Until you understand everything, this might seem confusing. But it makes sense to me. I’m just trying to catch up. Things aren’t happening in the order I expected, which I guess would be too easy. It’s not a straight timeline, as one thing leads to another, and I’m figuring it out as I go—with some help from my guide and support from my friends.
Anyway, I’m making progress. Here’s what I’ve accomplished in the past few days.
- Made an appointment to get a new Will, Advanced Medical Directive, and Power of Attorney.
- Talked to one banker to see if I can qualify for a mortgage now that I don’t have a job or a spouse with income. I’m living off a pension and Social Security, plus a small draw from my IRA. The answer is yes, but this isn’t a prequalification; it’s keeping me from going off the rails. I have another call to another banker scheduled for next week.
- See below since I can’t figure out how to keep this list going and add a picture at the same time!
I made a floor plan of a neighborhood house I like. It’s not completely my “ideal” house, but it’s got great potential. No way is this settling; it’s reality and it’s exciting. I measured a lot of my furniture and tried to see what might fit. This will help me figure out what to keep and what to let go of, since I don’t have the option of buying first and selling second, or moving in and seeing what fits before I make decisions. The house isn’t on the market but the owner is planning to move closer to family in the next few months, and a new home search for her hasn’t been started yet. We’ve talked a few times, and this might be the next place for me.
- (sorry for the List feature again!) To make the floor plan, I had to visit the house and measure all the rooms. Then I had to translate my notes to graph paper. For fun, I made copies and then used color pencils to pretend I had painted each room.
Twice, since I want my bedroom purple and not green like it is now. I think that’s what I want … for now. Plus, I drew the furniture to scale but not the floor plan, so when the couch took up a room and a half, I had to start over! The idea is to help me get a clearer picture of what I can or should or want to keep, and what would be “left over” and possibly sold or donated. This was advice from a professional organizer and a friend who went through this whole transition last year.
I made a list of my furniture using Excel while measuring it. This assumes I will buy this place, but either way, I have a good start on my inventory. Now I can keep track of what to Keep, Sell, Donate, or Trash. (Note: experts say that “very little is actually trash. Most of what you have can be used by someone, unless it’s broken beyond repair.”)
And I updated a Checklist I started a month ago of all the things I need to do to make this transition happen. The decluttering, the getting organized and related paperwork that grown ups should do (will, etc.), selling this house (market evaluation and readying it for sale), buying a new house and making it a home (home inspection kinds of things), and so on. If you want to see my full checklist, just ask.
- (Here’s the stupid List feature again!) I bought three shelving units for the garage and put them up, and then put stuff on the shelves. Yes, I used a friend’s help to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid like climb attic stairs while carrying Christmas decor out of the way. Then I threw out a few things (yep, broken), and I also tried to set some things aside for donation. My friend, good woman that she is, didn’t let me get by with just setting them aside. They were promptly loaded into my truck. The next day I off-loaded them at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore (and got a donation receipt for tax purposes). And I updated my checklist of things to do, plus marked the progress in decluttering. Yay Me!
- I attended a workshop put on by my friendly Silver Sherpa’s office, The Memorie Group, on … guess what?? Yes! Decluttering and dealing with The Stuff. This included talks by a professional organizer and a couple that specializes in selling your Stuff, whether high-value collectibles or regular junque you’ve accumulated… and figuring out the difference between them. The main themes of the Professional Organizer were: (a) Plan; (b) Sort and Declutter; (c) Be Respectful; (d) Consider the New Space; (e) Pack and Move; and (f) Expect Post-Move Adjusting. The process followed by the resellers is: Review, List (pricing and photos), Monitor, Sell/Negotiate, Box/Ship, Approval, Pay. Of course, there’s more to it than this, so when I take this step (with or without professional help), I’ll tell you more. Here’s the main take-away: Sometimes the Market will disagree with you on some things. LOL. This means, your stuff isn’t always worth what you think it is. (And I think, “the Market” includes family and friends as much as it is buyers with money to spend!)
- Finally, I visited a former neighbor who sold his house last year and moved into an assisted living facility. He was very encouraging and shared some of the resources he used in his transition – like where the books went, who he used for a real estate appraiser, the moving consultant he hired, and a friend who helped curate the artwork he found in boxes when cleaning closets (which were painted by his mother and they then reframed and hung in the new apartment).
That was my week. I feel good. Except for the format of this post!! I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong, so I’ll add fixing this later to my To Do list!!! I still feel productive, though. And I feel responsible. I feel like I should be doing this even if I decide to stay put, for one reason or another. I feel it’s doable, and I’m doing it! This week I have an appointment with an attorney about estate planning. Not quite an “oh, joy!” thing, but necessary.
There you have it. Until next time, happy decluttering if that’s what you’re doing, or happy relishing that it’s me and not you who is doing this right now.
Solowingnow 