Survey #166 Response from Ginger
| Briefly describe who will benefit from your efforts to declutter and get organized, and how they’ll benefit. Think about members of your household, but also about the larger world—e.g., the people who’ll buy your stuff at a garage sale, the shelter residents who’ll get your donations, the next generation of family who’ll carry a lighter load, and so on. | ▪️My husband and I will benefit by having less inventory to manage and clean. We are feeling the calm & peace of a simpler life, ▪️Our daughter will benefit by having less to dispatch when we’re gone. We have simplified and organized our finances & important papers. Now, we’re disposing of the stuff we no longer use or need. We hope she’ll be able to quickly offload stuff to donation centers. And, pass along the items we’ve designated for other people. (Jewelry, Genealogy Research, etc.) ▪️Our community will benefit from our donations to our local shelters & Goodwill. These items can live out their useful lives helping others. ▪️The planet will benefit from the items we recycle and because we acquire less now, There is less going to the landfill (at least by us). |
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| Tell us about a memory of a person or incident from the formative years of your life that influenced your attitudes and emotions about belongings, clutter, organizing, or any related subject. (For example: “Grandma’s house was packed to the rafters with stuff.”) | ▪️My mother (& father) raised 8 children in a mid-century, 4 bedroom, ranch style home. I don’t ever remember it being cluttered. I don’t remember any angst about getting rid of stuff. She just did it. Even the stuff my father brought home from yet another garage sale. 😬 ▪️My aunt and I were always working together to declutter and organize her home. We bought and read all the organizing books. (I’ve kept those books.) Her home wasn’t a cluttered mess - but she was forever reorganizing things. She did KonMari folding before Marie Kondo was born. |
| What is the strongest memory to which you feel connected by way of an object, such as a souvenir, photo, or keepsake? | That’s a tough decision. I almost lost my husband last year in May. I lost a sister in October and both of my parents in December. Emotions are still raw. ▪️I have a business card with a note written on the back of it. Handed to me by a man in a restaurant in 1987. We’ve been together since our first date a few weeks later. ▪️I keep a list of sentimental items - and why I keep them. I review it every year. Slowly, over time - some of the items are losing their sentimentality for me. The glass basket from my first home in 1977. A red glass footed dish received as a wedding gift. The dammit doll from my daughter. A few items gifted to me by co-workers. |
| Future topics | Photos. Decluttering and organizing. I’m about to start this as a project. I have our photos, Mom’s photos, Dad’s photos and my maternal grandmother’s photos. |
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