Prior to leaving, I spent many weekends at Dad's house sorting through some of my late mother's things. I didn't get through it all. Some processes take time, especially when they evoke memories.
My father lived for all that time, navigating around my things and my mother's things. A couple of times when we were speaking on Skype, he talked about donating some old clothing and other items to the many charities knocking at his door. I asked him to please wait until I returned. I wanted to make sure we didn't give away anything of measurable or sentimental value.
Of course, I am likely the most sentimental one in the family about some things. I realized that when I looked through the contents of my old childhood bedroom closet. I kept school books from the first grade onward, newspaper articles, plus some cherished toys. You see, I was going to become a famous author, and some day, someone was going to need articles from my childhood for the "Stephanie Bishop Museum". My followers would want to see what influenced and shaped my worldview, right? What can I say?
When Dad recently expressed an interest in moving to a retirement home in Ontario to be closer to my brother and the grandkids, I knew the time had come to take stock of the household inventory. I didn't want the daunting task of clearing out and packing up a house to hinder his move, if and when the time comes.
We figured that even if he doesn't move soon, we would still need to clear out the things he no longer needs or uses -- things that are just getting in his way and could better serve their intended purposes with others.
Afterall, he is now one person, living in house outfitted for a family of four, with odds and ends that had accumulated over close to forty years.
Knowing it would take too long to tackle this task on our own, we decided to call in the pros. Yes, we hired a professional organizer to help us make the tough choices about what to keep and what to send away. We hired, Anita, The Clutter Helper, for her experience working with seniors.
We undertook this process over the course of five days, sending heaps of once loved goods for donation and recycling. We also took advantage of Anita's services to set up a new filing system to help my dad manage the mountains of paper that come to the house.
The task is now done, and I hope the house will now be a little more liveable for my dad.
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| Anita, The Clutter Helper, taking away a load of donations. |
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| The garage as a staging ground for charitable donations and eco-centre contributions. |
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| Clearing out my childhood bedroom. |
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| Of course, some things just had to be saved ! |
