WE DON'T LIVE FOREVER -- BE PREPARED !

[Beekissed]

When my step-dad's father died (his mother was already gone), he and his brother had years worth of stuff to clean out. It's taken them years and hiring multiple people to help and they finally got most of it relocated. The house is rented now but the barn isn't empty. I am a minimalist but my husband is a borderline hoarder so I'm already trying to think about what exactly do I want to leave my daughter? Not a disaster... That's for sure.

I see this problem more and more and it's sad. Bad enough the family is grieving, then they have to deal with buildings filled with a life time of junk too. It's okay if all that junk is of some value and it's organized, you can bring an auctioneer in then and sell all of it within a couple of days, but when it's just junk in a mess, it's terrible.

I've been working with Mom here for the past 5 yrs on getting rid of junk she/we don't need or will never use, or things we have double of, each year sorting and reorganizing and trimming out some of the extras....seems like it's a never ending story but I feel it's important to prepare to leave, as much as is possible. Whoever may come along behind shouldn't have to feel too overwhelmed by our worldly goods and struggle with how to get rid of them.

It's a hard thing to do because, just as sure as you give away that thing you never use, that one in a million time comes along when you need that particular tool and you have to go out and buy one again. Then there it sits for years upon years until you forget the last time you needed, look at it and say, "What do we ever use THIS for?" and the cycle begins once again.

But...it's worth it, for the now and for the later, to do a yearly clean out and reorganization of possessions, getting rid of the excess and trimming it down to the necessary. It feels good and it serves a valuable function.

 

[sumi]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your mom Thank you for taking the time to post your reminders. It is important things to keep in mind.