Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of Bologna

Avoid Being a Burden

I know I’ve written about this before, but reading this article convicted me to write again. After all, writing is a lot easier than actually doing something about it.

Yep, even while we’re busy caring for aging parents, the reality is, we aren’t getting any younger. I look around our house and cringe. I often joke, “If we were to die suddenly, our kids would never talk to us again.” We have way too much stuff. Way too much! And way too little time to clean it out.

We’ve done a few things that help:

• I routinely look for old records that I can shred while waiting for the computer to churn. Amazing how much you can do while a website loads!

• Every time I go into a room that still has junk, I take one item and deal with it. Slow, but steady. We’ve gone through a couple rooms and remodeled, which has given us the incentive to do the rest. It’s amazing how much nicer a room is when decluttered!

• Every time I open a file cabinet to file something, I look for a file I can purge. Amazing how much is no longer needed.

• I’ve become more aggressive about getting rid of clothes. I’ve always been so frugal I couldn’t bear to part with things that still had life in them. But now my sister has lost about 30 pounds and is now my size. She’s loving the hand-me-downs and I’m loving the space in my closet.

• Books are my major vice. I’ve become a lot more deliberate in what I buy and am actively selling anything I don’t have a reason to keep. I list them on Amazon.com and Half.com and have been able to sell many that are too good to give away.

We have a LONG way to go, especially in the spare bedroom and garage, but our goal is to make life easier for our son when we can no longer manage. And my mom is doing the same at her house. Thanks, Mom.

Labels: aging, planning