I’m certain I’m not the only person to face this dilemma. It seems that many of us reach a certain age and realize that our home is too big for us and it’s time to size down; I’m there!
Allow me to defend myself somewhat; I am NOT a hoarder, but when you begin to consider a move, it’s time to ask yourself some questions – like “to keep or not to keep”.
So, recently, I’ve been spending whatever free time I have going through things, and I soon came to the realization that it’s time to part company with LOTS of things!
Because I don’t consider this a “fun” job, I didn’t jump in with both feet; I started with little projects, such as cleaning out the junk drawer in my kitchen, and then progressed to my kitchen cabinets and then some closet space. After a couple of days’ work, I had trashed some things – especially duplicates. I was pleased that things were much more organized and easier to find, but a LOT still remains!
You know, I have always loved the fact that my home had MORE THAN AMPLE storage space – LOTS of closets! I deemed that a genuine “perk”. But, now that I’ve delved into parting company with some items I’ve accumulated, I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps all that storage space may not have been such a benefit after all. It only seems to have allowed me generous space to hide things out of sight and keep things that I wasn’t ready to decide whether to keep or not to keep! I’ve got a LOT of work ahead of me. I’ll have to be careful not to be satisfied to just rearrange and organize things and remain tied to them. The objective is to purge – right?
It’s a mental battle we fight, and I think women in particular are probably most guilty of keeping clothes that are either a little too big or a little too small – just in case our size might change one way or the other. We ask “what if” too often, thinking “Maybe I don’t use or wear this often … but what if I might have a need for these things in the future!
Then there are also emotional attachments. For instance, I found cards from me to my mom that she kept all her life, and I have done the very same thing, so this habit may be hereditary! I also ran across some family heirlooms, like quilts handmade by my great -grandmother and old photos that have sentimental value. How will I manage to trash such things like that???
And then I’ll also have to address endless paperwork; some documents are essential and would be time-consuming to have to replace. I’ll have to go through them all to determine what can be shredded and what I have to keep. I may have been better at this when I was younger, but I swear to you, I’m NOT finding this “fun”!
My son and his family just moved and I witnessed what a challenge it was for them but they managed to tackle it. They are much younger than I am and that no doubt helped somewhat. I guess I’ll follow my son’s advice, which was “Start now, mom; don’t wait until it’s time to move, which probably won’t occur until the Spring for you, so you don’t have to rush. Take your time, one small step at a time. You might not enjoy this now, but when the time comes, you’ll be glad you got a good jumpstart!”
I keep reminding myself over and over the words of Rev. Jim Sturm – This too shall pass”. Wish me luck!
Quote of the Week: “If you’re not using the stuff in your home, get rid of it. You’re not going to start using it more by shoving it in a closet somewhere!” ~ Joshua Becker
