English: Old luggage at Arley railway station on the Severn Valley Railway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A weeks ago I came upon a thought-provoking posts titled “What Are You Packing on Life’s Journey?” which immediately brought many thoughts to mind in the form or questions and songs.
This is the first of two posts related to this article. I invite you to join me on this packing journey.
What would I pack if I could only take a suitcase of stuff from my home and no more? To prepare, pull out the largest suitcase you own. It will help set your constraints. Imagine you won’t be coming back to the items left behind. For the purpose of this experience lets assume your family and pets will be coming but don’t need to fit in the suitcase. Look at the items. Why are they important to take?
Here’s some of my must have list:
- My laptop (I use it so much for personal and professional life, I think I would miss it.)
- My iPod (My preferred music and music for work is housed here.)
- My glasses & contacts (Seeing is so important)
- Key paperwork (id’s, etc.) and a couple of photos of my family.
- My buffalo drum (As much as I’d love to take my guitar, it won’t fit in my suitcase. Not having an instrument with me would be difficult. This drum fits well in a suitcase.)
- I’d pack a minimal number of clothes – jeans, shorts, a skirt, a few tops, undergarments.
- A candle, some lotion and some essential oils for comfort.
As a distant caregiver, knowing what you most need might assist you in quickly pack should an emergency arise. If you are a caregiver across town or a city away, it might help you be there for 24-48 hours should the need arise.
As an elder care employee, I have been in situations like hurricanes that required extended hours at work, Knowing what you need allows you to more calmly assist those living in senior living communities to prepare for events.
What am I carrying around in my physical world that I don’t need? How can I unpack the items in my physical world that no longer serve me?
You just identified the items they can easily move with you. There are often larger items (like my guitar) that are also important. Having a bed on which to sleep, a chair in sit are important. Art work can inspire us, setting a mood or a feel. Books can feed our minds. The government expects us to hold onto financial records for a period of time.
But there can come a point at which our items begin to take over our space. There are some great sites and posts that speak to “uncluttering” our surroundings. The amount of clutter necessary may vary from person to person, from situation to situation. Sometimes we need assistance with decreasing clutter. One site that has ideas is Uncluttered.
As a caregiver, we need to be sure our environment supports us in maintaining a healthy attitude. For someone requiring the care, clutter can become a safety issue.It can be a difficult process for them. Search the web the resources to assist with your specific needs.
What am I carrying around in my psychological suitcase that I don’t need? How can I unpack the items in my mind that no longer serve me?
This may be a more challenging part of the exercise, As a caregiver, our emotional baggage and past experiences may prompt us to respond in less than positive or helpful manner. For a person requiring care, the same is true.
There are many memories that help us and those that negatively impact our response to events. Being aware is an important first step.
Now that we acknowledge the memories and emotions, we need to decide what to do with them. If you or the one you care for are burdened with emotional baggage, please seek professional assistance from a religious leaders, counselors, therapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists. These people can help explore ways I off load items that no longer serve you.
Our emotional well-being deserves our attention and time. Packing and packaging our life can sometimes assist us in this process. And, a little help from time to time can make all the difference.
In my next post, I’ll address the following three questions:
- What special issues (if any) do caregivers carry?
- How might these affect the care they provide?
- How can I assist others to do the same unpacking in my work?
Hi JoAnn –
I like your take on uncluttering life…in both the physical and emotional sense!
I love when my attic and basement are uncluttered as well as the entire house…it feels easier to breathe!
There are some who believe clearing physical clutter from your life creates space for new things to enter your life.
I’ve always found the connection between physical and emotional baggage to be interesting. One example is how people deal with a loved one’s physical stuff after that person has died – everything ranging from the medical equipment they used in their last months to their keepsakes from decades before. So much of our identity is tied into physical things. Fascinating to think how decluttering in the physical world helps with emotional baggage, too.
I also find it interesting that some people view the memory as residing in an object. They believe to give away the object (whether it is useful to them or not) is giving away the memory. I sort of straddle both worlds. There are some objects that make me smile with the memories of the former owner or of the person who gave it to me. Yet, I do work to limit the objects in my life.
JoAnn,
Thanks a lot for this post. You challenged my thinking and gave me a window into your own life as well. What a gift.
After helping to clean out the home of a relative who was (diagnostically) a hoarder, I have noticed that I am highly motivated to let go of stuff. I love putting a big pile of donation materials out on the curb. With growing kids, we nearly always have out-grown things to share. And when I let their stuff go, I challenge myself to let go of other stuff as well.
Warmly,
Ann
Once we get a look at the challenges of assisting a hoarder, it does change your outlook on letting go of things. Keeping up with childhood items and determining what to keep and what to release is a different set of challenges. Will the younger child need this item? Will we need it for a future school project?
Thank you for visiting and commenting once again, Ann.
nice info, great posting
Thank you.
Dear JoAnn,
Thanks for this challenging post. I’ll have to give it some thought. I know that our house of 25 years is getting pretty full in the attic and the basement. The idea of just one suitcase is a really good exercise. It reminds me of the painful exercise of moving my mother and then my mother-in-law into nursing homes. We had to think with them about what they needed there to feel like themselves, knowing that they could have so little. For my mother the English lit text she taught from, her Bible, and a hymnal were really important.
Thanks for the post.
Carolyn
It is a challenge, Carolyn. I haven’t dealt with it much since moving away from Florida. Unfortunately you con’t prep the same for tornadoes as you can for hurricanes. We all have some can’t imagine being without items just like your mom. That kind of knowledge can be helpful in a move to any senior living community (or other life transition)’