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As night fell, I realize how exhausted I was. Do you know what my family and I spent the last week doing? Packing, boxing, schlepping, unpacking and unboxing, more schlepping. Stuff. Just lots of stuff. We are downsizing and as we move from a larger home to a smaller one, we are going through all of our stuff.
At Lehman’s we stand for a Simpler Life. As a long-time employee and member of the Lehman family (founder Jay Lehman is my father), the phrase “For a Simpler Life” really resonated with me as we prepared for The Big Move.
What does it mean to live a simpler life? It means living a life that is satisfying, understandable, sustainable and comforting. And for me, it meant downsizing. However, you don’t have to wait until you move into a smaller home to simplify your life.
I discovered that if I don’t USE IT (unlike the cast iron skillet we use for breakfast every Saturday morning; the mixing bowls that are essential for baking; the Feuerhand lanterns that lights the path to our house; the Gransfors Bruk outdoor axe that my husband, Scott, uses to chop firewood for our wood burning stove – you get the idea) or LOVE IT (my children’s artwork; the stoneware pitcher that looks so cute filled with daffodils; my mother’s wedding dress) then it’s time to pitch it.
Scott says “when it doubt, throw it out,” but I like to temper that phrase a bit. Many items we have purchased over the years yield not only a practical use, but contain memories. The stainless steel picnic trays bring back fond memories or meals out on the deck or at the park, for example.
Buying practical products that last a lifetime are critical to simplification. When I see how many junky plastic toys we have purchase over the years, I am embarrassed. In contrast, I look at the child’s rocker my father gave my son on his first birthday, almost 20 years ago. It still rocks. Literally.
Many of the tools my husband has purchased from Lehman’s over the years, are still in perfect working order. As he says, “The right tools make all the difference.” He has cleared brush with his machete, swept countless porches, decks, sidewalk and garages with his broom, and carried many logs into our home with the log tote.
How large your home, whether it’s 600 square feet or 3,000 square feet doesn’t matter. What matters, for a simpler life, is to fill that home with family and friends and the items that you love or use – items that help enrich your life, not weigh you down.
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