Survey #267—Full Response from Teresa J
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| Describe ways in which aging has negatively affected your ability, willingness, or desire to declutter or organize your home. | I want it gone. I spent years collecting various things and using shopping as a fun/social activity and/or retail therapy. So even though I've made huge progress, there's still more to go. In a way, it's hard to see that there are things I'll never do again or do at all. But in another way, giving up the hobbies or potential hobbies is a relief. I can't do everything, but I can select one or two or three activities/hobbies that I really enjoy - and everything related to them can be available and organized. There's also an aspect of Swedish Death cleaning - I don't want to leave years of useless stuff (ex. paperwork, collections) for others to deal with (or for me to deal with if I need to downsize in the future). I definitely also hear the message that my energy and capabilities will decline as time goes on, so I want to do what I can now. I don't deny that there's a bit of a heart tug to give away some things I've collected over the years, or that it's disappointing to realize I'm never going to do certain things. But I've become ok with that. I try to consider that "to everything there is a season" and their season has faded for me. Hopefully they can start anew with someone else. |
| Describe ways in which getting older has positively affected your ability, willingness, or desire to declutter or organize your home. | It has become easier to identify things that I'll likely never use. I've come to accept that things I've collected will be given away or generate minimal returns. I appreciate that getting rid of the surplus lets me have clear access every day to the things I've chosen to keep. I don't want to leave things for other folks to deal with after I'm gone, but I also would like to skinny things down to items I really treasure so I get to enjoy those things while I'm still around. I like the little bit of weight that's lifted from me every time some clutter departs my living space. |
| Describe ways in which you’d like for your space and belongings to better support your goals and dreams for the next years of your life. | I'm kind of downsizing in place. Reducing what I have so I'm ready when I need to downsize my space. I like that having some lead time lets it be a thoughtful process instead of hurried decisions. And the clutter does seem like a big to do list that's always on my mind, a bit of a weight that's always there. So I want it gone. I want to reduce crafting hobbies and supplies so that I only have items that support what I'm doing now (ex. get rid of supplies I've outgrown or were purchasing errors etc). The extra supplies actually get in the way of my creativity (sometimes I literally can't see the supplies I want because of all the outdated ones). |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). If we think that your question—and our answer—might be useful or instructive to The Clutter Fairy Weekly audience, we’ll share them in an upcoming episode. | Nothing right now |
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