Benefit of Disorderliness

Posted by Pat Stewart on Aug 3, 2013 in My Blog | 4 comments

At age 68, I started preparing for my lifetime move from NC to FL nearly a year ago.  Little by little, closet by closet, box by box I decluttered a lifetime of “things” thought to be too special to let go of…so, eventually, decisions HAD to be made…and were!  Some things I gave away, some I sold.  There was a method to the madness.  I photographed things I thought my daughters and grandchildren might want, if not now, when I head out to Eternity and all that  that will bring!  In essence, I have tried to do the “final” distribution, at least on paper,  now so they won’t have to whenever my number comes up.  Actually, it worked well and things I could not use in my down-sized abode, the girls are enjoying now.  It was fun seeing who wanted what, what was important or special to each daughter and grands.  My oldest granddaughter, Christina, said, “Grandma, you’re not dying are you?”  So, much of that has been decided.

But, the move came quickly and I still had some things to consider, so I moved a few boxes of things to decide upon later…once I was “settled.”  Funny, but I can’t feel settled now until I’ve done it all, so here I am still one by one going through those few boxes.  I REALLY want to be done with it all, but I have to admit that it has its benefits.  I get positive vibes as I listen to the whirring of the shredder eating up financials old enough that I don’t have  to keep them.  I really enjoyed the wonderful note a friend wrote me after the death of her family member telling me how much my smile and words meant to her and that she would never forget them.  Really?  Wow!  It’s like “Oh, I wonder what little surprises I’ll find in this box?”  Ah, and the old photos, sweet memories… I laughed right out loud when I came upon a photo that shows my ex-husband in a very compromising position!!!  What joy there was in thinking through the possible options of how to dispose of  THAT!!  🙂

THEN, I discovered a sheet of favorite quotes I had assembled at some point…my absolute favorite one for today was so very fitting and I’m still enjoying it as I write.

From A. A. Milne:  “One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries!”

So, don’t beat yourself up if you feel you’re not quite as organized as you should be…just recognize that it is your God-given talent of preparing for the future…a future day when you need some good vibes and unexpected finds!  

Just love it!  🙂