In 2009 we decided a major downsizing was needed to create the freedom to travel. So we had a garage sale.
Getting ready
Lots of stuff…
Ready and waiting…
and the people came…
It is amazing how liberating it is to have a good clean-out. Things that haven’t been used, clothes that are never worn, objects that have been bought on impulse, but not really needed. At the end of the day almost all gone. The few things left went to the op shop.
Not only things were being disposed of we also downsized the space we lived in. Moving from a 3 bedroom house to a one room Granny flat/studio. Keeping a few pieces of furniture the rest was sold/given away.
Now we were ready, we had the FREEDOM to travel.
But we then downsized even further and Matilda came into our lives.
Setting off
This small van gave us the freedom to travel around Australia. For a year in 2010 we travelled 37000 kilometres, met many interesting people and saw the incredible diversity of this great land.
Crossing the Nullabor Plains
To see more about this iconic part of Australia click here.
Freedom camping at the beach
Freedom camping in the outback, cooking over open fires in the camp oven.
Camping alongside rivers and billabongs in the shade of the mighty gum trees.
Feeling as free as the birds to follow our own path.
The open road, the anticipation of what is over the hill. That is the great feeling of FREEDOM…
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Feel free to click here and go to Ailsa’s “Where’s my backpack” for many more glimpses into the freedom bloggers have found.
gypsy life 
Wonderful wonderful wonderful !!! I have itchy feet after reading your post. We’re just about to cull and downsize. Might see you on the road very soon.
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G’day EG nice to have you visit my world. Downsizing gave me a real sense of freedom and I certainly recommend it. Are you going to travel in Australia?
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Have done of travel in Australia and have today, after signing up for a blogging course, refocussed my blog on indigenous Australia. Should be interesting and fun.
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Blogging is very addictive and also a lot of fun.
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Pingback: Freedom | rfljenksy – Practicing Simplicity
Thanks for the link
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Freedom! Yay! Merry Christmas to you both 🙂
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and back to you Jo, keep warm, keep walking!!!!
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Sending this to my hubby. You two rock. What a great life! Happy Holidays to you both!
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Thanks Cindy, Hope you have a happy time through the festive season too.
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Ah the open road …. and a place left behind that’s no trouble Lol how marvellous Pauline . You’ve certainly embraced that feeling of freedom that downsizing holds . I know Matilda has gone but house sitting all over the country as you and Jack do is fantastic .. and we get to share it all too 😉
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Life is what you make it Poppy. I don’t know if we will get a second chance, so as the saying goes ” this is not a dress rehearsal!!!”
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Good for you! I cannot tell you how close I am to doing the same. Hubby isn’t……yet. But the seeds are sown 🙂
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Jack was not as keen as me to start with then he read this book. It is in the first post I did back in September 2009 you may like to look at it.https://pommepal.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/the-resurrection-of-a-dream/
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Thanks. Shall take a look.
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I wish I had been there, what a wonderful experience!
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G’day Lily, pleased to meet you, thank you for leaving a comment
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We are at a similar place in our lives Pomme – certainly not brave enough to go entirely into the van but a much smaller place is definitely on the radar screen, and the clean-out is surely imperative!! Great post – good for you!!!
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All the stuff we were hording was good to get rid of Tina, we never missed it, made me wonder why we had it in the first place…
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A PERFECT post for the freedom theme! There is nothing quite like the liberating feeling of getting rid of your accumulated stuff and hitting the road.
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Thanks I appreciate the comment from you, as you know that feeling, you are there doing just that. Safe travels and a happy Christmas to you.
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Merry Christmas to you also!
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Great post and pics for the challenge, Pauline. What you did, isn’t for everyone, but I really admire you both for taking the plunge. You sound so happy with your decision and the downsizing. 🙂
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Our little Granny flat gives us the freedom to come and go. Great solution for my gypsy lifestyle.
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I sold my coleetion of records, some of the covers were works of art.
They went to a good home.
He came back with a book of old cigarette cards I had mistakenly left in one of the boxes.
He was a good bloke he had sat up all night playing the records.
He said he could not keep the cards, the records too good a deal.
That was the highlight of the garage sail.
Down sizing is the best thing one can do. It is silly keeping records just because they are rare, music is to be listened to.
We played all our favoured music on MP3 in the van.
Making them moor memorable every time we here them played.
Your posts are great for triggering our memories too.😍
All good and we have had plenty, with more to look foardward to.😃
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Yes Jack those records are gone but will not be forgotten
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really enjoyed this Pomme 🙂
the outback looks great and the pop up van was very cool. How nice that you took pics of the garage sale – I really wish I had photos of some events long gone by. and even though now I try and at least get a quick snapshot when I think of it – I still forget – like when my brother was here with his son last month – not one shot! I guess there is a freedom in forgetting the camera at times – but I do like the memories of having a shot or two – and like this freedom post – just fun to see the garage sale. ha!
quick side note, I cleaned out my closet this year – and have not done it since 2005! GFot rid of 80% of things – and that is free feeling too.
have a nice day and that ending open road shot – ahhh the road joust keep going on and on
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I started this blog in September 2009 so that I could record our journey. Blogging became an addiction so I always had my camera at the ready and always had the next post at the back of my mind. It has been a good journey and I am so pleased I started blogging, I will always have those memories to look back on. Here is my first post. https://pommepal.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/the-resurrection-of-a-dream/
Back then the community side was not so strong, I now love the fact that people from all over the world are connected by blogging and we become blogging buddies…
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well I will check out that first post – and I know what you mean about starting off and the community not being strong yet – and I actually only start red my wp blog so a few folks from my hubby’s work could know my heart. Long story (made short) but I wrote a few posts so if they wanted to know more about me – they could go there and read. I wrote my posts and was about to walk away and let it sit in cyberspace – but then I cam down one day and told my husband – I said, I just got seven new followers – and I am going to add another post. It was cool – but I also see how I evolved as a blogger – and I went from writing to “educators and other moms” to posting for folks I have come to appreciate as blog friends. what gift it has been too.
anyhow, I am off to see post uno ❤
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I must admit blogging has become a bit of an obsession with me. I don’t post every day, but I am always thinking of what I will put up next, and I just LOVE contacting into the community EVERY day and reading other blogs. Much better entertainment than TV.
Now I’m going to dig into your archives….
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well I am honored – but some of my earlier posts are long and kinda boring – I almost deleted them but then a few folks have told me they enjoyed them – but I have evolved as a blogger – you know 0- had to find my style I guess – but then, it is even changing right now – guess it is part of life, huh?
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The saying goes “the only constant is change” I guess that is even true about blogging…
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So wonderful that you followed your dreams! Great story – thanks.
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I loved every moment of it…
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Lovely post from another traveller.
Happy Holidays to you & Jack!
xx del
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Lovely to hear from you, best wishes to you for 2015
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I first ‘met’ you somewhere in the middle of those years and was so impressed. I’ve loved following you and learning about so many places I had only read about (or sometimes hadn’t even heard of) before. Thanks so much, Pommepal, for sharing your journeys. ~ Linne
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G’day Linne so pleased to hear you have been along with me on the adventure. It has been fun. 3 cheers for the blog world and all the friends I have “connected” with.
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I sold/gifted most of my things about a year ago to go traveling..like you write, such a freeing thing to do. Looks too like it created space for lots of new experiences. Beautiful!
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Travel creates so many new experiences and memories Asmukti that can never be taken away.
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I so envy that trip. I’d love to do that. Great photo of the Nullarbor – it must have been amazing!
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It was an amazing part of the country. Here is the post I did about it. I couldn’t even imagine what it must’ve been like before the road was sealed. https://pommepal.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/the-nullabor/
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Such a wonderful post and an amazing story – I really admire your adventurous spirit! 🙂
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Thank you I have been lucky to have the opportunities to travel.
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Whoppee! So glad to have your backstory, and those beautiful camping images. My post-retirement dream was camping somewhere for more than a night, but my camping companion went back to work just as I retired. There’s still hope.
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Hope and anticipation drives my dreams Meg.
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I love ths story of your beginning (to travel to freedom). I find it fascinating.
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Thanks for commenting Dawn, 5 years ago now but it only seems like yesterday.
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Wow! Love this post!! Inspirational.
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Thanks Jill and the wheels kept turning for another 4 years till we sold her a year ago. Freedom of another kind now.
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