Preparing for death, part 1

That should be nice and attention grabbing, right?

Having committed to multiple parts, I might get into spiritual preparation and bucket lists and things like that, but I am starting with the far more mundane, and that is along the lines of organization.

Having finally finished one project that I had spent a long time on, my next phase is going to be going through and doing some organization. I have drawers and files and folders of papers that I might not actually need anymore. Some of them could still be necessary, but that I can't easily think of which ones, and since I know they are in with a bunch of papers that won't be necessary, there are some potential issues there.

That's okay. I am going to break the project down into easy phases. I expect to live long after it is done. I would like it if I find some improved ways of filing new things after that, so it does not need to be repeated, but really, I have no thought that death is imminent.

Here's the thing: usually you don't think death is imminent unless your health is really bad, in which case your energy levels for this sort of task may not be great.

It is a really common thing for parents and grandparents to die, and leave behind houses full of memories, and then the task falls upon their descendants, possibly with time constraints on emptying the living space. I was thinking that I would rather not do that.

There need to be reasonable limits too. You will have possessions that you may not need, but like having, and you don't have to get rid of that just because someday someone will have to clean it out. However, if there are things that you don't really care about much, well, it might be good to let it go.

There is an advantage here for people who move around more, because that can force the issue. I like living in a place where I have roots; I don't think moving is fun at all. Without the motivation of having to pack and unpack everything into boxes, it just needs to come from me.

This is the way I am going to do it, but there can be other right ways.

On my organizational spreadsheet, one tab is going to be for this project, and I am going to write down the different small areas that I will go through. When I say "small areas", I mean that an area is a drawer, not a dresser. I don't want to be so intimidated that I keep putting things off. Organizing everything is a huge task, but going through one basket isn't so bad. It will take months, but there will be no nervous breakdowns doing it.

Yes, this will benefit the person who cleans up after me someday, but I expect there to be some benefits now too, like a better environment and greater appreciation of what I have. Maybe there will be things that benefit others as I give them away. I have already kind of learned not to buy things impulsively, but that can be reinforced.

And sometimes there are things where it just feels good to let go.