Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
|
Give
a Powerful Gift to Your Loved Ones
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Stuff, stuff, and more stuff
My sisters and I were fortunate.
My Mother was a very forward-thinking individual. Years before she (and my
Father) died, Mom started going through her closets, her paperwork, her
jewelry, the items in her safe, her garden area and the storage shed next to
it.
She tossed items that were outdated, expired, and the things that were no
longer useful to her household. She gave away cherished items, met with a
lawyer, updated her will, and made funeral arrangements.
Neighbors and friends thought it was odd but comforted themselves by saying
“that's just Betty.”
Mom, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was doing.
The years were passing by, and she didn’t want her daughters to be burdened
with having to clear out piles of stuff from her home after she and her
husband died. She had the foresight to put her affairs in order before
the events of their deaths.
These days, the courtesy and care of what my Mom was doing now has a name.
It’s called dostadning, a hybrid of the Swedish words for death and
cleaning.
Not everyone is on board
My Father was much more of a patterned man. He liked his routines and his
schedule. Mom? She was a tornado.
I truly think it made him nervous to have familiar (but no longer useful)
items be given away or tossed out. He learned long ago not to quibble, and
he picked his battles. He didn’t help Mom prepare for the inevitable, but he
didn’t stand in her way, either.
Differing styles of dealing with life and death
Over the years since my parents’ passing I have watched friends and other
family members deal with the demise of loved ones: in-laws, close friends,
siblings or their own Mother or Father. In every case, the chaos left
after a death was totally overwhelming.
In the situations where the loved one
downsized after
retirement, it was
easier. Few people would carry pay stubs from the 1940’s into a newer,
smaller home. But that was not always the case.
Many people get
comfortable - not being able to
let go of the
past - with
children’s bedrooms not touched
since they left the house and married. Or
countless boxes in the attic of holiday items that are no longer used, or
grandchildren’s drawings and painted rocks jealously kept for their loving
memories.
All well and good… except that when one passes on, these mementos are left
for family members to sort out.
When the adult children go through all this -- stuff -- full-blown emotional
meltdowns or something close to it can happen during the process.
Sorting through a loved one’s home after a death is the last thing anyone
feels like doing.
Morbid or renewing?
I get it.
No one wants to be chased by the idea of the Grim Reaper at their door. But
keeping what you love - and getting rid of what you don't - isn't morbid.
It's more like a relief,
like a renewal.
There is something very empowering and healthy about taking care of your own
space and making it more organized. Clutter is really just a bunch of
decisions that you’ve put off making. Most of the junk we have is simply
stuff screaming out for a place to be or a
decision to be made. Keep it (not countless duplicates) in its place or get
rid of it.
Approaches to clearing your clutter
There are lots of ways to get started. There’s the brutal approach, the
simple approach, and everything in between.
Brutal begins like this: If your home burned down, what would you replace?
Simple looks more like this: I’ll start with this drawer or this shelf, and
I’ll do one of these every week.
Never start with the photographs
Decluttering is very personal. Having a friend come over to help is not
always the wisest decision. It’s best to start with something easy like
outdated makeup or mismatched socks, leaving the scrapbooks and photos for
much, much later.
Life is not about stuff, and unwanted clutter is a drain on your energy.
It’s hard to feel motivated when everywhere you look there are piles of
miscellaneous items scolding you for not paying them any mind. You might
feel weighed down by all these things wanting your attention. Ironically, the
“heaviest” pieces in your home are often what you have inherited from your parents
or grandparents.
Yes, it might be beautiful and still have use… but, do you want it in your
home? Today?
Times have changed, also. What used to be a lusted-after item from a parent
– crystal, china, silver cutlery (that you must polish), dining room furniture, collections of signed
figurines – turns out to mean nothing at all to the current generation.
How do you feel about this?
Would you like to get a head start on your own unnecessary clutter and not
leave it to family and friends after you are gone?
Tips to get started
Start small.
There is no point to saying “I’ll do the whole house on a weekend.” Begin
with a section of the closet or with one grouping, like culling your old
magazines, food containers with no matching parts, old shoes or your
outdated medicines.
Ask yourself:
What’s the worst thing that would happen if I got rid of this? Could I rent or borrow
this item if I need it in the future? If you are paring down to a smaller
living space, or if you want to clear your home of unnecessary junk, this
is a good question to ask yourself.
Trash any manuals for appliances or digital items. You can get them
online. Toss all duplicate items. Stay with
one room at a time and put a container by
the door of the room you’re tidying and drop out-of-place objects there.
This saves time and keeps you focused.
Use the 3-box method.
One box is for tossing, one is for donating and one is for keeping.
Digitize your photos.
When you finally do get to the old photographs, take a digital copy of them
instead of keeping the physical picture. Place these photos on a digital
picture frame which will rotate hundreds of photos for your enjoyment. This will save you tons of room,
and at the same time you can keep your most precious mementos. If you still
want to keep something physical, printed
photo books are a nice way
of having all your precious photos in one place.
Clearing your home of unnecessary clutter is a powerful step toward caring
for your heirs. Death is an emotional and sometimes difficult transition we
all go through. Why not
give the most thoughtful gift you can for your loved
ones and begin now to simplify your home?
You will enjoy the revitalization of the process and you can bet that your heirs and loved
ones will thank you.
About the Authors
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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