How to Smile with the Challenge of Downsizing
Have you ever had to face the challenge of downsizing? Or do you see that looming in your future?
I have downsized several times and I can tell you that woven with the sorrow of losing what ‘was’ is a joy in ‘what is to come’.
So let’s consider for a moment the source of sorrow when it comes to downsizing.
The first major move to smaller quarters sometimes happens when children grow up and move away. A mixed blessing!
You worked for a couple of decades to make them independent and suddenly your reason(s) for being no longer fill your home and heart with scout meetings and dirty socks.
No longer needing four bedrooms and a half-acre of grass to mow, you may decide you would rather put your money and energy into travel or a course in oil painting. Sorrow moves in, together with joy, to fill these new empty spaces.
Downsizing to accommodate health or finances
Another common reason to move is to accommodate changes in health or dwindling finances.
This was the case when I sold my beloved home on a dead-end road in the country.
Gone were the ten acres that gave freedom to galloping ponies, wandering ducks, crazy goats, and several dogs.
Gone were the raised bed garden, the woodstove where we made maple syrup from our big maple tree, and the big round oak table where we shared meals, stories and dreams.
Totally filled with sorrow I never expected the joy that soon moved in and reshaped my life.
Some of the reasons illness or aging create the necessity to move are finances, accessibility, or proximity to family, medical services, and public transportation.
All of these represent loss. Loss of independence, loss of breathing room, loss of lifestyle, loss of dreams.
Phew….take time to breathe.
If you have already downsized to a ‘senior living apartment’ you know the wrench. If you are on the cusp, you don’t even want to think about it.
How to find support for downsizing
How do people do it? How do you weed through decades of collecting everything from elementary school papers to heirloom furniture?
Heavy tables and kitschy things you love, but no one in their right mind would decorate with today.
One way to begin this process is to get someone to help you.
I so wish I had had this help when my mother died.
I was left to clear out her entire house with its decades of accumulated clothes, dishes, and paraphernalia.
I have made several moves in the last half-century, two of them with significant downsizing. I released hundreds of books and tons of furniture and attics full of “stuff”.
I would have loved a ‘stuff’ genie.
I found a stuff genie!
A “Stuff Genie”
Jes Marcy is a professional home organizer who does more than help people declutter….though if that is your nemesis she is your gal!
Jes knows how to make the unthinkable doable in easy tiny steps that are life-altering. She understands the sorrow of releasing things so joy and serenity can take their place.
And she is affordable —her eight-day boot camps are FREE! for new students all this year. If you decide to continue with her teaching, it moves from really cheap to the cost of a pair of new sneakers.
I want to share her link, not because I am an affiliate (I am not) but because I live in a home touched by her teaching. She knows how to shrink the ‘stuff’ that moves into our lives with humor, example, and daily practices. This link is to her premier program….but scroll down to the calendar and find her free boot camp in February.
Click here for Clutter Bootcamp Information
Have you struggled with ‘stuff’, or do you see unloading it in your future? Share in the comments and perhaps we will address this challenge more fully in the months ahead.
I know this is sounding like a plug for someone’s online business. I don’t know how else to share one answer to a problem that I believe we all face sooner or later in life — what to do with ‘stuff!’
If my sharing her link furthers Jes’s ministry in our cluttered world, so be it. If it opens a door to bring order into your life, so much the better.
And if downsizing, decluttering, or shrinking space is not your challenge, then pass this on to someone who is slowly getting buried in paper, clothes, books or a lifetime collection of souvenirs. They will forever thank you.
[PHOTO CREDITS FROM UNSPLASH: large-house by nathan-walker; small-apartment-by-deborah-cortelazzi; clutter-kitsch-by-sarah-beare ]
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Judy
Thank you, Ardis. We all need to confront this task at some point. As a Professional Organizer myself, I can tell you this is a job best done before something happens. Our children do not want our things, our furniture, or collectibles. When you think the task will be too difficult, think about, who will do this job if you do not. I don’t want to leave this task to my son, or more likely to my daughter in law. A box, a bag, a shelf, a file, a drawer at a time will get you there. I hope your readers will take that first step to declutter. My mentor, Barbara Hemphill taught me that “Clutter is Postponed Decisions.” Today can be day one of a new journey!
Ardis Mayo
Your job is so desperately needed! I would say that even as death is certain for everyone…so is ‘stuff’ and the challenge is unseen…except by those who are left behind. Bless you for your work!
Pat
This so fits my life right now. We are way past the stage of children moving out and yet have not down sized from our huge house. We have gotten rid of boxes and boxes of stuff over the last few years but you would never know that from looking at the contents of our house!
Ardis Mayo
This is so typical as we age. REst assured you are not alone here!
Nancy Desmarais
Yes, I chuckled!
Kristen
So Ardis did you write this with me in mind???!!!!!!! I am learning to declutter and getting ready for the next stage in my life.
Ardis Mayo
Funny you should ask. I am rather self-focused when I write and it is a joy to discover that I am not alone.
Francisca
The universe is conspiring to kick me in the butt to get going on our mandatory downsizing project as we get ready to make our big move from the Philippines to Canada. The message is coming at me from everywhere, now even you, Ardis! LOL!
You don’t need to be sorry for wanting to share a good resource… even if you *were* an affiliate! And I’m glad our mutual friend Judy also dropped by to raise her hand. I think supporting other solopreneurs we respect is a kind and great thing to do!
Ardis Mayo
Francisca, I, too, am always amazed at how spot on the universe is when it comes to affirming 0r thwarting our intentnions.
Susan Shofner
Hi Ardis. It has taken me a while to respond because I am, once again, working on decluttering! To recount all of my life’s down-sizing experiences would take way too long. Let’s just say that I have come to understand I will collect stuff and at some point in the near future I will say to myself “what were you thinking — get rid of this”. Thank you for the link.
Ardis Mayo
YOu are welcome, Susan. WE were never taught about all of this in grade school!