When I taught in a school in Chicago, my principal moved me to a new room every year. She hated clutter and knew I would clean out the worthless junk that had been stored for years.
My dad died and we had to pay someone to take all his stuff away, no one wanted anything, the same happened to his neighbor, we think we need so much but in the end its all garbage.
Ach, that must have been hard. I try to encourage folk to do with less.....and give away more now so that there's less for the family to deal with when my time comes.
Thank you so much Kate, I appreciate that....though, I perhaps should point out that I didn't retire......that's another 13 years away! Until the pension comes I make do with a bit of RU-vid revenue and the revenue from my sewing.......and, of course, a whole lot of free food from my garden. 😊
This resonates a lot, I've definitely saved a lot of money by adopting a no spend year, amplified by lockdowns. I was shocked to see how much I was saving from not buying lunches / paying for busfair.
Thank you! This is perfect timing for me. Two years ago my 35 year marriage suddenly ended. I had to fix up our house, sell it, and ended up moving to another (US) state. I didn't have time to go through my life so I threw everything in boxes and stuffed it in storage. I am on my third rental in one year due to owners selling their houses in this hot real estate market. I still haven't had time to catch my breath and go through my things. My current rental is for a year. I am debt free but I really want to buy a piece of land and build my own small house (I have the skills to build). I have been thinking of going on a no-buy year as soon as I have settled in to my new place and your video is giving me a good nudge. I am on garden plot waiting lists but everyone seems to be taking up gardening these days so I might not have a plot this season. I do have a north facing deck and will grow what I can. I have also started to get my Permaculture Design Certificate and am so excited about that! In the meantime, I plan to gather my skills and start a little cottage industry as well. I am currently living on a modest income from alimony, something that will end in eight years and I really want to not be dependent on. I have been enjoying and am so inspired by your channel. I am determined to do this and your post is perfect timing! I am sure this year will fly by with all that I need to do. It is exciting to be working toward my own future!
When I downsized I was still working but I put Saturdays aside to do decluttering and selling. Dont be reliant on that alimony - my ex started not paying after 2 years! Get some income of your own going right now, I would suggest.
Goodness, you've been on quite the roller coaster these last couple of years......good on you for getting through what I hope is the worst of it and now having the time/energy/strength to put your plan in place and get stuck in to your new life! I wish you so much success with it all. 😊
@@lynnoorman2144 Thanks! That is what I am been working on. I have been moving around so much due to circumstances and Covid hit just as I was starting to get on my feet. I will get there!
I did a complete year of no spend in 2007/2008. After the first month it really wasn't hard at all. You have to get really creative and redefine the word 'need'. Garden hose broken, use the watering can (harder, but not impossible). Slippers coming away from their sole, bind with gaffer tape. Tired of how your house looks, love it up a little by cleaning, mending, rearranging. Vivi, the thing that concerns me about completely jumping off the treadmill is that we are noticing more and more that things do not last like they used to. Our four year old fridge has got to go because it is so damp the veggies are going mouldy. Phones and computers don't last forever, and don't get me started on toasters! (I'm still using a 2013 phone). We are happy to make do with our old car but I just worry about all the other bits, especially with an old house that will need a bit of TLC as the years go by. I guess budgeting for a repairs and replacement fund is probably the way to go. Sending bug hugs from across the waters. Madeleine.xx
Ugh, you're so right about modern made stuff not lasting.....and that does give cause for concern re future spending....yes, a back-up fund is definitely necessary. Every time I get a little more than I need for my weekly budget I set it aside for such emergencies. 😊
I have already retired early living on a set income from a modest pension/savings. Have totally decluttered everything over the last 18 months too. Next challenge...no spending! Thank you Vivi this will help so many people who have been thinking about putting their plans into action but have not quite 'activated' it. I still have bags of rubbish which I am gradually getting rid of in the dustbin when it is emptied. Other items will go to local charity shops when the reopen. I am a bit concerned because every time I go into the under stairs cupboard or a room upstairs, I am looking around to see what else I can get rid. I am looking ahead to the day I may want to down size and release some capital from my house but worry I have got the declutter bug! On a separate note I do hope you are taking care of you self as best as you can since the passing of your dear great aunt. My thoughts are with you lovely lady. XXX
Do be wary of decluttering something that your children/ relatives would like to keep as a momento of you, once you are gone. My ex- husband did this and really upset the children. Like Vivi says give it to them now.
Hello!! I just found you, it surprised me to hear a British accent. I seem to only be finding American channels which have helped a lot, but I can relate more being in England.
Totally inspiring Vivi. I'm here for your sewing and "lifestyle" posts as I'm sort of doing it too, but not growing my own. I say again - Totally inspiring😊
Thank you! Just found you, enjoying your content and hearing your journey. We are enjoying a slow living and frugal life now. We opted out of the rat race at the end of February 2023. Firstly to live in and travel around Thailand and now we've settled (partially off grid) at the edge of a small rural village in Australia. Can't wait for your next clip❤
It sounds like you've set up a great life for yourselves.....that's wonderful! It always gladdens my heart to hear from folk who are leading the life that's right for them. 😊
Thank you for your tips! 👏 I have finished my first no-spend month this February, and will continue at least until June - perhaps even longer. Love from Sweden! 😊
Vivi, have you actually been in my cupboards? How on earth did you know about my 67 Mugs, 59 bowls, and the 72 plates in my cupboard! Like yourself, I am pretty much home alone, but you just never know as a busload of people might turn up on my doorstep one day. I certainly know all about eBay, that's where I keep buying them from, as for the saucepans, I ran out of space and started to display them hanging on the walls, I call them 3D art in the living room. I know you're going through a tough time lovely, so hopefully, I just made you smile, sending you healing thoughts, much love, and best wishes x
Great Video!! Love extreme, no nonsense reduction of wasteful practices and being smarter with what is valuable to you personally and of course gardening 💜🥦🍄
I just love you, Vivi! Our family faced a financial change in 2012 and we started 'going frugal' and we used a lot of the methods that you mention here. It all boils down to how bad you want financial (and lifestyle) freedom...and what you're will to give up or swap out, to get it. Great video! God bless!
Loved this! I'm doing my third no buy year and so far so good! I've designed mine a bit diffrently as I am completely debt and mortgage free. It's amazing . Took almost a year before I could really truly fathom that it was true. Last year I worked on building an emergency fund and then had an emergency that ate it all up and then some. But it was so gratidying to have the money there. So it's back to that again this year.
Thank you for your sound advice. I am on my own journey now of needing to declutter my entire life, and then look at being independent and start a business. Your channel is invaluable.
I went from 4 bed house to 1 bed rental apartment gave tons away sold some stuff now minimalist sustainable frugal and non consuming. Spent money travelling dozens of countries and getting daughter an education
Oh thank you so much Leigh......I really hope it can help a few folk......even just as a prompt to get going with the thing they already know they want to do! 😊
Thank you for your advice. Just about to start over on my own at 56 and I also want to stop working .. I gave this a try and removed my ex ‘s old aftershaves (which he didn’t want) from the bathroom cabinet and advertised them on marketplace for $5 and a man who collected them answered the advert and was very happy to buy them.. as I was going his way yesterday, I delivered them and he kindly gave me another $5 for delivering them..I’m very happy that someone else wanted this stuff and bought it.
Yay, good on you lovely! I'm sure the road ahead, for the next few months at least, will be rocky with moments of bitter sweetness, sadness, anger, triumphant independence etc.....take your time, be kind to yourself, focus on your goal........you WILL do it! I'm backing you! 😊
You got me all excited! You live how I want to live. My husband is a spender and that’s holding me back. I have decided now that I will do it for myself. ❤
My wife donated all her gold , even inheritance and engagement ring to needy people, she always said;" It's the people I love, not stuff, I'll rememer them for the time we spent together, not for the stuff they left me".
Very encouraging....& wonderful advice for just this time of life... with the unstable times we are experiencing. I would add that although this is the right way to get started....that once you’ve achieved your goals...to begin stocking up on the things you actually DO USE on a daily basis. Because if the truly horrible does happen, you’ll be prepared for extra lean times. I think that would be a wonderful continuing topic for you to address moving forward. How to be prepared (in a downsized space) in the event of a catastrophe. Great video and thanks for sharing!😊
I’ve just discovered your channel and love it. Such sensible advice. I was on a very low income until I was well into my 40s and am slightly better off now but still have to watch the pennies. I agree with you 100% about the lunches etc. I’ve never bought a lunch out and have always taken my own packed lunch to work. I didn’t have a takeaway until I was 40 and someone else treated me 😂. Could never afford it! I’ve worked with so many people who live off takeaways, and pre-prepared lunches. Then they complain that they’re broke!
Good on you lovely for managing so well on a low income....yes, I'm always staggered by the amount of money some folk spent on shop bought lunches and take-aways.......each to their own I guess! 😉
Hi Viv. I have been watching your videos and find you inspirational. I am 59 and living in a battered old caravan and on a low income due to having fibromyalgia and arthritis which reduces my working hours. So you have been my way to stay sane thank you x
Hi Vivi..new sub,great vid! Everything you talked about I’ve been doing for years so love everything that you had to say. I moved in with my partner in December 19 three months later the pandemic hit and I’ve spent the last 18 months clearing out everything that we didn’t need or want. Life really is to short to keep stuff we’re not using,my partner and I are both widowed and started again so life for us is about doing enjoying being happy every day. Look forward to more vids....love and blessings x 😊
Thank you! I have been in a “letting go mode” for a year now. I completely agree - we have too much Stuff and it’s drowning us...and the planet. You’ve given me more ideas and I should be accountable with my finances. 🐇
Hello from America, just found you. I finally got my husband to agree to purge our home of 35 years. It has been an uphill battle. We aren't getting rid of as much as I would like, but getting him to willingly get rid of any of his stuff is a step forward! I figure once we finish it, we can redo it again in a year, and hopefully he will see we didn't need/use a lot of what he wanted to keep. We have 3 adult kids, one is out of house as of last year, but in a shared rental, another is moving out with boyfriend this summer, last one is still at college. So they are getting first right of refusal for anything usable we are getting rid of. Then we determine sell or donate. Sadly we will have to stop for a while, as his mother has decided to finally move out of her home of 57 years, and we will now be doing her house. My hope is he will see all the stuff she has tucked into all the nooks and crannies and think "Why did she keep all this" or better yet "I don't want to end up like this". Therefore motivating him to make clearer/harder choices when we start back on our own home.
Waouh!!!!so true...decluter,free one's Head from all the Junk....perfect advice for Spring!!!!!that green colour IS gorgeous on you by the way!!!!!!IT Highlights your beautiful eyes😍
I have four pairs of jeans, and one pair of dress pants, a thirty year old pair of second band boots and dress pants I can count my clothes on two hands. I limit my children to ten outfits in order to keep laundry down.
Thanks Vivi. I am getting ready to fully retire by the middle of summer.. this has reiterated my plan of getting the couple of items I want before I retire. As I know just how frugal Hubby and I are. We have been slowly going through everything and paring things down. It has been interesting. I am looking forward to it but I do have moments of trepidation. Of course the garden is front and center. And I am so excited to be even more self sufficient with the garden. Hugs you are such an inspiration. I feel lucky that we don’t have to be brutal just careful.
Vivi you are my inspiration. For the coming years I'll have a huge amount of money to pay off and am figuring out how to do it as quickly as possible. Enter Vivi!!! You are my inspiration. You give us calls to action, replete with how to's. I am on board working towards living a year of no spending, selling stuff and getting, starting a garden. Thank you for being you Vivi! From a grateful new subscriber across the pond in Holland.
Yay!!!!! Good on you lovely....grab that bull by the horns and go for it!!!! I'm right behind you. Thank you so much for your lovely words and a very warm welcome to you here. 😊
Here's me listening, and nodding in agreement with all your excellent advice. I've been able to use the last year of on and off lockdowns, as a chance to save more, get rid of a few things, and decide what I really need. There's still a long way to go, but baby steps will get me there. Thanks for this video👍
I am totally up for the NO SPEND challenge!! I've just bought all the seeds and pretties I should need for the year. I have a family of 5 so it'll be tricky, but I'll definitely have a go!! My hubs can still pay for what he wants, but I'll do NO SPEND, I've really gotten into the F.I.R.E movement, this will help me.
Good on you lovely.....I appreciate that it can be much more difficult when there are so many other family members to take into consideration......but whatever small things you can do will all add up. Good luck! 😊
Thank you for this today Vivi, have been implementing some of the things you were talking about. Keeping my fingers crossed that they work, l needed someone else to tell me that selling my crafts online is possible so thank you. Will try the no spend but as l do not spend on much anyway l feel it may be fun to find out what l spend it on. Thinking of you at this time, take care.
Beyond frugal, subsistence living...what a phrase. Sounds a lot like how I've been living....and definitely was for two and a half years....when I had no income. I was fairly prepared. I got through. You've given me so much more motivation to declutter than I've had in years. Thank you. I'm in a no spend life now. I have a disability income now, but it only allows me to cover the absolute minimum, and sometimes not even that....but I make it through, with God's help and really good friends and family. I'm in the process of downsizing and finding it difficult to figure out what to keep and what to get rid off. It's hard to figure out what I'll need. I've never had a hard time getting rid of things...till now, because now, if I make a mistake and get rid of something I need later, I probably won't be able to buy it. But you're right, I don't need a 20 piece set of dishes! I'll have about 12 acres of land, but not sure I have the health to garden. We'll see. Thank you so much for this post. Just found your channel. I love how you think. I love how you speak. I even love the sound of your voice! It has a soothing quality that makes it do pleasant to listen to.
Great advice! Just found your channel and think it’s great. I am also unwaged apart from the small amount I earn and loving it. I am also lucky to be mortgage free. Much harder for the younger generation I think. I would say though that if you want to avoid moving you could get a lodger in your spare room to create income
As I live on very little money and very frugally, I can't be more frugal, haha.. I so enjoy these types of vlogs and looking forward to the next one...as for the gardening ones, not so keen as I grow all my foods too😄💕
Hi Vivi, looking so much better today ❤ Good advice for those wishing to make big changes, we have been de-cluttering for the last year, with the lockdowns etc., it was a little daunting to start, but you kind of like it at some point, now each Sunday I challenge myself to put a few things in a bag, and drop off in the lunchroom, that's actually very satisfying, and fun to do, I love seeing my "stuff" disappear 😊 We are planning a cross country move in about 3 years, so, a year to de-clutter, a year to freshen the garden, paint, re-jig, and a year to list the house, get it sold, and us move... Then, I'm onto growing for the 2 of us, and retiring, couple of trips to GB to visit family, motorcycle riding every day, & visiting the son in U.S. We're done with the rat race, have been for a while, and this is our exit plan ❤🍁
Thank you lovely, this was actually filmed last week when I was full of the joys of spring! It sounds like you've got a very sensible plan in place to lead up to your big move......yay, have fun in the process! 😊
I moved a year ago so i am still buying 'stuff' i need for the new house but it is all about functionality and long lasting items; now i am also buying 'stuff' for the garden which is also an investment for our future. Plus lockdown has given great bargains on clothes/shoes etc so i am now fully stocked at great prices. Stuff i don't need is going to the charity shop soon as they open. Then i have to have my chimney rebuilt which is about £1,600. Then it is frugality, growing own veg and making things last so i can save for a new bathroom, kitchen and a caravan by the sea before i retire.....it's a plan. Thanks for the inspiration!
Good advice, thank you. We've been decluttering for a couple of years or so. We'd like a different sort of life now both children have left home. It's slow as I'm limited in what I can do in a day. We also have other family members stuff to declutter and my husband's working but his health isn't tip top. But we are making progress. My preference would be a much more minimal home. Our income has always been very low so every year is a no spend year. 😄.
Good on you for getting stuck in and making a start......it can be daunting at first, especially when time is limited......but you'll gather momentum as you go...and reach your goal! Have fun! 😊
I’ve been watching your vids for a few years... thx so much for sharing. I thought it was telling that you described it as “wage free” and not “wage less”. 😀
Thank you for another inspirational video. I downsized and early retired 4 years ago, relying on a small pension + the rent from my mother's house ( she passed away 10 years ago). Its not always easy, for example when my tennants boiler stopped working just before Christmas and the insurance refused to pay out and so I had to 'find' 3k! But so worthwhile. I have some stuff that I am selling off but have been putting off putting on Ebay because it is so boring and fiddly and you get so many time wasters! But I will do it today! Hope you are finding a comforting way to be after your recent loss. Sending comfort vibes. Take care and thank you.
Yay, go for it lovely.....yes, it can be a bit time consuming/fiddly.....but so worth it to pass those bits on and get a bit of cash in the process. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts.....up and down days but mostly smiling/chuckling at wonderful memories. 😊
The coffee thing is something I've used as a gauge for whether something seems cheap and is actually expensive, or something that is expensive or is actually not when you think about it. Around here, you can get a middle-of-the-road coffee for about $2. When people think about buying coffee each day, $2 is nothing, but in 30 days that's $60. You could buy a month's VERY good coffee, FAR BETTER than the stuff you get for $2 per day, for the same amount of money. So the $2 per day is actually very expensive. If you re-invested even half of that money in coffee to make at home, your yearly savings would be $360 (and that's just one cup per day). How many of your monthly bills would that pay for? Using the "coffee model" I consider a lot of my purchases. Last year I came across a sale on cast iron pots and pans. Yes, they were still expensive (though far less), but I would literally NEVER have to replace them. And chances are, someone will want them after I'm gone (they're great quality). So I bought 3 different Dutch ovens, all of which can be used stove-top and inside. AND because cast iron retains its heat for a long time, I can cook it until it's almost done, then turn off the stove/oven and let it continue cooking, so I save on power consumption too.
If you look at your “things” as dollars-, changed my perspective! Sell your excess and save that money! I have an extra bedroom( actually two) that have become storage rooms!🥺 A walk in closet does the same!
Surprised how few people buy from charity shops, or borrow books from libraries. I totally align with your thinking my target is to pay off the mortgage by end of 2022. I always used to save a fixed amount every month and then booked a holiday with whatever I had saved xx
That is my biggest problem my credit card I sure people would say it’s not much it’s a lot for me .I owe 2,600.00. Again it may not be much for some it is for me. I have been getting rid of things in my house ,my cloths I have declutered,I do have things to get rid of but it’s a start. I do have a garden for fresh food. My biggest is crafts, I need to stop buying craft items just finish
I've done it! A few years ago economy in California Tanked. I close the door on my business and did a short sale on my home, both very bittersweet but in the end I got out from underneath the huge monthly payments and that was the main goal. I bought a 40 foot travel trailer but I still live in today, I care take on a friend's property so there's no monthly payment. I have solar and a garden that gets bigger every year, chickens keep me in eggs and meat. This year I will be raising 6 pigs, Juliana pigs are smaller breed and much easier to handle as I'm not getting any younger. I used to have huge Berkshire pigs and a 600-pound pig that wants to go left when you wanted to go right is not a lot of fun. at the end of the year when I process the pigs, my friends have already reserved and paid for all of their feed through the year. it works out so that the pig that goes in my freezer has been paid for by my friends. I like pressure canning meat because it gives you not only a long shelf-life but a beautiful broth right there in the jar. PS; Dave Ramsey has a great system for becoming debt-free.
I was reading a (old, out of print) textbook from a University course for majoring in Home Economics from the late 1940s. There was a mathematical formula for figuring out how large your home should be. If I remember correctly, there was a base given of 400 or 500 sq feet for: a bath, a kitchen, a dining room, a front room, and hallway and entry space, and each family member would add 75 or 100 square feet to the house size (for bedrooms, increased storage space, increased kitchen space, increased living and dining room space, square footage to allow space for a staircase to another level, another bath etc.) I thought about that a lot when we had to relocate for my husbands work. It was to an all new development (nothing here is older than the 1970s). Our house is 2000 sq feet. Too big! We have a whole bedroom we don't use, a bath we don't use, kitchen cupboards that are empty! But of course....I still have to CLEAN them! Our first home was 1000 SqFt and MUCH easier to maintain.
Oh I so agree that a smaller home is easier to keep on top of for maintenance and cleaning......and fuel bills. Do you think you may down-size again one day? That book sounds so interesting. 😊
@@WhatVivididnext Oh absolutely we will down size! Our youngest is in Jr. High now, and by the time he retires, and she's off to university we'll be ready for a condo in the city! I would like to re-read that book again (especially now that I'm on the other side of babies and toddlers!), but I de-cluttered it!
