this past year, my relative sorted the belongings of a deceased parent. this past month, my close friend oversaw an estate sale of a family as they transitioned into assisted living. and this past week, i helped a family move out of their residence of 45 years.
hours and hours were spent going through boxes and boxes of belongings, room by room. some things were kept, some things were sold, and much was thrown away. in each case, someone other than the owner of the possessions was doing all the work.
one benefit of living a minimalist life is that you create less work for somebody else.
consider the fact that at some point in your life (or in your death) every single item of your belongings will be sorted by another human being. you can create for yourself a less stressful life today by living a minimalist life. and you can lessen the burden on someone close to you as well. for the sake of your closest friends and family, choose to become minimalist.
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Headed your way after reading Organizing Your Way. This is a great recommendation, and one I keep in mind while sorting and purging. “Will my children have joy sorting through this, or drudgery?” Usually the answer is the latter, and I toss or donate. We have gone through several estates and sold things online for others, and the massiveness of the job is often enought to make you cry! I am determined not to leave such a legacy behind! Great post :)
Thank you for your thoughts- how true they are. I tell this to my parents as often as possible because, being the organizer in the family, I will most definitely get the jobof going through their things.
As you said, all of us should understand how much work we are leaving behind for loved ones and friends. Sorting, contemplating, selling and making hundreds of decisions is the last thing we want to do when we lose a loved one. In addition to our physical homes and stuff, think of getting your wills and funeral arrangements squared away. It’s never too early to plan ahead to help your family during those difficult days.
This post, while correct and of course, inspirational, made me feel sad. I know that I own far too much stuff and I wouldn’t want to leave it all behind for someone to go through.
I am young and I would like to think this means I have a fair few years to sort through it all however, we never know what tomorrow will bring – I guess this means I should start as soon as possible.
This means a lot to me since my Grandfather just passed away this February. My parents have been going through all his stuff and trying to figure out what to do with it…give it to the kids, the friends, the salvation army? It has been a blessing and a curse.. blessing because of the memories, curse of the time and effort it has taken. We are getting little mementos of Grandpa, but the best ones are the memories I have of him as a person…even though looking at an old clock or trunk might bring back a certain time something happened, who he WAS is a better gift.
I cleaned out my dad’s unbelievable clutter twice a year until he passed. Then I cleaned out all that too. So much of my time was spent breathing dust. My mom’s house is like Goodwill. When she is gone, I’ll be cleaning out that too. Oh the misery parents put their kids through. My kids will thank me one day because I’m a minimalist.