Keep or toss: Decluttering becomes harder when you're holding on to stuff across generations. And harder when each thing brings old memories that stay for days.
I really enjoyed reading this and was surprised to get to the end and see my Substack! Thank you so much for linking to it!
There’s so much great description of 70s lifestyle here and I too am a documentary like my father! I would love to circle back to the idea of having too many things. I think you have a couple of sub themes here, but that is one of them. I don’t know about you, but after my brother died, I finished… Well, almost finished my purging stage. It was so intense! When my mom died first, I started going through everything in my basement and just giving away things in droves. I still have way too much stuff and I know that That is something I grew up thinking was OK.
Thank you for your enjoyable writing and keep on going! Look forward to watching your newsletter grow.
Thank you Juliette! I was so happy to share your newsletter! It’s a cool mix of your artistic endeavors and experiences of getting through life and looking for meaning. I love your sharing tips, tricks, and ways of thinking that have helped you. Each one sounds grounded, doable, and worth trying.
And I can relate to the urge to purge. My substack itself is about purging, though I think a burial ritual for things I deeply miss—mixed in with cultural crap I couldn’t stand then and don’t ever want to go back to. It’s amazing (and a bit scary) how quickly things get forgotten. So I can appreciate that the world needs documentarians in it.
I suppose there's something to be said about living in a NYC apartment where regular purging is a necessary thing. Although lots of people rent storage units here too, of course. In fact I have one within 2 blocks of where I live. I see it as a challenge, to keep all my possessions in my apartment. It got harder when my mom sold the house (that was our version of storage - their basement) but it helps me keep in check the objects I want to keep. Maybe I did inherit some of that from my mother. She has no attachment to objects.
Thanks, Jenna, for sharing! It’s so interesting hearing different experiences with possessions. I see my older kids shop resale like a library—bring something back and get something new to keep only for a short time. Space is so expensive, so our house is still a depository for some of their overflow. We plan on downsizing after our youngest graduates high school in a decade. It seems like it gets harder to make the transition past a certain age.
I also appreciate how it’s easier on the next generation not to leave them with so much stuff to sort. I am curious, though, about what will end up getting passed on from our digital lives. Sorting through my brother and dad’s stuff feels like the end of an era, definitely the paper and printed one.
That's interesting about what gets passed digitally. I have nearly nothing from my dad or brother or even my in-laws. Partly cultural, but I'm trying to change that. I hadn't thought about "digital" inheritances though!
Although, I am a nostalgic person and like to keep things, I am not a „self-storage person.“ There are a few self-storage facilities here in Germany, but not many.
We have a little basement where we keep stuff, but nothing I haven‘t used or looked at in the past three years. Maybe it‘s an American thing…?
You next post sounds like a lot of work - rereading all your past posts… looking forward to it.
Thank you for mentioning my Substack - it means a lot! ❤️
Thanks Susanne for sharing your perspective! Yeah I think it’s mostly an American thing. But it’s changing here from what I see and for many reasons—environmental, generational, and the luster of keeping “things” and buying “stuff” has faded. I’m totally on board with that but for now feel like a drop box.
I was so happy to share your lovely Substack. It’s always a treat <3
I really enjoyed reading this and was surprised to get to the end and see my Substack! Thank you so much for linking to it!
There’s so much great description of 70s lifestyle here and I too am a documentary like my father! I would love to circle back to the idea of having too many things. I think you have a couple of sub themes here, but that is one of them. I don’t know about you, but after my brother died, I finished… Well, almost finished my purging stage. It was so intense! When my mom died first, I started going through everything in my basement and just giving away things in droves. I still have way too much stuff and I know that That is something I grew up thinking was OK.
Thank you for your enjoyable writing and keep on going! Look forward to watching your newsletter grow.
Thank you Juliette! I was so happy to share your newsletter! It’s a cool mix of your artistic endeavors and experiences of getting through life and looking for meaning. I love your sharing tips, tricks, and ways of thinking that have helped you. Each one sounds grounded, doable, and worth trying.
And I can relate to the urge to purge. My substack itself is about purging, though I think a burial ritual for things I deeply miss—mixed in with cultural crap I couldn’t stand then and don’t ever want to go back to. It’s amazing (and a bit scary) how quickly things get forgotten. So I can appreciate that the world needs documentarians in it.
I suppose there's something to be said about living in a NYC apartment where regular purging is a necessary thing. Although lots of people rent storage units here too, of course. In fact I have one within 2 blocks of where I live. I see it as a challenge, to keep all my possessions in my apartment. It got harder when my mom sold the house (that was our version of storage - their basement) but it helps me keep in check the objects I want to keep. Maybe I did inherit some of that from my mother. She has no attachment to objects.
Thanks, Jenna, for sharing! It’s so interesting hearing different experiences with possessions. I see my older kids shop resale like a library—bring something back and get something new to keep only for a short time. Space is so expensive, so our house is still a depository for some of their overflow. We plan on downsizing after our youngest graduates high school in a decade. It seems like it gets harder to make the transition past a certain age.
I also appreciate how it’s easier on the next generation not to leave them with so much stuff to sort. I am curious, though, about what will end up getting passed on from our digital lives. Sorting through my brother and dad’s stuff feels like the end of an era, definitely the paper and printed one.
That's interesting about what gets passed digitally. I have nearly nothing from my dad or brother or even my in-laws. Partly cultural, but I'm trying to change that. I hadn't thought about "digital" inheritances though!
Although, I am a nostalgic person and like to keep things, I am not a „self-storage person.“ There are a few self-storage facilities here in Germany, but not many.
We have a little basement where we keep stuff, but nothing I haven‘t used or looked at in the past three years. Maybe it‘s an American thing…?
You next post sounds like a lot of work - rereading all your past posts… looking forward to it.
Thank you for mentioning my Substack - it means a lot! ❤️
Thanks Susanne for sharing your perspective! Yeah I think it’s mostly an American thing. But it’s changing here from what I see and for many reasons—environmental, generational, and the luster of keeping “things” and buying “stuff” has faded. I’m totally on board with that but for now feel like a drop box.
I was so happy to share your lovely Substack. It’s always a treat <3
<3