“2009 an Emotional year”

 For seven years we have been working the downsizing plan. 

 “Stuff of Life”

“Pictures of Life”  and  “Scott  Downsizing”
Now in the first few years of downsizing it was very liberating. I do not miss, or cannot remember most of the stuff that used to sit around, or that we had stored in boxes.
In 2008 we took it a few steps forward and sold our condo on beautiful Centennial lake park in Edina Minnesota.  
 

Our condo was one of a kind, and cannot be replaced here in Edina. It also was very nicely furnished.  

He  rented a condo in downtown Edina it is very comfortable, but not our home. We moved our furniture  and what was was left of our stuff with us. It did not seem  that there was that  much stuff at first, but we still carried boxes for hours.


Now I already knew before I move again, a lot more stuff will have to go.  Me being the organizer I am, started
soon after I moved into our rented condo.
I got 4 boxes.
one for things to sell,
one for things to donate,
one for things to garbage,
one for things to keep just in case I ever need them again: One rule here, this must be the smaller box of stuff.








One year later in 09 all the stuff in the boxes is gone sold, donated, garbage, and the just in case box got moved up north to our” garden house” and yes it is small.
 
Now that was the easy part. Then I started with the furniture, even though I do not know when I will  leave here. I am a downsizing  junkie now.
Most of my nice stuff I sold to coworkers just by word of mouth, for a very low price. For a few weeks.. I watched my beautiful furniture go out the door piece, by piece. In a few weeks there was only enough left for Scott and I to sleep on, eat at, and sit on, since we have very little family and no other visitors to speak of..
“A choice of our by the way”  we did not need much.
Most of what we have now will go to garbage, and  what is left of the good stuff is spoken for by family members. I still have some downsizing to do clothes, shoes  ect! 
We still have a piece of land on a lake in Northern Minnesota with our little garden house on it that we plan to keep for awhile yet. 

We   have our coach that we plan to live and travel in when we leave this chapter of our life.

Our Jeep that we hope to keep for a long time.

Now the big question, and the reason for writing this post in the first place is how do I feel?
Since I grew up in Ireland with no unnecessary stuff, you would think this would be easy. I have since become very American and I have worked hard for my stuff. I have come to believe that stuff makes a home stuff is growing, stuff is who I am. So how do I live without all my stuff.
I love this little piece of advice I got for a wise old man, have you ever seen a U-Haul behind a hearse going to the graveyard.
Another piece of wisdom I read a day or two ago.  it is called  “Five Remembrances”   that some Buddhist Monks  chant each day: I will lose my youth, my health, my loved ones, everything I hold dear and, finally, life itself  by the very nature of being human.
  Those remembrances told me I need to let go of  the past, to make room for the future.
A great little video I found.



I have to retrain myself to live with  my needs and try to control my wants. I am feeling like a walking dead woman.  The only days that are good days, is when I am downsizing because that also gives me a  feeling  of growing … just in a different direction.
Scott and I have worked hard, played hard, have had nice cars, boats, houses, and motorcycles, and have  good jobs. 
Now we are getting ready to get rid of them all to smell the roses.
 
As we bring 2009 to a close and ring in our new year. We hope to  dance to a different tune. We look forward to all the beautiful tomorrow! We have yet to share in.