assetbest 
Two years ago we moved from the East to the West Coast, trading a cheaper area for a much more expensive one. We downsized into a condominium, which left us with more stuff and less space. We held a garage sale, donated and tossed a lot, but it wasn’t enough — when we arrived in California we rented a storage unit for the extra furniture.
We planned to save the pieces for Jr. Carina’s next apartment. Two years later she’s back living with us while in grad school, and we’d spent $2,400 storing those items. When friends from Argentina moved here for a year, I was glad to give them some furniture. At the storage shed one friend asked why I was still paying for the unit and suggested selling the furniture now and replacing it later. She pointed out that Jr. would probably be here at least another year.
She also reminded me — with a little chide — that I’d written How to Get Rich, yet hadn’t thought to empty the unit. Guilty as charged. That was the push I needed to clear it out.
Most of the furniture dated from the 1980s: decent but not highly marketable. Craigslist brought no bites. Local charities wanted to charge for pickup. In the end I gave a couch and chair away to someone in need via Craigslist, and hauled the rest to Goodwill. They were reluctant at first but eventually accepted a bookcase and a parsons table — I got a receipt for a tax-deductible donation.
The storage cost was $100 a month. Getting rid of the unit immediately saved us that money, and it’s going straight into savings. Beyond the cash, unloading the unit removed a layer of maintenance and mental clutter from our lives. The less excess you keep, the less it weighs you down.
If you need ideas, Adam Baker of Man vs. Debt has made a career out of shedding stuff — his site is a good place to look for inspiration. What recurring expenses could you cut? Could switching to a pay-as-you-go phone plan or trimming other subscriptions simplify your life?
