Dealing With Our Stuff

 Someone has said that money is you in a spendable form. When we trade our lives for a salary or for wages we are changing ourselves into money. Thus, when we think about the things that we spend money on, it is easy to see why we become so attached to our stuff. We put value on material things far over what those same things are actually worth. We buy things with sentiment or memories attached to them. The problem arises when we can no longer take care of our own things whether through death or downsizing.

Once we can no longer take care of our own stuff it falls on someone else to take care of it for us. This is a heavy burden of responsibility. They have to balance their love for the person with the need to get rid of their stuff for them. Here are some thoughts on what happens to your stuff once you can no longer decide for yourself what happens to it all.

1. Our stuff does not hold it's value. You will never sell it now for what you paid for it then. In spite of what they tell you, your stuff is not worth as much as you think.

2. Your stuff is you. It's tells the story of your life. It commemorates your achievements. It means a lot to you, but it means nothing to others. No one wants your stuff.

3. Your stuff holds great sentimental value to you. It holds no sentimental value to others. Stuff that was important to you means nothing to your family. It's your stuff.

4. The accumulation of things throughout your entire lifetime becomes someone else's responsibility once you are no longer involved. It takes your loved ones a lot of mental and emotional strength to deal with the stuff you leave behind.

5. Decluttering is easiest when you decide what to do with it. You do not have to live in an empty, sterile box. But you can decide what to do with your stuff better than anyone. You can make your wishes known. You can give detailed guidelines on what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away. This gives you another chance to walk down memory lane and remember the life you lived with joy.

This is a lesson most of us learn too late to do anything about it.  A failure to plan is a plan to fail.