Page 33 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Winter 2020- Online Magazine

For the Love of All the “Things”

by Kate Freeman Certified Senior Move Manager

ow that the applies to gifts that you don’t use from friends, loaned items,
Nholidays have etc. It is time for all those items to go back to their original
passed, the trees are owners or find new owners. Give yourself permission to
put away and family get rid of the knick-knack given to you by a friend who has
and friends have moved on. The “thing” isn’t your friend.
gone home, the urge
to clean out, clean up and clear out overtakes us. The task Younger generations are getting away from collecting things
may become daunting as we look around and see all the and are moving toward collecting experiences. Photographs
“things” that make us smile and make our hearts happy. In are preferable to a snow globe with sand from the beach.
the now quiet of our surroundings, we notice all the things As you are decluttering, you may find that no one wants
that represent our life. On the hearth is the figurine from a the “thing” you are ready to get rid of. Give yourself
granddaughter’s trip to Spain; beside the bookshelf is that permission to let it go and be at peace with that decision.
wood carving from a family Christmas trip to Colorado; on
your nightstand is a framed picture from a cruise taken for As you go through this process of decluttering and getting
your 50th wedding anniversary. There’s the quilt that was rid of “things”, make sure you keep those items that make
your house feel like home! It is possible to get rid of so
your grandmother’s, the pocket watch your father brought
back from Germany during World War II and the list much that you no longer feel like you are home. And
could go on forever. All of these things and so many more while it is great to enlist opinions and help from family and
represent your life and your loves. You love your things and friends, it is ultimately your collection and your home. Just
the memories they invoke. make sure you love the “things” you keep!
So, what do you do with the things you love when you also
feel the need to declutter and downsize? For many people,
there is an unspoken fear that getting rid of the “thing” will
also get rid of the memory. While that fear is somewhat
grounded in truth, this is really emotion talking. How
do you balance the memories with the items? Putting the
“things” in a box, in the back of a closet or storage bin does
nothing to contribute to the joy you find in them. Having
them out for people to see, use and enjoy can be pleasing.
However, sometimes in our downsizing and decluttering
efforts, we have to get rid of things that still hold happy
memories for us. We have options when it comes to keeping
memories alive without having to keep all the space-taking
stuff.

One of the first things you can do is take pictures of the
items or pictures of the items with the people they remind
you of. Pictures can be put in photo books or scrap books
with explanations of who, what, when and where the item
acquired meaning. Pictures can be combined with items in
shadow boxes. Hung on the wall or placed in a bookcase,
a treasure can be protected along with pictures that depict
why this memory is important.
Sometimes, you are keeping something that reminds you
of someone else - like the painting done by a child or the
third-grade volcano project. As you downsize and declutter,
consider giving these items back to their creators for them
to decide if they want to keep them. That goes for almost
everything belonging to kids and grandkids. You are not
their extra storage. As you are trying to downsize your own
life, let the clutter go to the original owner! This plan also

Amarillo Senior Link 33