Top Rightsizing Tips
Jileasa and I taught our quarterly “Rightsizing for Retirement” class at Billings Adult Community Education last week. We realized that it would be helpful to have these tips shared with the public. For those of you that cannot attend a class during the week and workday, but are looking for information about Rightsizing here are a few tips we like to share.
- Start the process with a time frame in mind. Only once or twice a week for an hour or two. If you go full-on it will wear you out.
- Start with bins for “recycle” “trash” “give away/donate” “keep” getting rid of broken items is easy to deal with.
- It is important to start in a place that holds the least amount of emotional connection, like the pantry. So many people have outdated foods or small appliances that they “might” use that should be donated, recycled, or trashed. Starting with a small space will give you the momentum to go on to bigger projects. Starting with a place that holds a lot of memories will wear you down and prevent you from wanting to continue on. Decluttering is an emotional and difficult process, but we must keep in mind the end goal.
- Another thing to consider is that if it disappeared tomorrow would you miss it? Or Jileasa likes to say, if she moved internationally, would she care enough to ship it? If the answer is no, then get rid of it.
- Now is a great time to use your age to your advantage. “Gift” items to family members or friends that they will enjoy or treasure down the road. It may help to take a picture of them with the item so you can remind yourself of the gift you’ve given.
These are just a few tips. There are many many more that we can help you with. Remember to make the first step and to start small – it will get easier over time.
