Blog #decluttering

Are you someone who saves the programs from various plays, concerts, and exhibits you attend? With live events on hold, I decided to tackle my own large collection.

Do you have remnants of old, unfinished projects that it feels like a crime to throw away? Here's my list and my ensuing downsizing trial for each project.

It’s easy to become discouraged during a big downsizing project with the finish line not in sight. Stepping back to document progress can help keep spirits up. In this post, I acknowledge all I’ve accomplished.

Letters and other correspondence from friends and family are one of the hardest sets of items to part with when downsizing but a good task to tackle when you have time on your hands, as during this pandemic lock-down.

Take a kinder, gentler approach to downsizing during this time of crisis. This post offers some simple suggestions that will still allow you to see progress.

Do you clip newspaper and magazine articles and recipes? Do you ever refer to these items? I share examples from my own clipping habit and how I'm training myself to think in a new way.

Paper items I've saved are my biggest downsizing challenge: information records, reference materials, and the hardest of all, souvenirs--from childhood on. I assess each area's current status, my emotional attachment, and proposed actions.

It's the story behind each object that provides its worth. I write about preserving these stories in "My Life in...(name type of object)."

Each year of my slow downsizing journey I look back to see what I learned that I can share with others.

The slow downsizer assesses her progress in 2019, including sold, donated, and trashed items.

2018 was a slower downsizing year than normal, but I did develop some new habits of mind that I hope I will carry forward into 2019.

It's good to take advantage of the opportunity to downsize and organize that occur in the course of change. We recently did this as we shrunk our living space in preparation for a tenant.