Dear LPG readers,

 

 

Once Christmas is over, we have had the week in the middle, and the new year is all we have to look forward to, the students and workers of the world can often be observed either rolling their eyes with that back to the old routine expression or being so bored with being at home, that they cannot wait for the return of the daily routine. Either way they are more likely to have somewhere that they have to be, to limit the time they have to indulge in either emotion.

 

 

But what of us retired people?  We know that the cold and ‘slippy’ days are two of the main elements to be encountered beyond our front doors, which can be another perfect excuse to choose not to get out for a while.  If we are made of ex eye-rollers stock, we find ourselves settling back into those days where not doing very much at all is the main order of the day, but for me it is time to have yet another go at getting sorted. 

 

 

It is also something that happens to me on the day after Easter Monday or any other bank holiday which my family has used for a get-together.  Perhaps I am talking about that feeling that always seems to follow on after the anticipation of any event has come to an end.  It has differing effects on different people; that feeling of the passing of yet another milestone of sorts and the need to draw a line in the sands of time.  this can often be the catalyst that gets us older people feeling the need to do something significant. 

 

 

Perhaps because, as I have become a bit older, I find that I need a bit of a rest after such excitement, I am likely to spend more time at home after a few days of celebration.  But being there for a whole day or two really gets me focussing on the state of my home which, in turn, reminds me of just how much is in it.

 

 

The answer is to offload some of the many collectables that I know I am never going to use again but, in my house anyway, I only have to focus on one shelf or one box of my cherished things to realise that there is another dilemma to be considered. 

 

 

Please note that I am not saying that I am a hoarder.  There is room for visitors and my possessions are not decreasing the floor space in my living room but I have a spare room that I could never invite anyone to spend the night in, and the attic is fuller of my memories than need be.

 

 

I bet many will concur when I say that the big problem is that every item holds a memory because of who gave it to you or something that happened when it was there. 

 

I recently found myself at the top of a box that really needs sorting and that has been in a cupboard for far too long, and the first item out got me started; my immediate thought, I can’t say goodbye to that!

 

 

So, I have found an online list to help me work out what to keep and what to say goodbye to when it comes down to those things that pull at your heart strings, and I thought I would share it for others who find themselves, for whatever reason, in the same situation.  I suggest that you will still need someone who is not as attached to your things and pretty strict to help you answer the questions objectively.

 

 

I hope that my thoughts make those some of those ‘stay or go’ decisions a little easier…

 

 

If you do decide to get rid, remember that taking a picture or two can help with the sentimental aspect of letting go.

 

 

I hope it helps a little… 

 

 

SF, Forest Hill

 

 

 

 

SF shares one of many list of questions that might make the process a little easier…

 

 

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