My friend Pam will be moving in the next year to a smaller home. That presents the difficulty of what to move that truly feeds her soul. Then comes the dilemma of sell, give away, auction? Does she need every kitchen tool? Will she use every woodworking tool? How about the bedding, serving dishes and seasonal decorations? How about gardening tools? The key for Pam, that I have successfully accomplished when we moved here, is to purge your life of the things you don't need or use. It sounds pretty simple, but with emotions tangled around 'your stuff', it's not easy.
Yesterday, when talking to my counselor, he suggested we might be ready for some in-house home health assistance. He said Home Health could be a companion to Russ while I work so his day had someone to talk to. He said Home Health could even help with some on the cleaning! That last comment about helping clean made me smile. For the first time in my life, cleaning is simple. A once a week run through and we're golden! We removed the clutter from our lives when we moved here. The day just feels better each morning now that we have less 'stuff' cluttering our lives.
We knew space would be at a premium in the new house and some tough decisions would have to be made. We knew the visual we had been living with would have to change. The Heaton family antique dresser from the 1800s that had always been in the living room could be kept IF we could think about it in a different room. All my cooking utensils, pots and pans and fun guizmos would have to be evaluated for 'regular' use.
I know how tempting it is to hang onto items you once loved but no longer use, or items you think you might use someday. But the truth is, if you haven’t used a particular item in the last year, you’re unlikely to use it in the next year. I figured that now that we had close neighbors, I could borrow from someone the tool I no longer owned.
At the core, all the things filling my house are just things and things may spur memories or inspire creativity, but in the end they are just things, not the actual memory.
My kitchen things? I do not need 20 pots, six cookie sheets, 14 different sized serving bowls, 8 glasses sets, 4 silver service of 12! I decided to keep only what I use on a day-to-day basis with a few special extras.
Books and magazines? We have an amazing library. I kept a few special books, medical books about Parkinson's, a few faith based books, quilting books and art books. The rest? Gone!
I used the measure If everything I owned was lost in a fire, what would I replace? Living unencumbered is free and easy. It makes weekly cleaning a breeze. Having trouble doing this for yourself. Call me up... I will make decision making easy for you!