“At my age, I’m moving more and more toward a modified ‘minimalism’. It looks like freedom.”
Oh, that sentiment is right in my wheelhouse! :)
Have you tried the Swedish Death Cleaning? That REALLY clears the decks.
I’m 64 and am starting to shed things. A favorite Niece (who is SUCH a Girly-Girl and just made me a Great Auntie!) will get my ‘good’ jewelry and another Niece will get any and all of my ‘Gardening Stuff’ as she’s following in my footsteps. This summer we landscaped her new house yard together and set up raised beds for veggies and flowers and it was great fun!
Beau gets the cash and other assets, and if he’s gone before me, it goes to my sister. We are setting up a Trust for the farm - we do NOT want it to turn into Condo-Land, though where we live there is very little chance of that happening, anyway - too far out in the sticks for people to comfortably commute to work.
Yep. LOTS to think about as we age. You spend the first half of life ACCUMULATING and the second half SHEDDING all you accumulated. It IS kind of crazy, isn’t it?
“In 2017, Swedish author Margareta Magnusson coined the term in her New York Times best-selling book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. In her guide, she urges those 65 and up to partake in the task, though it never hurts to begin earlier, especially since decluttering is a great stress reliever.”
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/a43826147/swedish-death-cleaning/
And after helping my Mom for the PAST 6 YEARS, clear out her deceased husband’s ‘STUFF’ this article rings very true to me! She and I have had long talks about how I, too, am de-cluttering and that there is a drive-through St. Vincent’s TWO BLOCKS FROM HER HOUSE where she can drop off donations and get a tax break! I have taken a few sentimental pieces from her and lots of photographs. I’m also getting HER ‘Good Jewelry’ which will also go to said Niece at a future date.
Anyhow:
“No one wants your stuff, Mom: 10 tips for downsizing”
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/08/16/how-to-downsize
Yes, I was impressed with the ‘Swedish Death Cleaning’ concept.
It’s been very interesting to me to watch myself age, and see how we shed a lot more than *stuff*, too. We shed the desire for stuff, the reasons why the stuff was once important, etc. (While the new things you become interested in require less, and very different and more useful, *stuff*.)
I also like the fact that less stuff is easier to keep clean and orderly.
It all feels very freeing...(but I haven’t even approached the idea of shedding artsy-craftsy stuff, yet. There are a lot of boxes and space taken up with that...I know I’m not going to wear high heels again, or need so many clothes, or read a lot of these books again; so all that can go; but I will always want to make things.)