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Keep black suits, shoes, shirt belt for the funerals. Got my "go to" set for those occassions. Part of retirement and having older friends and acquaintances.
I have some "secrets" for the clutter issue. First, don't collect junk to begin with. Second, when it comes time to downsize, don't consider what to throw away. Decide what you really need to keep and then get rid of the rest. Finally, when you do reach the point of downsizing, do not look for a home for the junk. Either throw it out or have a charity pick it up.
That's how I did it too. A few years ago, I took pictures of the sentimental things, then tossed the actual things away. I don't miss them, but to be honest, I've never actually looked at the digital pictures of them either. I remember them in my mind, which is all I need.
Exactly the same thing here. Every once in a while I’ll stumble onto the folder of the pics on my laptop but that’s it. Lots of good memories.
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Originally Posted by oldgardener That's how I did it too. A few years ago, I took pictures of the sentimental things, then tossed the actual things away. I don't miss them, but to be honest, I've never actually looked at the digital pictures of them either. I remember them in my mind, which is all I need. .
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We-ll, that works now but will it work far down the road?
Keep black suits, shoes, shirt belt for the funerals. Got my "go to" set for those occassions. Part of retirement and having older friends and acquaintances.
I didn't know that people still wear black to funerals. And suits?
That rule, the one that says get rid of anything not used within the last year?
Fat furreakin’ chance of that!
Some things ought to go—the ones that I do not intend to ever use again AND hold no special memories for me.
But the stuff that I have not recently used and want to use again, however distant the day, NO WAY am I ditching it. Y’see, if I have not used (for example) my backpack and backpacking boots, it means I need to set aside time and preparation to go backpacking. I’d rather do that than spend the same amount of time getting rid of that gear. Just sayin’...
I’ll get rid of the dressy clothes and other impress-other-people possessions long before I get rid of things used for innately enjoyable activities.
One thing that drives me up the wall is throwing out some doo-dad and then a year later you discover you needed that thing and have to go buy a new one. But I hate collecting useless stuff so I try to be careful. It is easier for me to get rid of sentimental stuff because I know I will never miss it, in fact most of it I forget about until I run into it while going through old boxes. The latter is a sure sign that it is time to get rid of it.
I have some "secrets" for the clutter issue. First, don't collect junk to begin with. Second, when it comes time to downsize, don't consider what to throw away. Decide what you really need to keep and then get rid of the rest. Finally, when you do reach the point of downsizing, do not look for a home for the junk. Either throw it out or have a charity pick it up.
This
or else your stuff gets shuffled around for one reason or the other while you think about it or wait for something.
I believe a true downsizing is determined by having a [b]reason[b] to downsize. A true pointing north of your compass that keeps you on the path. maybe external reason but something that forces you to stay honest to getting rid of what you don't need to keep.
You don't have to be as extreme as I was but that is what kept me honest.
Another thread got me thinking about the challenges of downsizing. I have one trick that has gone a ways to helping me part with "things".
Many things are just that things so those aren’t the problem. The problem for me are all the possessions that remind of a loved one or a particularly great experience. And there are a lot of them.
The breakthrough for me was to realize it’s the "memory" I cherish: not the object per se.
Solution: I now take a digital picture of the item, which preserves the image and triggers the memory without having to keep the item.
Hope this approach helps others. It did me.
Anyone have others?
If you have not used it in two years, get rid of it. Sell, donate, or trash.
What worked for us was asking ourselves if we really needed something or just wanted it. When in doubt we'd decide if we should keep something by how often we used it. If we used it on a regular basis we would keep it, everything else went. And I got rid of everything I considered dust collectors. We went from a 4 bedroom home and large shop to a mobile home in a retirement community, we didn't have room for all that stuff.
So far we don't miss anything. We both hated the thought that at some point someone would have to go through it all. I actually love that it's gone, no clutter and less to clean.
We don't donate to Goodwill, I do research on charities, that is not a true charity. We donated a lot to Salvation Army and to a local Church that sells things to help families in need. We had a LOT of books which we donated to the VA Hospital. We also threw out quite a bit, we rented a dumpster and started tossing things we didn't donate.
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