It has been consistently raining today….I have to admit I quite like the rain. It’s a good day to list loads and loads of our things….this might take some time.

Sitting at the dining area in my kitchen, listening to the rain on the conservatory roof…nice…listing, listing, listing so do check out what else pops up in the Ebay tab above…we have such a wide range of strange and quirky bits and bobs…

There has been a lot of wishful sighing this week….sometimes it is hard to focus…I have been looking at Instagram pictures of people who have already done what we want to do….they have gotten rid of all the unwanted stuff and they are enjoying every day. This week for us has felt like a little bit of a chore, even though, dare I say, there are spaces now in our warehouse and we are finding even more things we didn’t know we still had. So, we took almost a day off from the incessant sorting. And we went and gave ourselves a little bit of nature therapy.

We gave Mabel a little run up to Siblyback Lake, it’s so close to home but I have never been there. Not the best weather day but we managed to find a table by the lake for a cup of tea and some reflection.

A short journey back to pop in and check on my parents, who just happened to be dishing up some cottage pie….well timed! And then back to the chaos to continue sorting it all out. Even though we are limiting our spending now, a little book purchase was madly necessary for a little spark of joy.

The thing I LOVE about this book…. all the extra inspiration, it’s not just a cook book….in fact I will be fishing out all of my favourite recipes here and putting in my own little favourite recipe book…this beauty will be popped into Joycie the Bubble for travel reading purposes.

So, we are still really at the beginning of our search for simplicity. We have downsized, that stage is done, we now have to remove all of the things in our lives we no longer need or use. To be honest this is pretty easy, because we were ready for it…I only wish we didn’t have as much to remove as it is taking a little time. However, the lockdown for us was used wisely, sorting and selling and planning.

The next stage is exciting and scary at the same time. How to live on less money….would we rather have everything we want but have to work within the system or would we rather do things, experience things, learn to live with less. I don’t think there has been one thing I have sold or given away that caused me any grief, in fact it was pretty much lightening a load which I have carried for a very long time.

We are planning to take a trip in Joycie The Bubble to Wales for our first few weeks to get used to vanlife for longer than just a long weekend. It is exciting and I think we can do it, I am going to share all the ups and the downs with you, just in case you are thinking of doing the same thing. We particularly want to not eat out and try and create our own meals all of the time in the van….my recipe book is in progress, low maintenance and hopefully tasty. All of my favourite cook books are out, choosing van friendly concoctions.

So, Ebay did it to us again….what a love/hate journey we have had with them. This time a buyer wanted to return, chose “item not as described” then in comments said he received a wetsuit measuring 145cms (which is exactly what we had described) and Ebay are not willing to change it so we have to accept it and pay all of the postage.

The biggest lesson for us here is not that Ebay are in effect totally ridiculous, the main lesson is that we have no way of changing this, we are only now using them to sell the stuff we have left, 99% of our buyers are lovely, and moving on and letting it go is far easier. We have spent many jaw clenching rants on how unfair and unjust it is and the only people getting wound up in these conversations are us…far easier to believe karma will do it’s thing somewhere down the line and we have nothing to worry about.

So, I was wrong to think it would be a battle yesterday with Ebay. The lovely Kenny (might not have been his real name) removed the unfair feedback straight away. So, even though this rarely happens, it can sometimes be positive so I am forgiving myself for slipping down the negative helter skelter, I have crawled back up and on top of the world again!

Back to trawling through boxes and listing all of the best stuff, hopefully we will be able to drop off our donation boxes soon. Happy days, the stuff is disappearing! Don’t forget you can find our Ebay shop via the tab up above.

We have had a business on Ebay for many years now and believe me we have had every rude customer out there I am sure. There are days I don’t let it get to me and there are days I find it so frustrating! There are no reasons to be rude….ever….end of my story really.

We are now using Ebay to sell all of our things and I hope to never have to use Ebay again. Because however much you might be in the right as the seller and however unfair the refund you have had to make or the feedback you have had to accept, Ebay will almost always side with the buyer.

We are looking forward to the days where we just report on our travel, where we have been, who we have seen and never have to report on people scamming for free items again.

Oh I think I am hot and hormonal today…..

Packing away the tea trolley now!!

I love Instagram, great inspiration, but sometimes great big blows to the self esteem….everything looks so perfect there….for that reason, it’s a little bit of every part of our journey here – our house is horrendous whilst we are sorting and trying to sell and donate everything. I don’t know, it’s just not me to show you all the fabulous stuff and none of the reality…so here you go…

Christopher trying to model the arm of a triathlon suit so that we can sell it. There’s nothing particularly Hollywood about our lifestyle….

To be honest I don’t think I would want there to be….

Keep an eye on your own ice cream guys!

Still sorting out and removing stuff from our lives….it’s fabulous when it’s actually something which takes up more space. This is an excellent tent, we have absolutely had the best time going away in it, but now we don’t need it any more – we have Joycie the Bubble Bus so no need for tents. It will be continuing with its happy camping life with my sister – she will love it!!

So for now, it seems like a thankless task but there are spaces and light at the end of tunnel – we still aim to only have the physical things in our lives that we really need. I am still having books, not ready to give up on those yet, but, I am putting more on my Kindle now than I used to and I am getting used to using it…who else has tried to physically turn the page when they get tired?

Well, I didn’t get up any earlier this morning but I spent the time sorting out the removal of a mysterious new user on my Netflix account. Whoever they were they watched Kissing Booth last night on a Smart TV somewhere in Truro….all passwords changed now.

Today I am looking at the simplification of e-mails. I am going through my Inbox and unsubscribing from all of the accounts I pass on by and no longer read. This way I won’t miss the important ones. Talking of Netflix and Internet…we watched Searching on Netflix last night…kept us gripped right up until the end, believe me I am a serial “fall asleep in the middle of the film” person and I stayed awake for this one!

Just checked out The Lifestyle Files…very nice website, check it out for intentional living and styles.

All of the beetroot has now been eaten….very delicious it was and very interesting it was when it made its way out at the other end (too much information, I know)… Fresh veg isn’t always expensive and especially when you either grow it or someone gives it to you, so always use it!

Note the pictures still leaning against the wall, a year down the road, not on the walls just yet.

Thought for today, getting up earlier makes me feel better and gets more done, update tomorrow!