Downsizing … the ugly “D” word
It seems like only yesterday when we bought our first home and furnished it with a table, 4 chairs, a sofa, portable TV and our first bedroom furniture. The house was more vacant than furnished. Fast forward 9 years to a house that was straight and organized in appearance, but in fact harbored all descriptions of “stuff” that accumulated over the years – in the closets, under the beds, under the couches, in the attic, in the garage. And that was after multiple garage sales.
Second house, same story; third house, same story even though both houses were larger.
So, when we decided to downsize, after donating or selling what appeared to be enough to furnish a house, we filled to overflowing two large dumpsters and happily moved to our fourth house. At that location, after placing furniture and appliances in the house, the movers filled our garage with boxes of all that remained. The explanation for the remaining volume of stuff was simple: it had multiplied while traveling from the third to the fourth house. After going thru all boxes in the garage, I called Good Will and donated three-fourths of the stuff. Guess what? It has happened again. I repeatedly clean out linen closets and cabinets, and I continue to
find more boxes of stuff to clear out. How can that be? Our house is not cluttered, but some unknown evil happens once something is placed behind a cabinet or closet door.
Word to the wise: Don’t wait to begin downsizing because you may not live long enough to send stuff where you want it to go.
Becky Hopkins, SRES, GRI
CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Company
Serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Becky,
Love that “word to the wise.” This article is something that all baby boomers should be able to relate to. As many of us are moving elderly parents into our house, we are forced to downsize. But at least that’s just one more reason to make sure all our “stuff” gets to where we want it to go.
Thanks for sharing,
Nancy Oppenheimer-Marks
Home Instead Senior Care
Central Dallas