Downsizing a life

Months before getting fired, my husband and I excitedly talked about the possibility of dropping out of society and going on the road to really experience the US. As children of the 60's we always admired hippies and flower children and now that our children have been emancipated it seemed feasible. We live around in a 5 bedroom Victorian home of which most of our time is spent on the front porch listening to music, enjoying each others wacky sense of humor and basically just watching the world go by. Since my abrupt departure from work, we have made a commitment to seriously downsize. The first step of course was getting unemployment so we could continue to pay certain bills and the usual credit card debt. But it was astonishing to realize how much I was spending by working in the corporate setting. Among the luxuries that bit the dust were nail and hair appointments, dry cleaning, house cleaning service, frequent dinners out, take out meals and of course gas. Travel expenditures incurred by my travels on the job always exceeded what I actually got to expense, mandatory business clothes and the expense of having large gourmet family dinners once or twice a week were all let go. Next came the business of getting a large house in need of some cosmetic repair ready for sale. I used any leftover paint in the cellar to do touch ups and gave away a lot of unnecessary decorations. It is easy to forget how much stuff you accumulate in a big old house until it is time to get rid of it all. Since our youngest was moving out of state I gave him my car, the living room set, and plenty of domestic things. It has been a full time job keeping the house immaculate so strangers can come in by appointment and view, but it is rewarding nonetheless as it is a means to our future plans. Of course it is the worst time in history to sell a house without buying another one, but that makes our adventure all the more exciting! Once the house is sold and all of our possessions are either sold or given away, we will buy a used Eurovan and head south somewhere. We both plan on blogging our adventure so now is my time to get my journaling going. Are we crazy...? probably, but what serves up as normal just doesn't suit us anymore. There's no time like the present to get started on your dreams.