There was a time when everything I owned could fit into my car.

I had a 1978 Plymouth Horizon hatchback and I could move myself to and from college in one trip. This included hauling the miniature refrigerator.

As I look back on those days, which have become fresher in my memory due to my son’s recent move to college, I believe it was particularly freeing to own less “stuff.”

Today my wife and I have a two-story Victorian home that has more square footage than any other house I’ve lived in. Currently we have more furniture than we need. I envision us having a huge garage sale this spring. It’s time to shed some of those things we just don’t use or enjoy anymore.

I’ve always said I don’t begrudge anyone their wealth or what they own. I have friends who have toys for all seasons — UTVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, RVs, swimming pools — and I’m just talking about one of my friends with that list. Seriously, one of my best buddies has everything.

My wife and I have a fairly substantial collection of antique furniture. Now, don’t get any ideas of coming over to our house and robbing us. I’m not saying this is 1700s Chippendale furniture, I’m saying its matching antique furniture that we’ve become attached to over time. I have a mirror that’s been in my family for four generations and a couple of buffets that are three generations old. My wife has a baker’s cabinet and some unique, ornamental display cabinets.

We like these possessions because they are unique to us and have grown on us over the years. However, there are no significant “Antiques Roadshow” finds among our furniture.

My wife and I came together later in life after we each already had our individual households of furniture. Recently, my mother passed away and my dad moved into assisted living. I added about four pieces of furniture that had been in our family for years.

After time, these possessions start taking up more space and “piling up.” I looked around the house recently and figured we have about one-third too much stuff to be comfortable and that doesn’t count what’s in the garage.

As I thought about New Year’s resolutions for 2019, I decided I wanted to enter 2020 with fewer possessions than I had at the start of the year. This year has become about shedding those possessions I haven’t used or touched and no longer bring me joy.

I subscribe to a number of “minimalist” websites, which provide inspiration and ideas for people who are looking to downsize. There are people who are serious about minimalism. They put numbers on their possessions and say they can live with 300 possessions or 100 possessions. And they do it. When I watch minimalist television shows or documentaries, I notice these people are not rural Midwesterners, but generally big-city types. I applaud their lack of possessions, but I know they don’t need a vehicle, snow blower, lawn mower, any tools or a four-season wardrobe. Also, their hobbies must be limited to online applications. A minimalist is not going to be a woodworking or cooking hobbyist. Just think if you had to start counting every tool or kitchen gadget as a possession?

One interesting thing about minimalism is it’s about keeping a clean slate. Not carrying around old possessions is a way to free oneself from mental baggage. I understand that, but there are things I want to keep because they bring me joy, especially photographs. Paintings and framed photographs are not the same as an image on a computer. Where would I be without my gold-relief map of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth?

I think that dialing back the number of possessions my wife and I share is a noble goal. There are things I haven’t touched in three years that I’m not going to pick up again. Why not free myself from it and let somebody else enjoy it?

In just a couple of months we’ll be in garage sale season. I’m looking forward to being on the selling side this time around.

— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.