Over the past couple of months my family and I have made what feels like a super human effort to tidy up my dad’s property for sale. He was an engineer who hand-crafted his own motorcycles to race (right down to the engine), built two beautiful cottages on his land and therefore had a large shed(s) full of… a lot of useful stuff if you do those kinds of things.
It’s been a process of finding the people who want the types
of machines my dad had, and just working out where stuff needs to go in
general. None of us can abide waste and
we wanted to see that items would be used for their purpose rather than just
binned. It all took massive amounts of time
and a lot of physical labour. And then
there is the mental toll sometimes when you remember why you’re doing all this. Someone is not there anymore.
However… next Friday the new owners take over and we are 99%
complete in our clear-out. Yesterday and
the day before involved one of the last tasks on our list: getting the scrap
metal guy to come around. My dad had
almost 8 tonnes of steel on his property.
Yes! FYI, you don’t get much for
scrap metal but at least it’s gone from the paddock and will no doubt live
another life being useful to someone else.
After next Friday I will get my life back and *only* have
paperwork, banking and tax things (thankfully with the help of dad’s
accountant) to take care of, and that should be wrapped up within the next six
months too.
I am so grateful to my dad for being the amazing guy he was,
and I am excited to be moving on to the next non-executor stage of my
life. I have big plans! At any time I am a huge fan of tidying,
organizing and decluttering, but especially so now. Part of it is the momentum I got from helping
sort dad’s stuff, but another huge part is that my own place feels messy
now. Not messy-messy, but there are lots
of things that got put aside so I could focus on my estate executor task.
My exciting plan is to dive in and have a fun three month
project where I tidy, sort, organize, get up-to-date with, streamline,
simplify, declutter, refine, curate and get my home, office, wardrobe,
financial paperwork and my head in tip-top shape. Everything. It’s always been my dream to live a show-home
life – one where anyone could open any cupboard at any time and it look
beautiful inside. One where my receipts
are reconciled and filed. (I used to do that near-daily but it’s one of the
things I stopped doing and now I have a basket full of receipts…)
My mum has a neighbour who is one of my organizing chic
mentors. Just being in her home makes
you feel good because it’s stylish and welcoming at the same time as being so
organized and decluttered. She told me
last week that she even has a completely empty wardrobe because she finds
things she wants to declutter all the time.
An empty wardrobe! How awesome
would that feel?
So, I hope you’ll join me for The End of Year Project. Will you do the same? Or perhaps focus on one aspect only? Please share and we can do great things
together. See you soon :)
xx Fiona
~~
PS. We are in the spring season here in New
Zealand (isn't my dad's place gorgeous in the image at the top of this post?), but you lucky people in the northern hemisphere are experiencing
autumn. Yes, I love spring and the
warmer summer months, but autumn will always be my first true love.
If you haven’t read How to be Chic in the Winter yet, why not check out a sample from
Amazon? In this book I share all my
ideas on how to enjoy the winter season instead of just enduring it – even if
you are a summer person!
I wrote this book for myself initially, because I
found I kept doing the same unhelpful things over and over each year to cope
with months of the cold weather - eating sweet and stodgy fattening foods,
feeling lazy and unmotivated, being grumpy and a generally unfun person.
I started gathering all my thoughts on living an ideal chic winter and this
book is a result of that.
Included are my favourite winter recipes because
that was my biggest hurdle - coming up with meals that felt comforting and
hearty, but which were also healthy. They are all very simple to make, but
also very importantly they don't take too long to put together. I like to
keep prep time to a minimum because I would rather go for a walk or read a book
than spend too long fussing around in the kitchen.
I’m sure you will find
ideas to transform the way you think about winter, and it all came from my own
desire to ‘live slim, happy and stylish during the cold season.’ You can find it on Amazon Kindle here and in paperback too.
~~
Dear Fiona,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on getting this task completed. I can truly identify as my mother is now in an assisted living facility and we have just cleaned out her house and closed on the sale a week ago. It’s such a huge job. It makes me feel that I should pare down and declutter my own house again. As I get older, I’m more aware of how much stuff I still have and how I don’t want my children to have too much to deal with some day. I think it’s an ongoing process to keep things at a manageable level. I have to remind myself to be very particular about what I allow into the house. So glad you’ve finished and can get back to your own interests!
Charlene's post is exactly what I would have written except my mum passed away last year. In the last 10 years of her life she moved four times from her own home to nursing home. Each time we seemed to have mountains of stuff to dispose of and it was with much heartache.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I need to downsize soon and I am dreading it so any help would be gratefully received.
First, it sounds as though you and your Dad had a lovely relationship, which is just wonderful. Secondly, you are obviously a wonderful daughter and have done such a great job with his estate. Thirdly, I love your Winter chic book (of course!). Last but not least, yes, I shall join you too. In The Great Declutter and Reorganise.
ReplyDeleteI need to do this!! I will make it my 3 month plan and pray it doesn't take me longer (entirely possible).
ReplyDeleteOh God Fiona!!!! I went through the same as Executor of my Dad's estate a few years ago. Despite having a sibling, it was my Husband and I left to do everything. But it was also my childhood home. So really painful. I kept SO much of my Dads/my home that only now (4 years later) I feel strong enough to let go. And BREATHE xx
ReplyDeleteSuch a hard job for you, Fiona, but you must feel a great sense of accomplishment at getting it done! And how wonderful to revisit your dad's store of knowledge, skill, and creativity. That must give you many good memories.
ReplyDeleteMy house is in a fairly decluttered state at the moment, but I've recently taken on some challenging creative projects, so I may find myself in your situation by year-end...with a bit more clutter and unfinished tasks than I would like. I think you'll enjoy your simplifying odyssey!
It's such a difficult task, Fiona, but it sounds like you've done an excellent job. When my mother died, I took quite some time to clean, clear and sell her home because it just felt so final. I actually caused myself more stress by delaying it (I too was executor). I find myself needing to declutter again as well, so am totally up for The End of Year project. I, too, would love to live a show home life! Quite honestly, interior decorating and styling is just not my forte, much as I would love it to be so any tips will be eagerly devoured! So lovely to be able to sit back on this Sunday afternoon, cup of tea in hand, and read your post! I missed you! Diann
ReplyDeleteIt's very hard when a parent dies and especially if you are the one responsible for clearing the house. When my mother died we contacted local charities that she supported and they were happy to take both clothes and household goods. I kept a few personal mementoes though and of course have wonderful memories. I definitely need to declutter my own house so am keen to join the End of Year project too and look forward to your tips.
ReplyDelete