LOOK AT ALL YOUR STUFF!

Look at all your STUFF at least once a year!

When I started this DOWNSIZE MY STUFF project, I really had so many things I was mostly just storing. My basement had filled up so that I couldn’t even walk through it. I was afraid I’d be asked to appear on the TV-Thriller “Hoarding -Buried Alive”!

I’d watched my Mom’s emotional attachment to her things, projects and books – even though her strength was leaving her. My aunt is 89 years old, has a giant house and her stuff would fill a museum! These two women were the kindle for my DOWNSIZING motivation.

Now, I live in a three-room apartment with a very small basement space. I even have whole shelves which are empty. If I play my cards right, I can sell more of the books (already sold about 900) and then sell the empty shelves. There is very little in the flat from my old abode. It feels like a chance to begin anew here.

Last week, I bought a beautiful cherry-wood cabinet with glass doors and beautiful inlay work on the four drawers. It cost 325€ through ebay so I don’t feel so guilty about buying it. I get a chill of pleasure every time I walk past the alcove where this beautiful piece is now reigning. If/When I die, the kids can just put it out on the street and someone will be glad to take it. That is, if they don’t sell it themselves!

Now that I am on vacation and back from a rather gloomy, foggy Hurdigruten ship voyage along the Norwegian coast, I have time to go through ALL my remaining things. WHY? Why?! you may well ask.

If you don’t look at your things, you stop seeing them. Which means you just store them and perhaps dust them occasionally. You buy more, store it, dust it, fall over it…

Since I really have downsized so much of my stuff, it is now possible for me to go through everything. I checked out the shirts and blouses (got rid of a few more to boot), went through all my Italian materials so I know what I have (Cheez! I almost bought two new books from Amazon and I really have enough material to learn.), put more books on Amazon, read about 10 of the books I have, put all my painting materials in order and painted several pictures while at it… See how it works?

I’m so used to parting with things I don’t use, I don’t suffer a bit if I find something I don’t need and get rid of the thing. Pretty soon my cleaning lady is going to have a problem though – she and the one before always took my hand-me-downs. Although they take some things back to Poland and Armenia respectively.