Mindful of incessant media and friends’ reminders to “de-clutter your home so your kids don’t have to”, I recently set a three-month goal to say good-bye to many cherished possessions. These include several dozen excellent UNICEF documents and other memorabilia from three decades of life and travel in other countries.
From friends, relatives and articles, I know many of the generic tips, like:
If you have family heirlooms, jewelry, or art you want to pass on to someone, document them.
Make it fun: Listen to music, take breaks, and make lists as you sort through belongings.
Use a decluttering calendar.
Follow the 80/20 rule, which says that people use 20% of their belongings 80% of the time. The remaining 80% is considered clutter, which takes up space and often goes untouched.
Make a list of acceptable “must-keep” things.
... And many others
Carpets and kilims will stay, of course. And some textiles and paintings.
But documents? Hey ... this is not easy going and I seek your advice.
The other day, as I opened the first of several cartons sealed with UNICEF packing tape, I was flooded with memories: You and the radio (addressed to children in Mozambique); Visualization in Participatory Programming (in English and Portuguese); the Convention on the Rights of the Child in several languages (from several duty stations); a couple Country Kits; and the extraordinary 2011 Communicating with Children: Principles and Practices to Nurture, Inspire, Excite, Educate and Heal.
See the photo below for only a few of the three dozen documents in a single carton, conveniently labelled by Google as “pile of documents on a rug”.
Aside from the sentimental value of these documents, I wonder if I am the only person in the whole wide world who has a copy. Gosh, maybe they will be of historical value some day! I mean, how many copies exist of the 1999 Community Handpump Water Supply and Sanitation Guide for Afghanistan? Or the 1990 How to Organize and Run Training Workshops from the (former) Division of Personnel’s Training Section (under Steve Woodhouse)?
The local library is no longer accepting books and the two bookstores will take only certain documents (UNICEF is not among them). What if a future trash picker finds them 100 years from now in the local landfill: Will she or he think I was crazy to dispose of them? Maybe I should save them for fuel in our woodburning stove, which may be important for warmth for my grandchildren, when the Great Unraveling begins?
Of course, it’s not just documents but CDs, cassettes and DVDs. Who will love my little multi-coloured painted tin frog from Haiti like I do?
.png)
Or my lovely beaded crocodile from West Africa that I bought in a marketplace in Omdurman? (Described, BTW, by Google as a “blue and green stuffed animal”. Is that really all it is worth?
In addition, my husband and I are the default repositories for my parents’ belongings and his mother’s and grandmother’s belongings. This means consulting with siblings and nieces and nephews, as well as with our son and his family.
So why am I doing this now, you might ask, with so much going on politically? Amidst the dreadful situations in Sudan, Gaza and the West Bank, Myanmar and other places around our poor little world? Amid the horrible US Presidential campaign and the appalling media coverage? Aren’t there more important things to be doing?
Yes, there are. I am writing letters with Vote Forward and volunteering and raising funds and ... attending funerals and sending condolences for a steady stream of friends and family who are dying with shocking regularity these days.
So tell me, dear colleague and friends: How have you managed the downsizing of your belongings, especially beloved UNICEF mementoes and documents? Any tips you can share with me?
And does anyone out there want my collection of 200+ turtles from around the world? Our son does not, so it is available to you for immediate shipping.
In anticipation of your responses, I remain, sincerely yours, Paula
From friends, relatives and articles, I know many of the generic tips, like:
If you have family heirlooms, jewelry, or art you want to pass on to someone, document them.
Make it fun: Listen to music, take breaks, and make lists as you sort through belongings.
Use a decluttering calendar.
Follow the 80/20 rule, which says that people use 20% of their belongings 80% of the time. The remaining 80% is considered clutter, which takes up space and often goes untouched.
Make a list of acceptable “must-keep” things.
... And many others
Carpets and kilims will stay, of course. And some textiles and paintings.
But documents? Hey ... this is not easy going and I seek your advice.
The other day, as I opened the first of several cartons sealed with UNICEF packing tape, I was flooded with memories: You and the radio (addressed to children in Mozambique); Visualization in Participatory Programming (in English and Portuguese); the Convention on the Rights of the Child in several languages (from several duty stations); a couple Country Kits; and the extraordinary 2011 Communicating with Children: Principles and Practices to Nurture, Inspire, Excite, Educate and Heal.
See the photo below for only a few of the three dozen documents in a single carton, conveniently labelled by Google as “pile of documents on a rug”.
Aside from the sentimental value of these documents, I wonder if I am the only person in the whole wide world who has a copy. Gosh, maybe they will be of historical value some day! I mean, how many copies exist of the 1999 Community Handpump Water Supply and Sanitation Guide for Afghanistan? Or the 1990 How to Organize and Run Training Workshops from the (former) Division of Personnel’s Training Section (under Steve Woodhouse)?
The local library is no longer accepting books and the two bookstores will take only certain documents (UNICEF is not among them). What if a future trash picker finds them 100 years from now in the local landfill: Will she or he think I was crazy to dispose of them? Maybe I should save them for fuel in our woodburning stove, which may be important for warmth for my grandchildren, when the Great Unraveling begins?
Of course, it’s not just documents but CDs, cassettes and DVDs. Who will love my little multi-coloured painted tin frog from Haiti like I do?
.png)
Or my lovely beaded crocodile from West Africa that I bought in a marketplace in Omdurman? (Described, BTW, by Google as a “blue and green stuffed animal”. Is that really all it is worth?
In addition, my husband and I are the default repositories for my parents’ belongings and his mother’s and grandmother’s belongings. This means consulting with siblings and nieces and nephews, as well as with our son and his family.
So why am I doing this now, you might ask, with so much going on politically? Amidst the dreadful situations in Sudan, Gaza and the West Bank, Myanmar and other places around our poor little world? Amid the horrible US Presidential campaign and the appalling media coverage? Aren’t there more important things to be doing?
Yes, there are. I am writing letters with Vote Forward and volunteering and raising funds and ... attending funerals and sending condolences for a steady stream of friends and family who are dying with shocking regularity these days.
So tell me, dear colleague and friends: How have you managed the downsizing of your belongings, especially beloved UNICEF mementoes and documents? Any tips you can share with me?
And does anyone out there want my collection of 200+ turtles from around the world? Our son does not, so it is available to you for immediate shipping.
In anticipation of your responses, I remain, sincerely yours, Paula
How to Organize and Run Training Workshops is an absolute classic (pre-powerpoint) which UNSSC (Staff College) republished with UNICEF and gave access to the whole UN system - frame it! Regards, Malcolm Goodale
ReplyDeleteIndeed. A classic.
Delete