Purge Baby Purge!
I’ve never been a fan of having a ton of stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like having nice things and I make a point of investing in quality items when I make a purchase. But… having chosen the career path that I did, I’ve learned to focus on quality over quantity. That said, I still need to do a bit of ‘spring cleaning’ from time to time and retire the things that are tired and no longer functional. Perhaps this is why, I’ve never had a problem when it comes to purging. Unlike other members of my family, ie my mom, Andy and the girls, I know when it is time to let go of material things!
I remember telling my mom when she and dad moved to Colorado that they would most likely downsize. She did great at downsizing the house but forgot the part about downsizing the amount of stuff you put in the house. So now she has tons of lovely things crammed into a smaller home. Mom is amazing at many things; purging is not one of them!
Unfortunately, my girls have taken after my mom in this regard, or perhaps it was from Andy, he’s not very good at that skill either…. Definitely not from me! Last summer when we were packing up our house, I was the queen of purge! My guidelines when it comes to downsizing my/our things include the following questions: Have I used this item in the last 12 months? Does it have sentimental value, and do I need more than one if it does? And finally, is it a family heirloom? If the answer to any of these questions was or is ‘no’ then out it goes! If there is a yes, then I set it aside and continue to purge. Once that round is done, I revisit all the things that were set aside and determine their value and why it is important to keep them and whether I have the space to store the item if it is not something I use often. If it is something that Andy and I own together or is his then we discuss the above together before making the final call. This is a great practice and I highly recommend it. You can apply it to most anything including your clothes closet, Spring cleaning, kitchen reorganization, you name it!
As we prepare to move out of the apartment and across the state, I am again reminded of the importance of purging! To cut back on our cost of storage units, we moved all the girls’ things out of their unit (yes, they had their own unit… not a good sign) and into the apartment. Just a reminder, the apartment we have been sharing with the girls, is a two-bedroom (900 sq ft) apartment. Once Andy and I vacate, each girl will get their own bedroom, closet, and bathroom. When we moved to the apartment, I made sure that Andy and I brought very little into it so that when the time came, we would have very little to move out of it. That was brilliant planning (if I do say so myself), and I am so thankful that we did this. When I look at the amount of stuff that came out of the girls’ storage unit, I am reminded that my tutorial on purging fell on deaf ears! That said, sometimes life lessons must be learned the hard way. Once Andy and I are gone and what little we had in the apartment removed, both girls are going to discover the apartment and their bedrooms are not big enough to comfortably house all their stuff, the key word here is ‘comfortably’! I’m hoping that through experience they will learn how to purge and realize that not everything is precious, and some material objects just aren’t worth holding onto! Until then, I’m counting the days till we move and looking forward to another round of purging as we settle into our new life in Palisade. I am happy to say the ‘material girl’ that I once was in my youth is long gone! My mantra now…. Purge Baby Purge!
