Downsizing

Wow!
We’ve been trying to downsize — you know —get rid of “stuff” that we haven’t used or needed for ages. Yep. That kind of downsizing. And, believe me, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
I had boxes of sermon notes and columns from years of ministry and writing. I found boxes of cassette tapes (yep — cassette tapes) that we haven’t listened to for years. There were old CDs — homemade and otherwise — that hadn’t been seen, let alone listened to, in quite a while.
We still have things that were in my mom’s storage unit. She’s been gone since December of 2018 and we still have a small stack of things we have found it hard to get rid of — mostly Stewart family photos. A couple of her porcelain dolls are still hanging around.
I’ve already parted with shelves full of books. That was not easy for me. And what do you do with the many items folks have gifted you over the years?
Then there are the clothes. Lots of clothes. Since I’ve lost weight, I’ve been giving clothes away. I still have a lot of shirts that no longer fit. Still, they are more like “comfort” shirts than a fashion statement (I never was one for fashion statements to tell the truth). Shirts like polo shirts, that Laura says literally “hang” on me, and button down shirts that are very baggy. But — as anyone who has lost weight will attest to, there is always the thought of “What if I gain the weight back and end up needing them?” I know … I need to let go.
I’ve also downsized in the music department. A small public address system and a couple of microphones were on the list. They went in separate directions. Two guitars have also “left the building” since the beginning of the year. Ouch!
Laura has been getting rid of things as well. Her list includes knick-knacks, clothes and furniture.
One of the items that was purchased with good intentions, and with big plans in mind, left yesterday. A local man came and bought the Fleetwood Mallard camping trailer. It was somewhat bittersweet, since we had yet to use it after it was purchased nearly two years ago. I had mixed emotions as it pulled off the driveway and down the road.
Believe it or not, there still are lots of items to go. But there is time. We’ll just keep saying goodbye to stuff … a little at a time.