I have no clue who told this joke first. Probably wasn't Groucho Marx, but he's easy to doodle.
CW: This is not going to be a funny blog post. It's going to talk about death.
As people get older, most of us accumulate more and more things*. It's normal. We go through life, we have more memories, and we tie objects to these memories. Also, many of us need more things. I'm in my 40's and the amount of medicine bottles in my cupboard is twice what it was 20 years ago.
Humans do not live forever. I have no idea when or how, but I am going to die. So are you. (Told ya. We're getting deep.)
I'm a little strange (I have been told) because the concept of death has never bothered me. I'm not blasé about it. Nor do I expect other people to be. Not at all. I mean that I have always been able to discuss the end-of-life technical preparations necessary in our society calmly if other people can't.
Maybe it's part of the compartmentalization thing that also makes me good at organization? Maybe it's be because my parents are ordained ministers, and one is a therapist, so I grew up going to funerals? I attended at least one every year until Sophomore year of college.
Whatever it is, I am good to have around when you need to talk about someone dying.
If you've read this far, you're probably frowning and thinking "Why are you telling us this? I need to grab a blanket and binge watch Bluey." Fair. It's always a good time for Bluey, in my opinion.
I'm telling you this because, if you, your relatives, clients, neighbors, etc. are looking at a household that has more solid memories in it than time, I can help. If the thought of dealing with them is overwhelming? I understand. I can help.
I can walk with your people as they figure out what each object means, and honor it the way it deserves. I can help pass beloved items to new generations. I can help find homes for what is useful, to create more memories with new people. I can help dispose of what needs to be disposed of.
I can't make it quick or easy (let's keep our expectations reasonable.) But I can make it less hard for everyone.
There's more than just things, in each space.
*Obviously, there are exceptions: I've noticed military people tend not to save too much in the way of material objects. Ditto people who have gone through the foster system. Plus, some people just...don't save stuff. It's just not in their nature.
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