I recently read and shared on the Living Life Retired Facebook page the July 19, 2018 post, “What Boomers Should Do With All Their Stuff” by Richard Eisenberg. Richard interviewed Laura H. Gilbert regarding her ‘legacy based’ approach to getting rid of our stuff.
“The main thing I’m trying to emphasize is embracing my life today and preserving a few stories I want to leave for the kids, about the values that are important to me — and not leaving a mess. It’s about embracing the best of me.”
This article really spoke to me and the large downsizing projects I have throughout my home. I started with a stack of three moving boxes of my daughter’s school assignments and projects which I have kept for at least 30 years. As I carefully removed each piece of paper carefully preserved in these boxes, memories came flooding back of my sweet daughter as a child. Crayon scribblings, ribbons of glitter and yarn, beautiful abstract acrylic paintings, little handwritten books by my favorite young author and illustrator, and even some art featuring beans and macaroni. All touched by my daughter as early as age three.
How can a mother get rid of all of these wonderful memories? What will happen to these treasures after I die?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading through my daughter’s silly stories of her friends and cats and dogs. I even shed a few tears of joy and of days gone by when I opened the Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day cards my daughter handmade for me over the years. But it was time to part with the vast amount of paper I have kept. I was pretty sure my daughter would probably just throw away the whole box if I kept it until I died. So I reduced the amount of treasures from three boxes to one. I kept the most special crayon and glitter “stuff” and of course the memories.
“It’s not so much about getting rid of stuff; downsizing and decluttering is an outcome. My focus is embracing the things you want to leave behind.”
Have you downsized any of your children’s treasures? How did it go?