BY ELLEN BALDAUF LYONS
Earlier this summer, while still living in Seattle, I spent my time sorting and packing boxes from my home where I lived for 22+ years. My new home in El Centenario was nearing completion and my old house was going on the market so sorting, divesting my stuff and packing were how I spent most of my time back in the USA. On the eve of my mother’s late passing on July 27, I found myself very grateful for the beautiful items that surrounded and inspired me as an artist. Paintings, some very old 19th century China, a plethora of silver and many beautiful art books that she and my father owned and those of my late grandparents as well. Chagall, Picasso, Monet, books on bookbinding, architecture, literature, Greek mythology, ceramics, and Mexican art, a literal smorgasbord that has delighted, entertained and educated my husband and me for decades.
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Yet, it came time to say goodbye. Goodbye to things but not goodbye to the memories. Those I of course carry with me. As I am aging, I find that I do not need or want so much stuff. What I engaged in this summer and several years before this move southward, is what the Swedish call Döstädning or Death Cleaning. The point is to declutter one’s stuff so that your kids or heirs do not have to because let’s be real here, it really sucks!
Speaking from experience, in 1997, I spent six months divesting my late mother’s house upon her passing. I didn’t finish because 1) as an only child, I had very few people who could realistically help and share the workload and 2) I reached a saturation point where blowing up the house and all of its contents was a very attractive alternative. Instead, I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and put stuff in storage.
For those of you reading this piece who are considering a move southward in the 50+ age range, let me give you some quick unsolicited advice. Disquisition now! You will be saving your heirs a lot of time and work and they will go into the future with better memories than the memory of wanting to learn bomb-making to detonate your house. If you’re still in your 30s or 40s working as a digital nomad or in another profession that would allow you to move southward or just visiting on vacation and you’ve picked up this copy of Gringo Gazette, keep sorting, cleaning and donating as you pass through the decades of your life. Do not wait for the garage to become unusable for its intended purpose, parking a car or two or having a functional studio/workspace. Your heirs will thank you. ,
