The following article brings up a useful topic, downsizing and reducing the amount of stuff you own.
It is so easy to accumulate things, especially if you own a house. Souvenirs, old clothes and shoes, bills, paperwork, it all adds up. As you age all those items that clutter your house can be a burden and even a hazard. It is much harder to clean a house stuffed full of odds and ends. All those extra things can cause a fall or worse.
Here a few strategies you can use to downsize and simplify your life by reducing the number of your possessions:
- Donate clothing and appliances. There are many organizations that will come and pick these up from your house. The value of these donations is tax deductible.
- Recycle. Many communities have recycling centers where you can drop off old batteries, electronics.
- Have a yard sale.
- Sell on eBay.
- Give things you don’t need to relatives and friends.
- If you have precious photos or documents, scan them in and save the files on DVD’s.
- If you have precious souvenirs take photos of them and upload them to your Google drive account or save them on DVD.
I find that if you take one room or cupboard at a time the task becomes much more manageable. Bring a large garbage bag for things you will throw out. Then you can sort things into piles: Definitely keep. maybe keep, donate, trash. You can come up with your own system. Don’t try to do too much at once. Just downsize a room, closet or cupboard each day and soon you will be amazed at the extra room you have. It will also be easier to clean and move around your home.
There was a hilarious British comedy series about two couples who were neighbors. One couple lived in elegance with every luxury while the other couple simplified their life by getting rid of most of their possessions. The video is listed below and you can get it on Amazon or I’m sure your local library could get a copy;.