‘Tis the Season For …Cleaning House and Downsizing!

            Home for the holidays. What a special time of year! You empty nesters will likely see a migration of sons and daughters (perhaps with in-laws and grandkids in tow) back to your place.

What better time for holiday merriment, seasonal good cheer, and – finally – the chance to get rid of all that “stuff” they’ve been stockpiling at your place!

            You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Your daughter asked if she could keep her oversized collection of Fennel glassware in your basement: “Just for a short while,” mom, “I promise!” That was seven years ago.

            Your son-in-law has this huge collection of record albums, but a not so big apartment in Chicago, and well, you have all that room in your attic, while they don’t even have an attic! So the clutter spans National Geographic’s, yearbooks, trophies, Cabbage Patch dolls, comic book collections – and, who knows, maybe some big clunky old tuba, as well!

And – purr-um-pu-pumm-pumm – the beat goes on.

            But what made good organizing sense then – for both your family members and you – has since become the clutter equivalent of coal in a Christmas stocking. Not a real happy event.

            Fact is, stored goods have a shelf life. After all, you had the room and the time, and your out-of-the-nest family members had a storage problem. Your place was the logical solution. Your casa became their casa. Except now it’s you whose housing plans have changed. Downsizing is an ongoing trend for empty nesters, and you’re no exception.

            What better time, then, to get everyone together, celebrate the season, share the love, and, finally, ask everyone to please go through their stuff, decide what they’re going to take back with them and what they’re going to cart to the curb.

            Downsizing often means putting your home on the market in the New Year, as you think leaner and meaner. First, clear out those knick-knacks. Jettison the record albums. Get rid of that unintentional collection of wicker baskets that’s grown large enough to command an aisle at Wal-Mart.

You really do know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Isn’t it amazing how much we accumulate! Add to that the “temporary” (?) storage of others’ belongings and, well, I’m betting you’re getting the picture.

Today the operative word is downsizing. You’re thinking smaller, easier and less costly to maintain. More convenient to get away more easily, when the urge to snow bird it to Miami – or Martinique – strikes.

Which brings us back to all that clutter. The holidays are the perfect time to make it happen. Perhaps your children are coming to town soon – and I do hope they are. Take this opportunity to have them go through and decide what’s going back with them and what’s getting tossed like a well-flung snowball directly to the dumpster.

Putting your home on the market means uncluttering. Destressing. Enjoying a kind of new lease on life. Downsizing is really looking up! What a special time of year!