Overwhelmed with unnecessary stress and piles of useless stuff? Discover how to ditch societyās expectations and live by your own rules.
Exhausted from chasing ill-fitting definitions of success? Struggling to manage your daily to-dos while failing to make progress on what truly matters? Author and digital nomad Gary Collins has thrived since walking away from a stable, unfulfilling job to build a joyful, debt-free, and off-the-grid lifestyle. After teaching thousands of people to step off the burnout treadmill, he's here to share the step-by-step process for living your dream.
The Simple Life Guide To Decluttering Your Life: The How-To Book of Doing More with Less and Focusing on the Things That Matter provides realistic solutions to guide you toward a genuinely happy life. With straightforward, no-nonsense advice, Collins demonstrates how to overcome crippling frustration to reorder your priorities. The book's path to your new purpose will help you once and for all usher in a healthier, better way of living.
Overwhelmed with unnecessary stress and piles of useless stuff? Discover how to ditch societyās expectations and live by your own rules.
Exhausted from chasing ill-fitting definitions of success? Struggling to manage your daily to-dos while failing to make progress on what truly matters? Author and digital nomad Gary Collins has thrived since walking away from a stable, unfulfilling job to build a joyful, debt-free, and off-the-grid lifestyle. After teaching thousands of people to step off the burnout treadmill, he's here to share the step-by-step process for living your dream.
The Simple Life Guide To Decluttering Your Life: The How-To Book of Doing More with Less and Focusing on the Things That Matter provides realistic solutions to guide you toward a genuinely happy life. With straightforward, no-nonsense advice, Collins demonstrates how to overcome crippling frustration to reorder your priorities. The book's path to your new purpose will help you once and for all usher in a healthier, better way of living.
In the next couple of chapters Iāll cover how I started on my journey of living a simpler and happier life. Iāve included this information in some of my previous books, as it outlines my story and the valuable lessons Iāve learned. For those whoāve already read my story in my other books, you can skip ahead to chapter 3 if you so desire. Rereading it, though, might be a good review to light a fire under your butt to get going!
Dealing with Todayās Life Grind
As most of you who follow me or have read my book Going Off The Grid know, my journey didnāt start on a whim. I constructed the foundation of how I live now over a decade ago. It started as a desire to live more remotely and simply, then it evolved into a complete lifestyle change.
First, I think itās important to understand that I grew up in a small town in the mountains of California, so living off the grid in the Pacific Northwest is not as drastic a stretch for me as one might think. I didnāt go into this adventure completely in the dark.
During my life, Iāve lived in many cities across the country. As Iāve gotten older, though, Iāve become disenchanted with and disengaged from that type of living. Urban living is not a bad lifestyle; itās just not for me anymore.
Having grown up poor, in a single-wide trailer with very few neighbors, you might think Iād never want to return to such a lifestyle. But that couldnāt be further from the truth. Growing up that way has given me a unique perspective and shaped my thoughts about whatās truly important. Sure, at times things were tough when I was young, but it made me appreciate everything I had that much more. I now look back and consider myself incredibly lucky to have had those experiences. I was fortunate enough to know most of the people in my town and was able to wave at them and get a wave back in return. Thatās pretty much unheard of in most urban settings today.
I still have fond memories of racing home from football practice before the sun went down to get in an hour of bird hunting. Heck, I would have my shotgun behind the seat of my truck to save time. Yes, that would mean I had a shotgun on school grounds, and I wouldnāt have been the only one. A lot of us were hunters, and that was just all there was to it. Can you imagine what would happen to a kid doing that today?
I hate to have to do this, but I must clarify that the above does not represent my personal opinion or political view on gun control. Yep, in todayās easily offended society Iāve felt it necessary to put this paragraph and explanation in. If the above paragraph offends you, or drives you to leave a scathing review of this book based almost purely on it (my story), this book is probably not for you. Or maybe itās exactly what you need. If youāre just delirious with anger over this, I would highly recommend you skip to chapter 12 and read that first. The above is a part of my childhood and young adult story, and I refuse to remove it so as not to offend anyone, as some have recommended I do, .Well, thatās not going to happen, as I wonāt allow anyone to edit my life story in such a way. OK, Iām done, and off the soapbox I go!
My hunting activity was based on pure simplicity. I didnāt wear any special hunting outfit, just the same clothes I wore to school that day. My shotgun was nothing special, it was inexpensive and bought used, and worked just as well as a shotgun ten times the price. I still own and use that shotgun today, nearly 40 years later.
Once I left for college at eighteen, I had very few opportunities to do the things I enjoyed doing while growing upāhiking, fishing, hunting, and just being in nature. And for many years I yearned to return to that type of living. Itās hard to explain to someone whoās never experienced this lifestyle, but spending time outdoors has always made me the happiest.
To me, the daily grind of living in congested areas has become completely overwhelming and too stressful. Why would I want to sit in traffic if I donāt have to? The thought of going to the mall actually makes me cringe, to say the least.
But I canāt state this enough: There was a lot of planning required for me to transition to my current lifestyle, with numerous false starts and mistakes made along the way. With that being said, I wouldnāt change a thing. Well, maybe I wish someone had already written the books Iāve put together, as it would have made my life much easier.
Like most people today, I was doing the day-to-day grind. Iād spent almost half my life working for the government in one form or another and was completely burned out and questioning numerous aspects of my life. I remember just sitting there at my desk, after another joyless meeting with one of my bosses, thinking, What the heck am I doing with my life? I knew I needed a plan, but what was that plan? I had a house that was ridiculously expensive, with more debt than I wanted or was really necessary, and I was living in congested Southern California, slowly losing my mind.
I remember wondering back then, Is there something wrong with me? But since Iāve changed my lifestyle, Iāve spoken to and received emails from hundreds and hundreds of people who feel exactly as I did. I now know that the dissatisfaction I had with my previous lifestyle and mindset is not an unusual sentiment. If you feel this way, youāre not alone. Today, there are a lot more people who are looking for, or who are actually living, the type of lifestyle I live now. Simply put, weāre not willing to accept the modern-day societal expectation that we grind ourselves to oblivion chasing someone elseās predefined idea of happiness . . . there has to be a better way!
The Search Begins . . . Kind Of
The original plan began simply with this: I wanted to find someplace quiet to get away to. So I started looking at remote land and cabins in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Montana. At first, it was just a cursory look. As it was in the middle of the housing boom, I soon noticed that remote properties were just as overpriced as the typical single-family dwelling in more populated areas. I called a couple of realtors just to get some information, but nothing serious came of it. At that point, I was a little discouraged that my plan was nothing more than a dream.
So I shelved my plan and continued with my daily grind, feeling let down and not sure what to do next. What Iāve now found, after over a decade of research, is that everyone goes through this type of discouragement when they first start trying to make these changes. So donāt lose hope.
Another important point I need to make is that Iāve never fit into the mold of todayās typical American lifestyle: the nine-to-five job, the commute, the cookie-cutter suburban home. I started my own side business a good ten years prior to hatching my idea of a mobile lifestyle in an effort to break out, and Iāve always been more of a āfree thinker.ā
I knew that in order to really have freedom, Iād have to run not only my own life, but possibly my own business. Let me assure you, though, I donāt think itās 100 percent necessary for you to run your own business to live a simpler and more mobile lifestyleābut it sure helps.
The best advice I can give is if youāre feeling the grind, and really serious about living a simpler or more mobile life, you need to come up with a business model that fits in with your plans. Today, telecommuting is becoming more common for certain jobs that donāt require you to be in an office day-to-day, so just because you have a nine-to-five job doesnāt mean you canāt simplify and declutter your life.
A Kick in the ButtāThe Real Search Begins
Fast-forward to 2013, and all these thoughts were still in the back of my mind. But due to many life-changing circumstances, I wasnāt really pursing my dream; I was in a rut. In that year, the stress of trying to run my own business weighed on me and numerous recent deaths of loved ones, including one of my best friends, hit home. I knew if I kept saying, āIāll get to it next year,ā it would never happen.
So with that, I rekindled the dream and put a plan into action. From the time when I had originally thought about living a simpler, more remote lifestyle, my ideas had evolved and changed. I had started a new business, sold my house and most of my belongings, and was debt free. That put me in a much better place to really pursue my dream.
My original plan was to have a remote getaway; now it was to live off the grid for at least part of the year, dedicating myself to being more mobile rather than stuck in one place. I was fortunate while working in the government to have traveled all over the world, but that lifestyle was addictive. I had caught the nomadic bug and realized I could no longer just stay in one place for very long. In addition, the housing bubble had taught me that the supposed American dream of home ownershipāwith that big fat mortgageāis a chain around the ankle of a freedom-based lifestyle.
Most think that living a mobile lifestyle, or living off the grid, means living in a beat-up van, cave, or shack with no running water or electricity. Today, that couldnāt be further from the truth. You can now live a comfortable life on a piece of fairly isolated land or travel around in a state-of-the-art RV, and I know this for a fact! Not only have I been doing it for years, but Iāve run into more people than I can count who are doing the same thing or something very similar.
Iām going to address this now, as itās the main argument I get from people who think what I do is not obtainable for most people because Iām single with no kids. I could go into a long diatribe about life decisions and lifestyle choices, but I wonātāmaybe in another book (ha ha, just kidding.) The fact is, Iāve met so many people who are married with two to three kids, not to mention multiple pets, who are living exactly like I am. Iām telling you with firsthand knowledge, anyone can live this lifestyle successfully if they want to. It all boils down to whether you want it and will make it happen proactively, or whether you just want to make excuses and complain about your life. Yes, itās a little tough love, but someone has to say it. This lifestyle is as simple as coming up with a plan and putting it into action, instead of waiting for a miracle to happen, which will more than likely never occur.
I think the best part of this adventure is that Iām funding it in a way most Americans can afford. I donāt come from a long list of millionaires, and I donāt have unlimited resources. Still, I wonāt deny that it does cost money, especially in the beginning. I know there are shows and books that say you can just take off with a hundred bucks in your pocket and do it. And some people have done it that way, but I like to live in reality and talk about whatās plausible for most people, not a selective few.
Iām hoping youāll enjoy my adventure, and even if youāre not interested in such a lifestyle, maybe youāll learn a little something that you can incorporate into your life to make it simpler and more enjoyable.
āFor me, decluttering is about removing the unnecessary internal and external stressors in my life in order to live the life I want.ā
Decluttering is all the rage right now between Marie Kondoās The Magical Art of Tidying Up and Gretchen Rubinās Outer Order, Inner Calm. It seems most people crave a place to live where everything is of use, has a place or is aesthetically pleasing. While decluttering the things in a living space can help a person feel organized, sometimes what really needs to be decluttered is our lives.
The Simple Life Guide To Decluttering Your Life: The How-To Book of Doing More with Less and Focusing on the Things That Matter by Gary Collins is not a book about how to organize your kitchen or closet, but a book about living a decluttered life. Collins addresses how people can live more simply in these areas of their lives: health, finances, social circles, mind, house, technology, holiday and even politics.
Collins starts off by telling his story of how he worked at a 9-to-5 job and lived in a big house with just a dog. He didnāt feel at peace with his life, so he looked to live off-grid, but started by downsizing where he lived and what he owned so he could save the money to buy land. He now lives off-grid and spends a lot of time in his RV traveling the country. He has written other books about living simply ā RV living, health and living off the grid.
By focusing on all areas of life and not just physical clutter, Collins hones in on a holistic approach that will make a person feel better. Looking at health, Collins talks about eating good foods and getting exercise. For finances, getting out of debt is addressed and there are tips on how to track finances and start making a dent in debt. He recommends being careful about who you include in your social circle, which makes interactions more meaningful. He does address decluttering a house by moving into a smaller space, which forces a person to choose what will fit in a smaller home. While he does use technology, he advises to use it less and have only certain hours when technology is used. Collins has simplified the holidays by taking his family out to dinner instead of getting or giving gifts. He recommends giving gifts that are small and meaningful (or handmade) rather than spending a lot of money. He also gives advice about the politics of today and recommends getting news in small doses.
While Collins is candid about how he thinks the best ways for people to declutter are, he also admits his viewpoint comes from being a single male with a dog. While he says the ideas will work for families, his anecdotes are not from a family perspective. A chapter on how families live using the suggestions he gives would be helpful for many readers. How do you limit technology use when your child needs to use GoogleDocs for a homework assignment? However, the overall theme is that if you want to live a more simplified life, you can. It make take some work, sacrifice and time, but paring down is an option for everyone.
People who are looking to live more fully in the present, enjoy life and have the freedom to seek out their dreams will enjoy reading Collinās tips. Donāt just declutter your house ā declutter your life!