My home has several meanings to me—it’s where I gathered with my family and was able to love on them, where we invited all our friends that we connected with through our kids, school, work and anyone we wanted to include in our loving home. As the saying goes, my home was truly my castle, filled with lots of loving memories of holidays and parties.
My parents did a lot of entertaining, so maybe it was learned, but it was something that came easy to me; we also have an entertaining home. As for today, most of our kids have moved out and now our house has a different feeling and I have started to look at what that means to me. What do I really need and what still has sentimental value to me or any of my family?
It seems like the younger generation is not interested in keeping family collected treasures. So what do you do with all your treasures that have been handed down or collected? Many of you have heard of the show, “Marie Kondo: The Magic of Decluttering.” She suggests only keeping what brings you joy. This is a great way to decipher what to keep and what to gift to someone else. I have been doing this for the past year.
After my mom passed away, I went through her home, clearing and donating everything that my mom cherished—it took me an entire year. This was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had to do, knowing what it meant to her. Things I couldn’t part with, I brought home to cherish, although at that time I made sure I decided that if I was going to bring it, I had to part with something of mine. It’s been three years and now it feels cluttered again, so I am once again going through it.
As life changes for all of us, our wants and needs change too. I now want to have less clutter and have a very simple home and make it as easy to take care of as possible. I am learning this in every part of my life, to simplify our home and our lives as we declutter in all areas.
Take a moment to look around—don’t overwhelm yourself, just open one drawer or one door; as the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” If your life has become overwhelming or it just feels full, please take a moment to declutter. My friends, it’s been an amazing feeling, and I’m not all the way done, but that’s just it. I do a different section when I have time and if it’s just a bit of time, I just block out that much time only. Think of it like building your dream home one section at a time.
You’ll be glad you did!!
Kim Pagano is brought to you by the award-winning talk radio station AM 1590 KVTA. She brings you the Brighter Side of the 805, Saturdays from 7 to 8 a.m., reminding us how important it is to "Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good." Subscribe to her podcast: ITunes/The Kim Pagano Show.
