Millennial Outpost

It all began March 2023 when I heard that my brother and sister-in-law were going to be on the Ramsey Show doing their debt-free scream. I watched the episode and some seeds were planted in the back of my mind. As the months went by, I read my bible and studied the Book of Matthew – and more seeds were planted in my psyche. I had continued to watch the Ramsey show as well as Caleb Hammer’s financial audit, and the Minimalist Podcast.

In the Summer of 2023, I had started watching a show about Tiny Homes. It was a show about people buying tiny homes, but before they can move into one, they needed to “Pair down” years of accumulated Stuff and reduce items to two or three boxes of meaningful stuff that they absolutely needed and reduce all of the unneccessary clutter. This was another seed planted.

By December of 2023 some of my seeds started to bloom. I realized that I had my storage unit for over a year with all the stuff that I have not seen or used. I wanted to simply and concentrate on what was important in my life and not on stuff. I needed to get my house in order, take action and focus on what matters and be more intentional in life and on my relationships. This was my start of the decluttering process.

The first place I tackled was a beast of a place. The starting place was a monolithic task where all my things came to die. The final resting place where my oversized items did not fit into my life – in neither physical or mental realms of my life. A place where it drained my wallet and balance sheet on a monthly basis – $200 would disappear out of my account on a monthly schedule. It all started with my storage unit. After the purge of my storage unit, I then focused on the smaller – and seemingly easier areas of my closet, my wardrobe, and my vehicle.

You may ask, “How did it go?” The first day and the first week were the easiest and the most exciting as I started this new journey into minimalism with becoming  more intentional in life. I started first by going through my storage unit – this turned out to be the easiest and most fulfilling, going from a jammed packed full space to empty one in a matter of months. Even with all the enthusiasm for decluttering, there were moments where I thought “how would get this done?” and I thought about giving up because I did not know how it could be done, I did not know if I could get it all done in the time frame I set, and I did not know where I needed to dispose the larger of items. Despite the unknown, I continued the momentum, the items I no longer use were the easiest to remove. The clothes I have not worn in months took some time – but those too were tossed in the donation bin with little regret. A month in the journey, the process began to slow decluttering started getting harder and harder – I needed to remind myself why.

This is the Why. I have been reading my bible and the Book of Matthew and chapter 6 verse 19 grabbed my attention and spoke to me whether or not I knew it at the time.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

This passage of scripture in the Bible kept me on track and reminded myself and others the reason for my new journey.

By March of 2024, I finished emptying out my storage unit, I turned in the keys to the front desk, and ended my lease to the storage unit. It was the best feeling – not having a looming monthly payment to hold material stuff. I had now saved $200 a month for the reminder of 2024. Now, throughout the summer, fall, and winter of 2024 – my decluttering momentum had slowed down. I had one filled two boxes of clothes, old appliances, and random items that I dumped off at a donation center. I had stopped buying unnecessary items but wished I had gotten rid of more stuff, even now in 2025 – I have two empty boxes sitting between my cluttered desk and my cluttered wardrobe. I feel that I still have a long way to go, but it’s a start. Even though I still have cluttered spaces, I had reduced over 50% of my items from where I started and over five donation runs to Goodwill.

My Journey started in March 2023 but it is proceeding into 2025 – my next progress goals this year is to finish paying off my car by September of 2025, sell my gigantic desktop computer, and fill my two empty boxes with stuff to donate.