Since I have made the Syncthing working across my devices, synchronizing KeePassXC passwords and photos, my life turned out better in more ways than I have previously imagined.

One way that that this setup resulted in a positive change in my life is minimalism. Minimalism is interpreted by different people differently, depending on the context. It could for instance mean to obtain the same result with less resources.

For a sysadmins it could mean having a lean system with as little packages as possible. For a programmers, it could mean that the app has as little dependencies as possible, some even strive for zero dependency but that is different philosophy altogether.

For the ordinary people the minimalism usually translates to owning less stuff. Less clothes. Less decorations. Less shoes. Less everything. Some items can even be classified as junk, yet we still keep them around. Maybe because in today's fast paced world we did not have time to clean up our space properly. And maybe, we keep things that we do not use around, because they have value and could be sold. Only if I had more time, I was telling myself.

Yet the lack of time was not what was preventing me sell various possessions of mine, that were of no use to me for more then a year, some even longer. Not being able to sell them easily was not the reason for hesitation either. There are various global services like Ebay and Craigslists and a plethora of various localized ones, that let you sell whatever you can think of. People also tend to create an emotional attachment, or a bond with some material things, either because they had to work hard to earn money to buy them or because they were part of some, usually positive experiences before, maybe even repeatedly. Yet as I have later found out, this was not the roadblock for me either.

The problem was elsewhere

I had most of the things I wanted to get rid of tucked away neatly in a box sorted and prepared. I knew that I want to sell or even donate them, instead of throwing them away. I also like to buy used things, because it helps keeping landfills emptier, whilst also providing a little price cut in comparison to the new item.

A lot of the things in the box were tools. Tools that I did no longer use, but they were still functioning. They were of really low value, but I knew other people could still use them.

Other items there, for instance a digital camera or RAM were of good value. I did not use the camera because, even though it had an HDMI output, getting that output live in a computer without shattering required an USB HDMI grabber - a device that was of similar price as the camera itself. The RAM did not physically fit the laptop that I was currently using.

As such, the box with the stuff was just sitting there, mostly collecting a layer of dust over the top. So what change in my behavior or environment made it possible for me to disregard the obstacles and let me insert the unused possessions into the web service for others to buy?

The value of physical keyboard

The moment I had synchronization of photos from my phone to my laptop, the selling process started basically itself. I have put everything from the box on the top of the table by the window and made some photos from different angles.

Yeah, I could do it from the phone - there is an app for that, I know. But, hell, I so much hate multi-tasking on the phone! Having to write CT102464BF160B Crucial RAM 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz CL11 Laptop Memory and all the other parameters that describe the piece.

The photo editing on the phone is also possible, but I am so used to mouse and keyboard shortcuts for this kind of tasks. I have understood that working with a computer and not a phone is so ingrained in me, that once I had the possibility to solve the task my usual way, I could no longer contain myself.

And you know what? Most of the 14 things I have put on sale sold almost instantly! If you ever hesitate if you should set-up Syncthing your phone and your laptop, I am saying it is definitely worth the time. Surely you can come up with other different creative uses yourself.