Anyone who knows me well will remember my rants a few years ago when my sister and I undertook my parents’ ‘downsizing
’. My parents moved from a large home in the country to a much smaller condo in town. The move meant reducing 50+ years of accumulated ‘stuff’ down to about 20% of the original amount.
’. My parents moved from a large home in the country to a much smaller condo in town. The move meant reducing 50+ years of accumulated ‘stuff’ down to about 20% of the original amount.Don’t get me wrong…my parents still have a very sizable stash of belongings. That we had to reduce by 80% is only indication of how much they had to be rid off to fit into what most people would think very adequate.
Now, extrapolating to the not too distant future, this 20% will again have to be further culled another 80%. What will be left is roughly what would fit into a 500 sq ft apartment, which doesn’t have a kitchen.
How depressing! Not only because I am already preparing myself for a ‘goundhog day’ experience (finding boxes, rummage sales, and generally clearing out a whole house which isn’t my own!), but in general, the thought that we work our whole lives to accumulate ‘stuff’, just to then turn around and get rid of it.
What a cycle! I suppose if we were too efficient in recycling or finding those who really needed ‘stuff’, our economy might be in jeopardy.
That is an interesting perspective you've been able to gain from this difficult experience. Hopefully, all goes smoothly.
ReplyDeleteThree years ago, I helped deal with my aunt's personal items after she died rather suddenly of cancer. It has truly changed our family's attitudes about "stuff".
ReplyDeleteMy mom has always had a hint of the hoarder about her. After the wrenching experience of seeing the decades through my aunt's closet, my mom has purged her house of everything extraneous. She does not want me to have to go through too much "stuff" when the time comes.
There should be a 'Culling Clinic' or 'Hoarder Offspring Horror Clinic' to cure everyone of this. I was pretty cleansed before, but I'm now the Queen of Culling. If you don't use it, lose it.
ReplyDelete