Downsizing Memorabilia
The hardest part of downsizing is dealing with family memorabilia.
Downsizing is hard, plain and simple. It doesn’t even matter how attached or unattached you are to your belongings, it’s a huge amount of work and a boat load of emotional struggle.
The absolute hardest part of downsizing is dealing with family memorabilia.
In the next 10 days, our clients will go from a 2,000 sq ft home — with a full basement — to a 1,600 sq ft home and NO BASEMENT. The last two weeks have been a lot of sorting, discarding, and donating.
A good amount of “stuff” and family memorabilia ended up stashed in the basement of the home they’ve lived in for more than three decades. When these items were out of sight in the basement (aka “purgatory”) it was not an issue.
But the new home doesn’t •have• a basement, and we are now facing a deadline. The “stuff” has to go somewhere before the movers show up a week from Tuesday.
We’ve loved listening to our client’s reminiscences of each delicate item she chooses from her blanket chest. These walks down memory lane let us know these items hold a treasured place in her heart.
Items like our client’s 70-year-old baby shoes hold precious memories, sure, but the answer to the THREE QUESTIONS was “no”:
1. Do I love this or will I use this in my new home?
2. Is this item of true value to the family history?
3. Will my children want this someday?
The answer is “no” because it’s the story, not the stuff.
THANKFULLY, The Memory Montage is available to help capture the stories behind the precious items so they can be released.
Shelia will spend time with our clients today capturing the stories behind the 100-year-old hand-embroidered christening gowns, keepsakes, and WWII sweetheart patches. She’ll take pictures of it all to preserve the MEMORIES. And •then• our client can release these items.
TAKEAWAYS
[A] Decluttering is something that should be done on a regular basis, not just when getting ready to downsize.
[B] Getting rid of old clothes and extra wine openers is not the same thing as letting go of an ancestral desk or great-grandma’s hand embroidered graduation gown.
[C] Lyn's Daughter - Senior Move Management can help you downsize, AND, it’s is a process. The more time you can give yourself the better.
