Downsizing
Downsizing has been an on-going process for us these past 2 years, yet we still have a long way to go. We’ve made countless trips to Goodwill and have sold a couple handful of items on Craigslist. Looking at our living room, we’ve already determined that we will not be taking most of the furniture to our property in that final move (but we “need” those furniture items for the time being).
It’s funny how the things I think are important, Ed sees as “down sizable” and visa verse. As an example, I’ve got a lot of downsizing work to do relative to the many sets of dishes that I’ve accumulated; it’s taking time as I process this, but I’ll get there eventually. Ed seems to be tied to his abundant camping and hiking gear (he himself is an Eagle Scout and he’s enjoyed many an outing / camping trip as our son went through scouting as well). I’m willing to get rid of absolutely all Christmas decorations; Ed and our son are not ready yet; so, in the meantime, I’ve been getting rid of many of the ornaments I used to think were so cute and necessary (I’m hopeful that Ed and Henry will eventually get to the point of letting go on this one).
I’m convinced that downsizing is a process of iterations. I keep asking “when’s the last time we’ve used X?” and “when’s the last time I’ve worn Y?” and “is that item functional in our lives or is it just decorative?” and “how many coffee mugs, clocks, pots/pans, etc. do 2 people really need?”.
I’ve gone through room by room and drawer by drawer. I’ve gone through our garage and our basement. Ed has done the same (specifically with respect to the garage and basement which are more his domain). I go through them again from time to time and get rid of more. Sometimes I just see something and I put it on the “Goodwill pile”. It’s a process.
I think the best way to go about it in the end will be to move everything we want/need and then have a big rummage sale with respect the rest. Not a rummage sale to make money; rather, a rummage sale with things priced low and to sell so that people do the moving for us.
Comments