How much to live on

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

If something has bought enjoyment or helps one to recall happy times the money has not been wasted. 

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with having stuff.

Furniture, objects, photographs and documents can provide a wonderful timeline of your life, family events and friendships. 

For example, I have hundreds and hundreds of letters and postcards people have sent me for the last 50 years or so! They do not take up that much space. 

A few weeks ago my mother and I had a great time re- reading the letters that she sent to me when I was at University in the 1970s ! 

Another collection I have is of letters my grandmother received from my grandfather from the battlefields in the Second World War. He was killed in action in 1943. I found them in a box when my grandmother died aged 102 in 2017. I have now carefully protected them in files and plastic covers. The younger members of the family have found them fascinating.

I also have all my A Level notes and University files, complete with my final examination papers lol! They stimulate many memories!

I am not a hoarder, but have kept things pertaining to the family history and my life story.

helensbiggestfan

I don't regard memorabilia as clutter either.   Despite my "purge" I will definitely be keeping sentimental items and those which have meaning and history. I have a wonderful collection of cards and letters from my late husband and my children. I wouldn't part with them for the world. And now my grandchildren are adding to my collection. I do have far too many photos though and I shall be carefully curating these over the winter.  Save some of them digitally and some in nice new albums. And of course I won't be parting with jewellery, or any of my prized treasures.  

When my sons were 21 I bought each of them a beautiful leather photo album and created them a sort of "This is your Life"/"Who Do You Think You Are" with photos and bits and pieces going back three or four generations. Great, great grandparents down to their own childhoods, right up to their own early adulthood, leaving space in each album for them to add to their own story - their own wives and children etc so they could keep the story going.  They were thrilled and a lot of their friends were fascinated, asking their own parents if they would do the same.  

Same with things like my fathers, and father in laws medals, citations, service records  etc. Funnily enough I was only discussing this with my DIL yesterday.  I only have one sister and her daughter will not be having children so we will eventually be passing all the military stuff to my grandsons.  My family has had members serving in the military back as far as the Boer War. Whilst I don't really want my grandsons to follow in their ancestors footsteps and join the military I think they might one day be happy to be guardians of the history.  

The YMCA picked up some unwanted furniture today. The men were very nice and helpful however, unfortunately one of them absolutely stank.  I kid you not, the smell made me gag.  Lol.   I had to fling open the windows and spray perfume.  Hey ho.  The excess furniture is gone and I can now create a proper guest room instead of a furniture repository.  

DIL bought two bags of shoes round yesterday asking me to drop them off at the chazzer for her.  I think she's caught the decluttering bug too.  They are now at the stage where they are offloading baby equipment. She will try to sell some of it.  She did mention selling her wedding dresses.  Yes, plural, my son and DIL had two full blown weddings, as well as a registry office ceremony.  One was a formal catholic wedding in Spain and the other a more relaxed "wedding celebration" here in the U.K. so of course she wanted two wedding dresses.  Lol. 

They are beautiful designer gowns,  very expensive.  She asked my advice. I said that unless they were desperate for the money she should keep them (at least for now) because she might  come to regret selling them.  They have been professionally cleaned and stored in acid  free tissue paper and boxed away.  As you know I was a bit of fashionista in my day.  Ha ha and I do regretted parting with some of my clothing, some of it would now be museum quality, all that 60s mod gear, 😂. but sadly you can't keep it all.  I don't have that kind of space. Unfortunately I don't live  in Downton Abbey or Chatsworth........

Speaking of Downton Abbey.  I have recently rewatched it all and I was tickled pink to notice that they were using the exact same china dinner service that I have......I must be posher than I thought.  Ha ha. No silver cutlery though, just boring stainless steel.  Although I did use my silver napkin rings yesterday. I decided my grandsons are now too old for children's plastic crockery .....time to introduce them to "fine  dining" table settings, even if they are still at the pizza and fish finger level. We adults chowed down on what my DIL calls Grandmas Lava Chicken. She requested it.  

I think I am ready to start travelling again so I need to think about opening a couple of those regular accounts which pay more interest especially now savings rates are falling.  Did my monthly round up for end of August, looking pretty good.. October will be a heavy month, car tax and insurance, so a frugal September is on the cards, although I do want to restock the garden with some trees and shrubs. 

And then of course it will be Christmas before we know it.  I donated my large 7'6"Christmas tree to the YMCA today, just too big for this house, not so much the height but the spread, so will need to splash for a slimline version this year.  

There's always something isn't there......