This week, I have been helping my daughter move into her very first house – and it’s been an eye-opening experience. Putting aside the aches and pains (and I wish I could!), it was a reminder of just how little ‘stuff’ younger people have in their 20s.
Yes, they have clothes and tech and seemingly endless shoes (or is that just my girl?) but they haven’t had the life experiences yet to accumulate lots of items that are deeply associated with key moments in their lives or simply items they no longer use.
Having moved relatively recently myself, I know how many boxes we have taken that contained stuff that, frankly, hadn’t been used in years but we just could not bear to part with. From my old toy cars and magic sets to the photos that don’t quite fit in the new house, these items are full to the brim with memories, if somewhat lacking in the usefulness department.
A house packed to the rafters is, as one of my age 59+ friends admits, a sign of laziness on their part. Despite regular clear-outs, stuff rarely makes it off the premises, instead accumulating in the shed and garage for sorting into sell, store or recycle (aka the dump).
It’s a habit that has been bred in. Back in her own 20-something days, she too equipped her first flat with cost-saving hand-me-downs, from a 1950s G-plan sideboard to cut-down curtains, (one set of which had already had a second life as decorators’ drop sheets!)
However, her parents continued to try and give her stuff throughout her life, keeping almost everything in case “the children wanted them”, even though the “children” were now in the 40s and certainly didn’t want any more curtains, (not even for drop sheets).
So, she now has a garage full of her own stuff, plus assorted items of ‘inherited’ stuff. (Trust me, when she reads this, she’ll be booking a local recycling centre time slot pronto!)
Your home may be very similar, and it can seem daunting. One of the challenges of retirement is the sheer amount of stuff most people suddenly realise they don’t need anymore, because it’s to do with who they used to be, not who they are now.
- If you have skis in your garage, but now prefer to snorkel in Caribbean waters, why keep the snow gear?
- If your retirement will never involve wearing a suit more than once a month, why keep five in the wardrobe?
- How many sealed cardboard boxes have you got in your loft, neatly labelled but not opened in years, whose actual contents are a mystery?
More importantly, what do their contents actually mean to you now? My 59+ friend recently unearthed her original briefcase she bought for her first job, carefully packed into a box despite the fact that she always hated it and ditched it for a backpack asap.
Retirement should be about moving forward, doing new things, making space for new experiences, new memories and (yes) new stuff. Clearing out the old hobby for a new one is fine. Indeed, selling the kit and kaboodle from the old hobby could help fund the new one anyway. One person’s former hobby will inevitably be another’s new interest.
However, a word (or two) of caution from the world of science. Sophie Scott, cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, agrees that tidying up acts as a reward, which increases the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, aka the “pleasure chemical” in the brain. But don’t over-do it.
“The way that’s guaranteed to make us unhappy is to set a goal you can’t reach – like decluttering your house in a day. You’re setting yourself up to fail and you will feel worse.”
What’s more:
“One study by researchers at the University of Minnesota found a messy environment can make us more creative, whereas orderly surroundings make us more likely to conform to traditional expectations.”
So it’s really up to you. Just bear in mind that whatever your home looks like on the day of your retirement, you have around 30 years to tidy, clean, reorder and collect new things, new memories, new dopamine hits. There’s no rush, but there’s also no reason not to make a start either.
Personally, I love a tidy desk, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. After all, as Einstein himself said:
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
I’ll leave you to decide!
If you’d like help planning the ‘stuff’ for your retirement that doesn’t involve spreadsheets and finances, I’m here to help. As an experienced retirement coach, I help retirees and those getting ready to retire to plan for all aspects of retirement, to ensure their retirement is purposeful, enjoyable and sustainable. For more details, just get in contact.
Oh, and if you need any internet cables, let me know as I have found loads in a box!
