The turning point for the Big Downsizing came when we priced the cost of renting a storage unit for everything that does not fit. We realized that we would do better to sell what we have. It makes more sense to buy new or off Craigslist if and when we have need for something that we could have stored.
Small Business Storage
We own a small business. Everything related to that business must fit into our file cabinets, online files, or our work van.
The garage can hold tools, packaging materials, and anything that the critters can’t eat.
The Keepers
It turns out that the stuff we want to keep has little financial value, only sentimental value:
Civil War Quilt
David is keeping a few things his Mom made, a few things owned by his father, two antique handmade quilts, a few things that remind him of a special experience. Of course, he still has to have is GIANT TV, but at least it is only one.
Murphy Quilt
I am keeping Mom’s silverware, two or three old china pieces, an antique quilt handmade by my great grandmother, my favorite CD’s (including all the operas), one menu autographed by Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, from 1984.
I simply cannot give away all my books. I sent my collection of favorite romantic novels by Georgette Heyer off to my sister, Becky. I am keeping the CD sets of the Harry Potter series narrated by Jim Dale. There a a bunch of biographical tomes I will keep until I have read them; then, off they go to my girlfriend, Deborah. I get to keep one standing bookshelf and anything I can fit on it.
We have tons of photos that will sit in boxes until we can go through them, scan the ones we want to keep, and discard the rest.
Some personal papers and files have to be kept. Boxes of old files can be burned.
We are keeping some framed photos that fit on bookshelves and some wall art that works in our rustic cabin.
That is about it.
Rehearsal for the Assisted Living Move
It turns out that we are downsizing as if we are moving into Assisted Living. We are keeping a few mementos and the furniture that works for the space we have. We will keep the clothes that fit into the closets.
Next month, a local professional will manage a one-day moving/estate sale for us. The profits will be split between her and us. Seems like a good deal to me. She is going to sell everything we have not moved out of the condo.
The most interesting thing about this process is that each day we discover new items that we can live without. In fact, we are starting to look forward to our minimalist existence. Less seems like more. Space is better than clutter. It is more fun to give things away while we are alive to see someone else enjoy them.
You Can’t Take It With You
I remember going through Dad’s things with Mom after he died…I went through everything else either of them still owned after Mom died. It was emotional, exhausting, and took forever.
We are not dying, nor are we moving into assisted living. Yet, lightening up is suddenly incredibly appealing. We don’t want extra things any more. When we get wobbly on our feet, we don’t want to be tripping over clutter. Our gift to our heirs is that we will be almost move-in ready for the nursing home, and they should not have to run an estate sale.
Yard Sale Image by Rubbermaid Products via Flickr
The Transience of Things
It turns out that the things we thought we could not live without, we actually can live without. Things are transient.
Memories, actions, experiences, emotions are things things that take up no room. Yet we carry them with us as long as we live. And some things we do live on after we are gone.
Figure out what you need now, and get rid of the rest while you have the energy to do it. It is an act of love to yourself and your relatives.
See also Estate Sale Trauma and Aftermath of Our Estate Sale .
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