Am I really living?  I mean obviously I'm breathing, I'm consuming food, using energy.  But where is the real living?  What are my experiences? Where is the joy?   This is quickly turning into one of those philosophies of life blogs I warned you might be coming.  My apologies - I'll work on getting to points worth  blogging about shortly - I promise.  But honestly the big reason I, and I think quite a few cruisers, even contemplate this life is because of some dissatisfaction with how we are currently living.

As I was wandering around my house (ok - maybe sulked is a better word) looking to prepare a list of stuff I don't use, it became more then apparent that a list of what I do use would be the much shorter list.  Now, I am in some tough financial straits at the moment.  So I may not be doing as much as others. Below is a list of the things I came up with I would keep if I moved to a boat, and then things I need to get rid of.


Keep going forward                                    Stuff to sell/give away

some clothes                                                            a full closet worth of clothes I don't wear
cooking utensils (a growing boy must eat)              most of 2 dressers of clothes I don't use
laptop     (I still must work/blog)                                probably 100 books I've read already
saxophone (bet it sounds great on open water)       over 100 dvd's of movies
various tools                                                              house full of furniture
                                                                                  house (it's paying for the boat!)
                                                                                  extra plates/glasses/silverware
                                                                                  motorcycle (do love to ride - but onto new adventures)
                                                                                  car (let my son & daughter fight over it)
                                                                                  4 bicycles (don't ask) - or should I keep one
                                                                                  garage full of garden equipment
                                                                                  15 board games (maybe keep a couple)
                                                                                 
Now I'm no fool (well the ex may disagree with that but... ) so I understand there will be plenty of things to purchase for the boat.  But the above was just stuff I had now that would need to go.



Then I thought about living in a smaller space and would that work.  I realized that I use the following spaces in my house and that's it.  

Bedroom (pretty sure the boat as a place to sleep).    
Kitchen (yep - boats got these too!)
Place to work on the computer (check!)
Yard (the boat's yard is MUCH bigger - and no mowing :) )




Will it be all warm breezes and sunny skies?  Obviously not.  But by simplifying my life, and what I have to worry about financially, I can concentrate on the act of living life!  The challenges, and hardships will be things I have to deal with, but they will be mine to deal with!  Along the way I hope that new experiences, and friendships will be found.