We have way too much stuff!
Everybody collects something. It’s exciting when you find a special piece you’ve been seeking for years. When the word gets out that you collect cats, suddenly everyone buys you cats. Metal, porcelain, plastic – it doesn’t matter – you get tons of them whether you want them or not.
Let us not forget that we inherit items along the way too, tripling (or more) what we already have. Next thing you know, our homes are busting at the seams, our spouses are griping because of all the clutter. Our children have let us know, in no uncertain terms, that they want nothing other than a ride to IKEA or cash, so they can buy what they want.
We’re facing a major problem in this country as our seniors and boomers age and pass away. We just have too much stuff. More is finding its’ way to the market everyday as boomers are getting the message to simplify their lives and let go of things that bog them down.
This simplification process has brought to the marketplace experts such as professional organizers, senior move managers, stagers, and estate experts. Look for professionals who are trained, have credentials, belong to professional organizations, and have experience.
As we make our way through our parents’ belongings, we also have to contend with our stuff at the same time. Learn to let go, and keep the next generation in mind as you are doing so. They certainly don’t want much and they won’t change their minds. As a client recently told me, “I’ll take photos of the items before I sell them. The photos take up less space!”
© 2011 Julie Hall
So very true. It took me over a year as an only child to clean out my parents home. 44 years of stuff. I had to relive my entire life and childhood by myself-sometimes good and sometimes bad…and now I find some items that I thought were precious or valuable, still in my home. I am still overwhelmed to dispose of the items…because they “might be worth something”….
I will be in charge of caring for the things of my mother (and father , he’s already passed) and I am taking to heart all I am reading and learning here. I certainly will become overwhelmed with sentiment and will be tempted to keep a lot of things, but my goodness, I am 50 almost, and I know my children have not got the same attachments to those old things. I will have to take things just as she says here, and carefully appraise and dispose of them as according to the market and all that. Nope, you sure can’t take it with you.