tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post5193607139350185927..comments2023-11-05T02:39:52.642-08:00Comments on Dr Sock Writes Here: A Sentimental JourneyDr Sock http://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-28526911539667004262017-04-09T16:46:40.436-07:002017-04-09T16:46:40.436-07:00Liesbet, I am glad to hear it. The masks and statu...Liesbet, I am glad to hear it. The masks and statues must hold a lot of memories from your travels, too. I would say, keep them!Dr Sock https://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-82217996964398416572017-04-08T10:33:09.945-07:002017-04-08T10:33:09.945-07:00You are totally right, Jude. Just as long as that ...You are totally right, Jude. Just as long as that attic is around. :-) This spring, I will follow your lead and toss or donate all the "material" stuff. For now, I will hold onto the mementos, and I think, if possible, the internationally collected masks and statues as well.Liesbethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13402741679152508367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-53999987998850049492017-04-08T09:37:08.718-07:002017-04-08T09:37:08.718-07:00Liesbet, I find that I am becoming quite ruthless ...Liesbet, I find that I am becoming quite ruthless about throwing away or giving away much of the ordinary stuff. I am giving away many books, as discussed in an earlier post, and I now know where the Little Free Libraries are in our town. I drive around and stuff them full of novels. Last weekend, I took a carload of clothes, books and household stuff to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. From the number of people shopping there, I know the stuff will find a good home. <br /><br />But I have decided that there is no reason to throw away the mementos that truly hold a sentimental meaning for me. They have little financial worth but have great personal value and are not just consumer junk. So, Liesbet, I encourage you to keep those items in the attic that that are truly meaningful for you. They are laden with memories, and woven into the texture of your life. Dr Sock https://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-29120011552645656852017-04-05T11:35:41.928-07:002017-04-05T11:35:41.928-07:00What wonderful memories! As I mentioned before, I ...What wonderful memories! As I mentioned before, I take those sentimental voyages when I am sitting on my parents' attic going through some of my own, old stuff. Each time, I plan to reduce the pile and, each time, after hours of being in a different world, the pile remains pretty much the same. It is hard, for sure, and there is a difference between getting rid of material items because you never use them, or you want to downsize, and getting rid of true mementos. <br /><br />When I was reading through your post, Jude, the thought of taking a photo of these items, before possibly discarding them, entered my mind. I know it is not the same as holding on to the keepsakes, but maybe it is a decent compromise?Liesbethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13402741679152508367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-23024973116073113682017-03-28T08:21:48.855-07:002017-03-28T08:21:48.855-07:00Vicki, we are on the same schedule and facing simi...Vicki, we are on the same schedule and facing similar tasks. I guess it is a very typical experience that goes with retiring. I am lucky that have the time to finally focus on paring things down, after years of being too busy to do it. We got rid of much of the "easy to throw away" stuff in the last move five years ago, so now I am going through the stuff that is not so easy. Good luck with your preparations for downsizing!Dr Sock https://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-53846722349446505432017-03-27T15:44:23.659-07:002017-03-27T15:44:23.659-07:00You are a few months ahead of us. I did go through...You are a few months ahead of us. I did go through one box the other day and started that same sentimental journey! I find it really hard to just throw out things my kids made - especially if they were for me. Maybe that will help me when I do have to make decisions on what to keep. You make a great point about the pictures too. It sounds like a great idea, but my digital photos are all over the place too. And I'm not sure how motivated I will be to sort through all of them in retirement. Vickinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-42932503693954063852017-03-22T20:04:48.862-07:002017-03-22T20:04:48.862-07:00Donna, theoretically, taking pictures of things th...Donna, theoretically, taking pictures of things then tossing the actual items sounds like a terrific idea. My daughter (who is a great declutterer) has suggested the same thing. BUT, sad to say, my digital photo files are as much of a cluttered mess as my basement storeroom. I have photos I have taken with my digital camera, my phone, my tablet, as well as all the photos sent to me by others, and I am literally years behind in my sorting, editing, labelling, and filing. Besides, I don't have great faith in the longevity of technical storage media; I have discovered that I can no longer open any of my Word files that are more than 20 years old. So I am motivated to hang onto the actual hard copies and physical artifacts. Sigh. <br /><br />JudeDr Sock https://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-62313182213403228722017-03-22T19:56:32.159-07:002017-03-22T19:56:32.159-07:00Karen, I am always amazed by and filled for admira...Karen, I am always amazed by and filled for admiration for people who can declutter with ease. I have a couple of longtime friends who are like that, and their houses always look so tidy and attractive. (Some of the things that I am trying to decide what to do with are items they gave me when they were decluttering!) <br /><br />However, that is never going to be me. I am always going to be the person who agonizes about every little item. I am not even talking about the art made by my children, as NONE of that is going in the garbage, but all the other stuff that might potentially come in handy some day. For example: some framed photos, badly faded, and with the glass cracked; my collection of canning jars; a handful of barely used pencil crayons at the bottom of a box. And I keep thinking that maybe the kids will want this or that. But they are not here to help me decide.<br /><br />Rob is no help at all as he is just as bad as me in this regard. Yesterday, I took a huge pile of towels to donate to the Human Society for pet cages against his objections that they might be useful for wrapping things up in our next move. <br /><br />Ah well, I'll soldier on.<br /><br />JudeDr Sock https://www.blogger.com/profile/13378594360241846301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-76513178292066378322017-03-22T19:17:29.714-07:002017-03-22T19:17:29.714-07:00Okay, so it is very difficult to follow on from th...Okay, so it is very difficult to follow on from that great advice that Karen has given above. The only thing that I can add is--for some things that you choose to get rid of, but still hold great memories when you look at them, you can take their picture and keep the pics in a 'digital memory file.' That way you have both the extra space and your memory reminder. Hope this helps.<br />See -- I told you it was hard to follow Karen!retirementreflectionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256842249783275416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137356124184306084.post-88299703098372244112017-03-22T14:22:18.692-07:002017-03-22T14:22:18.692-07:00Hi Jude,
I'm big on decluttering and find it i...Hi Jude,<br />I'm big on decluttering and find it incredibly easy to do. At the beginning of your post, I was all set to join in on the exhortations to toss, unopened, anything you haven't referred to in years. One of my favourite true stories is of Marks and Spencer, the British store, trying to cut costs. They had a huge room full of filing cabinets and two full time file clerks. They reassigned the staff and tossed the contents of the room. Then they kept track for two full years to see what they threw out that they wished they hadn't. It turned out to be one piece of paper. <br />So that's what I was going to say. But then I read the rest of your post. What wonderful memories, Judith! Now that you are starting a new chapter in your life, it seems to me it would be the perfect time to get those special memories out of boxes and into your home. Your fourth grade painting beside some current work, your children's books on a bookshelf, the pottery proudly on display. Then you have a retrospective of great moments in your life. Whatever doesn't fit in your home but that you just can't bear to discard, maybe buy yourself a big trunk - something that doubles as a coffee table. Everything has to fit in there or at least in boxes in your house, close at hand. <br />One other thought, Jude - The transition to retirement includes making a good ending of your past. Going through your possessions, remembering your life through them - that's a great way to make an ending. In other words, the items you aren't going to keep have done their work. Maybe knowing that will help you to let them go?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13447366798740422421noreply@blogger.com