Most of us have things in our wardrobe that we've never even worn. Yet we keep adding to our collection and rarely clearing out. While trends do come around again, choose wisely when keeping items and definitely hang on to the classics. A good old clear out instantly allows you to see things in a new light. But how do we do this exactly?
Be ruthless.
I had an elderly lady neighbor who, when she decided to downsize her home needed to clean out her house of almost 50 years. Luckily, I was able to do some shopping in her home before she moved and garnered a few lovely items. But as her family was helping her to discard her rather large home, they ordered one of those large refuse bins - the kind contractors use when renovating homes. This bin sat in the driveway and for an entire weekend, her daughter threw everything out.
Ouch! As my friend stood next to me with a lump in her throat, she said, "My daughter is ruthless."
Perhaps they were constrained with time and could not delivery everything to the local charity shops. Perhaps her daughter was not sentimental, (although her mother certainly was), or perhaps there are reasons I cannot comprehend. Either way, when the time came to downsize, it was obvious they just could not take everything with them.
Would you be able to downsize in this manner? Do you hold onto things for sentimental reasons? Perhaps we should just not collect so many things as it may one day be difficult to part with if necessary.
...but I like my things.
5 comments:
Interesting post. Years ago, my massive stash kept me afloat after losing my job. It was like having a closet full of cash. That being said, my husband and I joke that after we die, our collections will be sold at a massive garage sale for $.05 a piece. :)
ARGGH! I wasn't there and I am incensed. Even if they didn't value the items they could have considered those who had nothing and would have. Plus I want all of the cool vintage that is now in a *##$! landfill.
Agony.
Nope, I am a vintageaholic/packrat. I try to be thoughtful and organized and prune. But I am not a dumpster filler.
I hate to see people just throw stuff away. Somebody else might have been able to use it. Whether you had a yard sale or even gave it away to charity.
Great post! At one point in my life, I was reduced to 2 suitcases to my name. I filled them mostly with my family treasures and photos and honestly there's very little you need to be happy.
The only things I kept were of sentimental value to me...it's the only thing that "really" matters.
Have a great week,
Karyn
I don't know, maybe I could!? :o
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