Simplifying Life to Find Joy in the Journey

As my daughter prepared to head back to university I looked around at our three-storey townhouse and realized it's a big place just for me.

I spend way too much on rent and heat for rooms I never really spend time in. The rooms are there to hold my stuff. Oh how I love to accumulate stuff.

But why?

Yes, I'm sentimental at heart and keep things just because it's got a memory attached or simply because I've had it a long time. But I also have stuff "just in case". Projects I never start, junk I never use.

I have thousands of dollars of bills every month that stress me out and stop me from enjoying the beautiful world we live in. I'm too busy trying to pay for rooms to keep my stuff.

So I decided it's time for a change!

I'm de-cluttering, de-stressing and re-joying my life.

The awesome company I freelance write for has a rule "NO FLUFF"

I'm adopting it as a life rule too! I'm getting rid of the fluff!

And what is up with garbage? I'm sick and tired of it.

Holy cow we create a lot of it in life! There's got to be a better way and I'm determined to find it.

The next month is being spent purging my life of stuff!

I want to fill life with more living and the only things I want to accumulate are memories.

The great thing about being freelance is I can do my job from anywhere. It'll be an adventure of a lifetime and you're all invited along through blog, video, art, photography and more.

You can't experience life if you're always sitting in the same place staring at the same computer screen surrounded by the same stuff you're busy working to pay for a place to put it.

I've had some interesting reactions to my decision to change my life and career.

Some friends (usually females around my age) have been really supportive. They understand what I'm talking about.

They see why I want the adventure and the hassle/garbage free life I'm dreaming of.

Most choices I make in life I second guess myself and stress about how it will all work out. Each choice to meet someone else's needs or expectations.

This is the first one I've actually been excited about the journey.

It's not a choice to make someone else happy or give someone else my money.

It doesn't just get me to a successful goal- it's a journey to find joy in life.

For the first time in my life I'll be doing something just for me, by spending my life using my talents to help others.

I'll be focusing on life rather than making a living...but be able to live while doing it.

I can explore how to make the world a better place by living fresh and reducing my garbage and possessions so life can be about what really matters.

Many friends and family think I'm crazy. I'm sure they worry that no one can be happy without a place to call home but over the next two years I know that I'll be able to prove it just might be the best way to truly find your joy.

Home isn't about stuff or a physical address. Home is where you find Love.