Procrastinating
After my husband passed away, I eventually moved in with my daughter and granddaughter, three generations of women under one roof. Luckily, we all get along well with each other. However, to say that it was an adjustment is an understatement. One of the major adjustments I had to make was trying to sort through a lifetime of belongings and whittle that down to fit my new environment. I managed to sort through the big items like furniture, decorative pieces etc. before I moved, but I am still in the process of organizing and trying to decide what to keep of my personal items such as books, photos, and documents. I have quickly realized that my husband and I never threw away anything! I have receipts, warranties and/or instruction pamphlets for things dating back to the 1990s that we haven’t owned for many, many years. No wonder we had so many file cabinets in our home.
Well, the time has come for me to stop procrastinating and to tackle those mountains of files. I recently bought a shredder from one of those home-shopping TV shows. (Can we say quarantined entertainment network?!) I can honestly say that I love it! I can load 75-120 sheets of paper into the thing and it processes them page by page automatically! I feel like I won the lottery, which would be a miracle because I don’t play the lottery. I have shredded and shredded and shredded transforming those mountains of documents into a filing system that will require only one two-drawer filing cabinet. I am not completely done, but I only have one box left to process. Now, going through thousands of photos however… I have a feeling I will be procrastinating a little longer before tackling that job.
Glad you have each other!!!
@kaliko Yes, I am very blessed especially with all that is going on now. We give each other space, but we also enjoy each other’s company.
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I live with my mom and brother. It’s nice to be with family………most of the time. 😉
The paper shredder sounds great! A real time saver. I have to feed mine one sheet at a time.
@gypsywynd I had to do that with my old one until it “died.” This saves so much time. My daughter and I share a home office so it comes in handy for both of us.
Yes, I’m so blessed to be here with my daughter and granddaughter, especially since we all get along so well.
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That is so nice you could move in with her.
@thespiritwithinme Yes, it worked out well because she went through a divorce a short time before I moved in, and I love being able to see my daughter and granddaughter every day.
@adrift my one daughter lives a few houses up and I am so glad my grandson is just a walk away.
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I’m super happy you have a support system. It makes all the difference… and hats off on having the wherewithall to do away with some stuff – it takes time to let go when you lose someone. Sometimes forever…
@thenerve Yes, I am very blessed to have the support of my daughter and granddaughter. Letting go is easy one day… and then almost impossible the next, but putting a step forward little by little. Thanks for stopping by.
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My friend, this entry is too close to home. You cannot imagine how much I have to go through. Boxes and boxes, and dozens of file filers with priceless documents saved over a lifetime.. There’s very little I WANT to throw. My documents are me/us! 🙂 I have special accordion-style file folder boxes that I will place the truly keepsake documents and letters in, including all the letters my mother wrote to me over the years. They are precious possessions. My very no-nonsense and neat sister, whenever she can get here, will cart boxes of Mom’s non-memorabilia documents to the office supply place where they will be fed to their maxi/mega shredder. I still have the history award certificate from 5th grade given me by The Daughters of the American Revolution. Now how on earth could I or anyone part with something like that?
I’m so glad you have such a nice living arrangement with your daughter and granddaughter. And also, so happy to see a picture of you!
@oswego Yes, I agree with you. I want to keep all of the many documents, award certificates, etc., that have accumulated over these many years, but why oh why do I still have bank statements, tax returns, instruction pamphlets and receipts from 1987?! Lol
While they were growing up, I often had my children answer survey questions and write about what they liked, their thoughts on a myriad of topics and their future ambitions. I treasure these so much now that they are older. My granddaughter has enjoyed reading these also, especially the ones pertaining to her mom. She is the one in our family who enjoys hearing about our family’s history.
I wish you well, my friend. It is an enormous task, and one that will take you down memory lane. I’ve laughed and cried during this process. It’s like opening a time capsule of one’s life. Take care and stay healthy.
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It’s great that you have your daughter and granddaughter! That’s got to be real nice to have them so close!
@mamaqueenie518 It’s been especially nice since this stay at home order. We’re here with each other. My daughter does work, but we still see each other every day, something a lot of families are missing right now.
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My youngest son and his partner live a few minutes away and I’m grateful that they’re so close, but as much as I love them both, I find it hard imagining moving in with them. It must have made for some major adjustments for you and I’m glad to read that you’re doing so well. It helps when you’re all so close.
A new shredder would be like Christmas for me. I remember when I bought mine, I shredded everything in sight including the receipt and warranty card for the shredder. 😀
@wren Believe me, it was an adjustment for all of us, but thankfully we’ve adjusted well. We give each other space when needed and the fact that we actually “like” each other helps! 😊
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