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I gave 3 bankers' boxes of genealogy research and documents to my niece, the US history teacher.
I have the records I want to keep stored on a portable HD and in the cloud.
DH took 7 albums of old family photos to his brother who will pass them on to his children. He (DH) is scanning all his documents and research and when finished will give away or shred all the paper.
I dove into the old electronics spare parts cabinet on Saturday. You know, the one with the old stand alone push button phones, Arcnet and outdated Ethernet equipment, and things like that. There was even a floppy disk drive for an Apple II+ from 1979. Then I wiped two obsolete Win XP Dell desktops my daughters used when they lived here--after clearing it with them. Anyways, got half a trash can for the next electronics roundup in my city and a few less places with clutter.
But our biggest downsize recently was inadvertent and financial. It happened on Friday. I have a bunch of stocks I can't sell till my mom dies or I have to pay cap gains on them (an ESOP thing), and Friday's market haircut cost us a bit. Ouch!
Why is it so important to down size. I don't really get this.
I think some of us want to free up space, or we want to declutter.
In my case, I know what a royal pain it would be for my kids to go through all our possessions. So, I think as a good parent, I should dispose of things that I feel I can part with. Some of these things are hard for me to part with, though.
I think this thread is a good reminder that we can part with things, and how liberating it is to have less stuff in our homes.
I think some of us want to free up space, or we want to declutter.
In my case, I know what a royal pain it would be for my kids to go through all our possessions. So, I think as a good parent, I should dispose of things that I feel I can part with. Some of these things are hard for me to part with, though.
I think this thread is a good reminder that we can part with things, and how liberating it is to have less stuff in our homes.
No one is saying that all of us should downsize.
I agree with this. Anyone who has gone through cleaning out their parents' home realizes how important it is to declutter and clean out unnecessary paperwork, old checks, linens, etc.
I spent a whole winter shredding insurance policies (car, house, etc.) that were over 15 years old, as well as long-closed banking and stock accounts. My kids would never have the time or patience to go through all that. Yes, I know you can bring them to shredder spots but I felt more comfortable doing it myself.
Also, some furniture and antique/china pieces from the family had sat in the basement for years, which could have been given to interested parties with an explanation of the history at that time. I will try to do that - a piece given here and there is better than being overwhelmed at one time. Some kids are not interested but some really are, including my daughter.
Having a decluttered, organized home seems to foster a clear mind and a better feeling of well- being, at least for me.
Why is it so important to down size. I don't really get this.
For us, we didn't need all the room in the house we owned and we didn't want all the upkeep on the house and yard. We also didn't need all the stuff we collected for so many years. A smaller place is also cheaper to cool, easier to take care of and clean.
Down-size? That's pretty hard. My wife is a collector. She actively collects everything.
Recently I built these 5 huge shelf system in the back of my garage to fit 24 x 16 x 16 foot plastic bins.
each one goes to the ceiling of the garage(I have a 32' x 32' separate 2 car garage). Each has four shelves 2 feet deep by 20 inches high by 8 feet long. Now we have a place to actually store the boat stuff, the electrical and plumbing materials, my wife's historical novels, the seasonal decorations, her re-enacting clothes, and her left over kindergarten teacher stuff she hopes to give to the grand children. We could actually put a car in the garage now.
I think downsizing later in life is important. I actively do it as, should I outlive my 10-years older husband, I will have no one to get rid of my stuff when I die.
We downsized hugely two years ago and moved to a smaller home. But since then, I'm seeing many items that should have not been kept, many with a sentimental attachment or the old thought, "maybe we'll need this one day." LOL. So still going through stuff and slowly letting go and making many donations or giving items to daughters who want them. It feels good but is still hard work.
Why is it so important to down size. I don't really get this.
Perhaps you don't have to. Especially if you're not "up to here". OTOH - I got some new undies recently. Didn't have room for them without squishing them all in a drawer with other stuff. Threw out a drawer of ski stuff (I live in Florida and haven't been in ski country for 20+ years). That's the kind of thing most of us are talking about.
Also - if you have boxes full of checks and financial records from 10-20+ years ago - why are you holding on to them? Robyn
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