Downsizing Decisions Get Real

In my old age, I’ve LOVING the decisions that are going along with our ongoing downsizing, simplification and upcoming move onto our cruising sailboat.  We’re going from 3200 square feet to a rental of 1100 square feet to our boat; in the span of three months.  Don’t take my tone the wrong way, it’s not whining,,,,it’s totally purposeful.  Yesterday, I was able to start calling the water company, Direct TV, our internet provider, the alarm company and others to start cancelling these services in the near future,,,,like after the house closes.  How AWESOME is this!  And what a pain.  It’s so great for my mental reserves to deal with folks on the other end of the phone line who can’t understand the difference between the words “move my service” and “cancel my service”.   Seriously, it’s freakin hard to get them to understand that you want to cancel your account and service completely and not allow THEIR company to move your services,,,,,cause I don’t want that BILL or service at all, anymore.  With at least one of these folks, I had to tell them I wasn’t going ANYWHERE in the US and was leaving the country,,,,that’s why I didn’t want their service anymore.  Most of you reading this in the US will probably not have to experience this for yourselves,,,but for me it’s very therapeutic in a warped way,,,,I like canceling these services as they are trappings of adulthood and very literally link you to specific financial obligations, salaries and zip codes.  Think about how things like water, cable tv, internet, trash, alarm, power and other bills and services literally TIE you to an area, job or certain income level so you can continue to provide them to your family or yourself.  Remember when you didn’t have all these bills?  Do you remember (like me) when you vowed you would never own more than you could get into your car or truck (like me).  When did that all change?  When you got married, when you were pregnant or had kids coming along?  I’m NOT saying there’s anything wrong with all this.  These services are necessary and nice to have for the most part!  But can you live without some of these things or have you dreamed of cutting these ties.  A friend of mine who retired several years ago connected me by internet.  To my surprise,,,,he’s not living his nice cushy life in Las Vegas anymore,,,,he’s sold it all and ticking off bucket list items RIGHT NOW in his mid-40’s,,,,,currently 1/2 way through the Appalachian Trail and getting ready to do the PCH next.  After that, he wants to do a full Ironman and then sail around the world.  I think it’s great and he deserves to do all of this, as he’s lucky to be alive and it doing it while he’s healthy enough to still have a great time doing it.

My family and I are trying to cut the ties to some of these bills but will still use some of these services,,,,and pay for them.  Trash, power and water are included in our slip fees for the boat and we can live without cable TV for a while.  Internet will be provided by our Verizon Hot Spot on the Boat so I can continue to blog while we’re still in the US and we’ll figure out the rest while underway.  Power and water while underway will come from Mother Earth and our trusty watermaker/generator.  For now, I’m happy to be packing, simplifying and downsizing.  Try it,,,,you might like it too!