My plan this month is to make a sincere stab at simplicity and eliminate anything that is not either useful or beautiful. That leaves a lot of room for things we own and use so I'm not getting rid of things we'll need to replace later, but hopefully getting rid of the excess.

Also, I plan to sell what I can. So far:

3 pairs of shoes on ebay
1 vintage camera
2 books I finished reading

Approx income total so far: $170

I feel a strong urge to get rid of the car and force myself to remember what car-lessness is like. Sort of like doing another spending freeze but not having to think about it all the time - more of a natural cap on gas spending. But I need to invest a little in it before it's ready to sell and any profits from selling the car wouldn't be income since we would probably reinvest in another one this winter... so that idea is pending.

I find that I get the same excitement from purging things that I sometimes get from buying or acquiring something new. I have been trying to repeat to myself, "I have everything I need" and it has been a successful mantra to avoid "just looking" while I'm passing through a commercial area. What I don't find I don't miss!

We have couchsurfers staying with us right now who have been traveling since March and are successfully only spending money on gas. They brought dumpster diving treasures with them and planted the potted herb starter plants in the garden along with our other herbs. Abundance!