Survey #242—Full Response from Lynn
| Please read the two statements below, then answer the questions that follow. | Statement B is more relatable to me as I age. As a child and young adult, Statement A was more relatable. This proves to me that it is a learned skill derived from experience in a messy environment that becomes so annoying it inspires experimental organizing trials until you hit upon one that works for you. When it does, you can feel your environment become much more enjoyable. |
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| Please read the two statements below, then answer the questions that follow. | Allow me to vent: After moving in to take care of my mom as her dementia worsened, and then inheriting her house, the prospect of sorting and decluttering our combined whole house home goods and clothing was very emotional and overwhelming until I broke it down to each room and each furniture item in each room. My mom was a depression-era pack rat that saved everything in case... she loved books, music, art, and clothing and anything from years of QVC shopping, Her philosophy was to buy more furniture to store her things rather than declutter what was no longer in current use. There was not an inch of floor space near a wall that was not covered by furniture to house things. Outwardly, it was generally neat, but inside the furniture and containers was a jungle of stuff crammed into it. It took 3 years of steady effort and progress to complete, but I got it all done and finally made the house MY home with new paint, new furniture and kitchen appliances with just the things I want in it and nothing more. I'm still reducing things in preparation for new flooring this year, but I am happy with it now. I decluttered (donated or sold) 37 trash bags of clothing, 45 boxes of books, 18 boxes of record albums, VCR tapes, and cassette tapes, 2 sofa beds, 8 tall bookcases, 4 dressers, a dining table and chairs, 3 recliners, 3 sets of dinnerware, 2 desks, 2 beds, 30 years of tax records and receipts, several generations of photos, photo albums and correspondence, and a lot of other content. It required having to search meticulously through everything as I found passports, photos, checks, etc tucked in books as bookmarks, and important permanent documents filed away in her yearly tax records. Nah, there were no feelings in emotions in those statements! Lol! Her house would be a good advertisement for the Swedish Death Cleaning theory. |
| Please read the two statements below, then answer the questions that follow. | As the last one standing in my mother's family tree, I was stuck with Statement A with a mixture of guilt, sadness and anger over what to do with all the boxes of historical photos, correspondence and documents from several generations of her family. I don't know why, but last year, my mindset finally flipped and in a fit of anger, I decided it was not my responsibility to continue to keep all the stuff or try to find homes for any of it. I threw most of it out and kept only a handful of representative pieces. Have had very few regrets and felt liberated from the past as I transitioned to Statement B |
| Please read the two statements below, then answer the questions that follow. | While caring for my mom, Statement A was my MO because the future was uncertain with her so sick and me with no source of income while caregiving. Once I aged into Social Security with a mortgage-free house, Statement B became easier. Statement B is my lifestyle now for most things. I learned a hard lesson in Just In Case clutter while clearing out mom's stuff. I refuse to leave to others my clutter to clean up. |
| Please read the two statements below, then answer the questions that follow. | Statement A was my insurance during uncertain times. Most of it I would inherit and hoped I could sell the things I didn't want. I realized not many people wanted to buy any of it and it was much easier to just donate. I eventually donated or sold most of it at a deep discount just to get it out of the house. It was worth it to clear my environment of so much unwanted stuff to manage. |
| Write a statement that summarizes your current mindset with respect to the decluttering and organizing journey. | Life is good. It feels great to be liberated from the past and things not currently in use. |
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