I waited too long to clear out our attic.
At 54, I could have gone up those pull-down stairs on a Saturday and carried boxes down all by myself. I didn’t think about it once. I was busy, and the attic door was shut.
Now I’m 64. I’ve got a new knee and a bad back, and I don’t go up there anymore.
When we finally cleared that attic, my grandson did the climbing. I sat on a kitchen chair at the bottom and pointed.
We got it done, and I’m grateful. But I think a lot about the woman I was at 54. It would have been so easy for her.
So this is what I wish I’d decluttered ten years sooner. If you’re younger than I am, I hope it saves your knees. If you’re older, please keep reading, because I saved a part just for you.
I Was Busy Clearing the Wrong House
In my 50s, I had plenty of opinions about clutter. They were all about my mother’s house.
One Saturday, I drove over with a box of garbage bags and started on her kitchen cabinets. “Mom, you don’t need all of these,” I said, holding up her old mixing bowls.
Then I drove home to a basement full of boxes and an attic I hadn’t looked