This is a true story. It’s my story.
I realized late Saturday night that there was a leak in the ceiling of my bedroom. It started as a slow drip and within 8 hours turned into a HUGE project. I’ll spare you the details BUT, basically “they” had to remove the ceiling in my bedroom, do mold remediation and so much more. It’s was a 10 day ordeal and, needless to say, I’m not a happy camper.
What a s*it show. I had to move out of my house for a few days and I had to pack most of the house to get things out of the way for the construction to begin. Even though the major damage was in the bedroom, the whole house was affected in some way or another.
There’s more to the story obviously, but I just want to make a point. I wasn’t expecting this but, it happened and I had to deal with it. Thankfully, because I am organized, it was a lot better than it might have been. I was able to get my hands on all of the important insurance papers, warranties and service providers that I needed to take quick action. I was able to get the packing done in just a few hours as there wasn’t that much “stuff”. I’m not minimalist BUT the amount of “stuff” that I have is manageable.
I can only imagine that if I had more “stuff” how much more difficult this would have been. I can only surmise that had I needed to dig through to find the information/documents I needed that this project would have taken a whole lot longer to get started. By the way, the fact that I was able to get started immediately probably saved me thousands as the mold issue would have gotten progressively worse.
The lesson is that being organized really helped but, more importantly, ”Less is More”. It’s just a fact. The more you have the more you have to deal with. The packing, storing and cleaning is just ten times worse especially when an emergency arises. More importantly, the more you have the more the loss can be as well. Important fact: not everything that gets damaged can be replaced and not everything is insurable.
You never know when an emergency will strike. I’ve done a newsletter already about Emergency Preparedness (which you can find on my Blog on my website) but this is a bit different. This isn’t about a major event. It doesn’t always have to be a major event for you to be prepared. This wasn’t life threatening. It was, however, a major disruption emotionally, physically and financially (ugh!).
So, I am asking you to question whether you need it all. Ask yourself what you would do if suddenly you had to pack up and get out of the house quickly, even for a short period of time? Could you do that? Could you find what you needed to survive for a few days or a week without access to your home or belongings?
I’m not gonna go all Marie Kondo on you and ask if you love everything you own before deciding whether to keep it or toss it. I am, however, going to tell you that you can literally downsize every day, a little at a time. Every time you go into a cabinet, cupboard, drawer really look for a minute and remove anything that:
-Is chipped, broken, missing a piece
-One of a kind when it’s supposed to be a set
-Brings bad memories
-Doesn’t fit
-Isn’t “in” anymore
-You never liked and/or got it as a gift but never wanted/needed it
-Old books that you no longer need (think textbooks)
-Decorative items that are just done
-Medicines or supplements or food that is way past the expiration date
-Magazines or newspapers older than 3 months old.
We all accumulate stuff! But, we don’t have to keep it all forever.
So, my advice is to get started. If this feels overwhelming, give us a call. We’d love to be of service!