There are things that are inevitable in life: death, taxes, menopause, birth, love and downsizing. Today, dear Budget Voguers, I mercifully will spend time on that last inevitability: My husband and I have decided to put our Dover home of 21 years on the market.
Life is a series of reverse thrift shopping these days — taking back those items I’ve scored from Wonderland and Find it on the First and Salvation Army.
It’s as if we’ve simply rented stuff over the past decades — using dishes and chairs that now I will return, as quite often there is lots of life left in them, and perhaps some money to be made for the causes thrift shops so beautifully support — people clothed and helped, children kept warm, safe, housed, fed.
And, honestly, I’ve found joy in the returns, the letting go. Just last week I put an armoire we’d purchased in the Netherlands on the “Buy Nothing Dover” page on Facebook Marketplace. A woman of Dutch descent was thrilled with the find, sharing she’d never owned anything from Holland. And, now, well, she does.
My friend, Mary, will be the recipient of the Parisien sink I have used for decades as a planter. It seems only right, as it was Mary I was visiting in the ‘90s when I found the sink on the side of the road in Paris. She’s thrilled. I’m ready.
It’s good to let go, to celebrate items that have served their purpose, that have brought joy. I take pictures, I write, I have memories. I do not need the stuff as reminders;I have joy and friends who will fill that void in quite nicely.
My husband and children and I will be moving into a townhouse. It’s lovely and it’s close by. We’ll rent for a bit and see where we land. The liberation is palpable. And, sure, there is loss, there is sorrow, but more than that, there is freedom. We are ready. My girls are in college, one is graduating and heading to New York city for her job; she simply wants her books and desk. We have that.
So, dear Budget Voguers --need a hand with your downsizing? Advice? A push? Do reach out. For us, it’s been a gift to let go, to downsize, to move on. And while I do love my stuff, my collections, I love my freedom more.
Be well, Budget Voguers, and let me know if you need anything. I probably have three.
Susan Dromey Heeter writes and teaches on the Seacoast. Contact her at dromeheet@comcast.net.
