KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

silvasava

Woohoo! Message from my wood ash lady that she wants the mattress and will be collecting it tomorrow - result!!

PollyWollyDoodle

Just goes to show - we remember the good times and forget the hard slog!

Helping my friend to clear her dad's house, we unearthed a food processor in the kitchen. It isn't new, in fact it's so old I can't find a manual online, but it's never been used and is a good deal younger than my 30-year old processor which I now have to hold down, as the lid is broken.

So I'm saying goodbye - with some nostalgia - to the old one which was a wedding present (lasted a lot longer than the marriage!). It's served me well. If this one lasts as long, it'll see me out! :rotfl:

smeeth

Condolences to you LessonLearned.

Quick note on funeral payments: my Mum died 6 years ago now, the CO*P handled her funeral and required 50% of the total amount before the funeral date, then the rest had to be paid within 2 months. Luckily we were able to get help from the govt with this, but if not we simply wouldn't have been able to pay.

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

I dropped into the pal's [STRIKE]junk sho[/STRIKE] err, mustn't call it that, hovers IRL somewhere between low antiques and collectables, really, as I came in from work.

He asked me what had gone? I scanned the many hundreds of things on the surfaces, in the cabinets, and on the walls, then correctly spotted the absence of The Thing.

I shall call it The Thing because it's rather unique and identifiable. I found it loitering in the back room of the shop a few months ago and dragged it out front. Pal had forgotten it even existed and resisted my attempts to put it on display. But I am a nag when I've got a bee in my bonnet.

It kept being shuffled from where I'd left it to other places, behind things and under things, even though it was (imo) an interesting and saleable object. I was told it'd never sell, therefore there was no point in even trying. I retorted that it certainly wouldn't sell if it couldn't be seen and I left it on Saturday morning, slap-bang in the middle of the biggest display cabinet.

:T And, my lovelies, it went today for £150. Yay!!! Won't sell my arris, I should be on commission, lol.

I don't know if the pre-paid funeral plan acts as a hedge against inflation but I can tell you that Aunt arranged identical funerals exactly two years apart to the week, for Uncle and for Nan, with the same funeral director. And Nan's cost several hundred pounds more. After Uncle's passing, Aunt arranged a pre-paid plan so her son and dil wouldn't have to stretch their scarce resources to pay for it when her time comes.

silvasava

When my Mum died I paid for her funeral ( only child) The bank person told me off as she said they should have paid for it on presentation of the invoice and copy of death cert. I didn't know and I had the wherewithal and I was sole beneficiary so didn't see a problem!. DH & I have an ISA each to pay for funeral expenses. Just had a convo with him and asked if he would make me a coffin - I'd also use it as a blanket box in the meanwhile. I don't want any pomp or circumstance and my ashes are to be scattered at a local beauty spot under 1200 year old yew trees - they'll probably appreciate a bit of potash! I'd rather my family and friends had a party.
I do think pre-paid plans are a good idea as they do take a lot of the stress out of a very emotional situation for families

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh bumblebeany I love the idea of buying your coffin and using it upfront! We should really all be doing that, in true KM style. The woven ones are lovely, or you can get gorgeous cardboard ones with photographs on, you can even do your own design.

In some ways, yes these plans are a hedge against inflation as they usually cover specific items (charges, hearse, limousine etc) rather than a figure - the plan provider gets the interest from your dosh over the years to balance it out. They certainly ease things for those left behind, the other thing which is a huge help (and not usually included in these plans) is to leave some idea of the sort of send-off you want and the music you'd like played.

At a time when everyone is in shock and distress and trying to deal with the mountains of paperwork that ensue, choosing music and planning a service is sometimes just too much. It's not unusual to hear 'I have no idea - you choose' and 'well, we found this CD in his stereo so we assume he liked it' because people just can't choose. (I work in the funeral industry, in case you hadn't guessed!).

GreyQueen

When Nan died, Aunt had started to arrange the funeral, selecting readings and hymns, when we found a tin in the pantry with her hand-written notes of choices for both categories.

Aunt had guessed correctly all bar one reading, and that was easy enough to change.

I've been looking at green burial costs and there is an option to do that at the local cemetary here. Does anyone know whether pre-paid plans typically include internment costs, or would I need to do my own research? I'm seriously-tempted to hedge by buying ahead, don't want to leave my nearest and dearest, almost certain to be my brother, with a big bill.

I've hopefully got another 2-3 decades of life left, but you never know, and I think it's helpful to consider these things ahead of time. My family know I've always been very anti religion, so they wouldn't think of godding me, post-mortem. Not unless they want a haunting, of course.:rotfl:

I've seen wickerwork coffins before, and they're very nice. Spoke to a basketmaker who makes them and the waiting list is several weeks. She told me that some folks are buying their own ahead of time and using them as furniture meanwhile, so there's nothing novel about that.

I'd be tempted, as I love basketry with a passion, but there is absolutely nowhere here to put one. Make an interesting talking point, though, wouldn't it?

One thing which might be useful to include with your preparations is a list of people you'd like to be informed of your passing, including their addresses, if known.

greenbee

My dad dictated every detail of the service to me before he died. He'd spent the last couple of weeks preparing for it, including a couple of discussions with the vicar, talking to the organist about music and asking specific people to read and give the tribute. It made MOST things much easier for us. Although it did give us some technical issues to solve

GreyQueen

:j On a lighter note, I have just had a freegler pick up a couple of items, so that's a few more bits out of the flat.

If I didn't do crafts or read, this place would be positively spartan, but I'd need to have a complete personality transplant before either of those hobbies would be willingly given up.

Pooky

My parents and DH and I have all decided on direct cremation with cardboard coffins - no service, just removal of body and taken to the crematorium when they can fit you in. We've all attended a lot of family funerals of late and they've all been so awkward, so unfitting and so ruddy forced. We all agreed that the death is the worst thing, there shouldn't then be an enforced day of stress and upset based around the crematoriums timings.

I must say it has made the thought of losing Mum and Dad easier knowing that their grief can be dealt with in a more natural way rather than forced and scripted. If that makes sense?

I appreciate though that some people need the whole regimine of the funeral and burial/cremation to make their peace/grieve/say goodbye so it's a good job there are so many options open to us.