“Doesn’t look like much but it’s special to me.”

Jan 10

Imagine, if you will, a favorite wooden spoon. A spoon that was once oval-shaped and concave but is worn - after decades of daily use - down to a vaguely trapezoidal nub at the end of a handle. A spoon that is steeped in years of making oatmeal, soups, scrambled eggs, and whatever else you could throw its way. It might not win any beauty contests, but it is seasoned and somehow gets into the corners of the pot every time, like magic.

In the down-sizing process this spoon (if you can call it that) might not make the cut if you were working with someone who didn’t take the time to get to know you, talk with you about your habits and preferences, learn from you. An organizer or decluttering professional who was focused on the stuff rather than the person behind it all. The key to helping folks process through emotional attachment to items is connection & compassion: the process of right-sizing and moving seniors requires tender hearts and a heaping spoonful of patience.

A decluttering session is less about getting rid of things (although that is, of course, the end goal) and more about creating space for the stories of our lives, our memories, and the daily tools - no matter how innocuous they may seem - that have been there with us almost every step of the way. Maybe that spoon was the favorite chewing object of a teething grandchild. Maybe it was purchased at the beginning (or end) of an important relationship. Maybe it was a parent’s or beloved grandparent’s. You’d be surprised: once the story has been told, the decision about the object can be made more easily.

It’s often the little things that mean the most; and heirlooms don’t have to have a sheen to stir our senses and touch our hearts. Make sure when it’s time for you or your parents to make a move that you have a caring guide for navigating the meandering pathways of material memories.