Minimalizing My Life as a Gift To My Son

Today, I was reading this blog post and part of it struck me hard.

As an only child saddled with the responsibility of going through three generations of “stuff” — mine, my parents’ and my grandparents’ — I don’t
think I can ever fully articulate just how much that process changed my relationship to the objects in my life.

I don't want my child to go through that. I have two children, but one is not speaking to me, and probably never will again, so my beloved younger son will be stuck with all of it.

I've rid myself of around 75% of what I had in my 3br/2ba/1car garage, 1/4 acre yard home that I lost in the recession. I had to move 5 times in 5 years, and every time but the last one, I got rid of more and more of my "stuff." This is the smallest apartment I've ever lived in, 560 sf of usable space, and I can't use my 11 x 14 bedroom because it is piled with boxes.

I have all those boxes because I thought this was all that was left of my life, the stuff I could not part with. My plan was to go floor-to-ceiling to make it all fit in here, but as I go through boxes, I find that I just don't want or need most of it anymore.

I'm 65 now, and who knows how much time we have left? I'm thankful that I don't still have that stuffed 3 BR house & yard that my children would have to get rid of, but I don't want them to have to deal with this either.

I've been saying for the entire 2-1/2 years I've been here that I'm going to get rid of those boxes, but it's easier said than done. I've had all kind of plans for doing so, but never follow through. Some of it is because there are things in those boxes that make me cry for what I've lost, like the curtains from my old house, the wooden doorknobs I was going to use to re-do my kitchen cabinets, and unframed artwork I always intended to hang.

But I don't have that house anymore, nor do I have the 2 BR house I used to live in. I have this place, and I have to make it livable. I also need to make it so when my son comes to clear out my stuff, it will take them no more than a day, because most of what needs to be done will already be done.

Of course, along the way, I'll also create a simpler, more meaningful life for myself, which will make my golden years much more golden.

Are you hanging onto things you don't need and hardly ever use whose disposal will only be an encumbrance on whoever has to deal with them when you're gone? You may think you have time, but we never know how much time we have, so what are you doing toward making your life as simple and meaningful as you possibly can right  now?