The Great Big Purge of 2026

I have this plan. It’s a secret. Okay, fine…. If you must know, it is my plan to spend the next five years purging myself of all unnecessary belongings, so that when the two mini’s graduate from high school and make their way off to college, I can downsize into a tiny living situation. I feel like this is another life level that I’m graduating to. First, it was the birding, next it was wearing crocks, and now it’s dreams of van life or tiny home living. I’m right on track. GO ME! 

Five years. That’s how long I figure it will take me to go through my belongings. I think this is probably 6x’s the amount of time it would take a neurotypical person. I, however, am neurodivergent. Going through my belongings requires my piecing together a mystery. 

ME: IS THIS ITEM IMPORTANT??  

ALSO ME: Ummmm, DUH! You kept it, right?! It must be important!! 

ME: BUT I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT IT’S FOR!!! 

Also Me: Calm down, you’ve not used it for several years, so long that you don’t even remember what it’s for. 

ME: Ummmmm……. I could have used it last week and might not remember….. 

Also Me: Fair point. 

In these tough economic times, I’ve taken on a side hustle of reselling. And, it’s working! Items are selling! Turns out, I’m sorta good at this thing. AND, my brain is in love with it. I find an item and I get to go down the rabbit hole of, “Is this worth 100’s or is it worth less than what I just paid?!?!?” I’ve always enjoyed a good puzzle to solve and now I get to do it for my side job. This side job has meant that I have inventory waiting in limbo. Inventory started taking over my living room, but I couldn’t stand that… so now it has taken over my bedroom. Suddenly, I can’t stand that either. Fortunately for me, I’ve reach the “must become a minimalist” portion of my life quest. So now…. I downsize. 

However, I have ADHD, which means…… this downsizing is proving to be hard. It’s not the first time I’ve tried to downsize. There have been plenty of times I’ve fantasized about taking a blowtorch to my junk drawer, junk closet, or junk room. I never did though. GO ME. 

I’ve found a pile of keys. Apparently, I’m a key hoarder. I have no recollection of any of these keys and what they unlocked for me. I found an entire set of the Friends tv show on DVD’s and I wasn’t sure if they were mine or my oldest daughters. Turns out, they were hers…. But when she wanted me to mail them to her, I opted for buying her a completely new set and having whomever I purchased them from deal with the shipping. I’m sure that made complete sense to me at the time. 

My room is in complete and utter chaos right now. 

I found journals from when I was 18 and beyond. They sidetracked me a bit. 

I have three bags: Donation, recycle, and trash. I’m 2 hours in and I am sitting at my desk writing this, instead of dealing with the piles behind me. 

I’m excited though. There is a certain weight that is shed with each item that makes it confidently within one of the bags. One less item for me to worry about. One less item for me to forget even exists. One less item to haul around. 

I’m excited to downsize. I’m excited to free up so much space in my home, my brain, and my life. GO ME!!! ❤