Insurance Review

If I’m not talking about cleaning, reviewing, organizing and the like, I am thinking about it.  Several weeks ago we received a call from the insurance agent who bought the company from our agent of many years.  He is on a quest to visit all of the clients and to review their coverages.  Lucky for us, he paid us a visit and we were able to delete a few line items, add a few and at the end, we are saving some money and we have greater auto and home coverage. 

One of his stories interested me. Chester is now 80 and has not reviewed his car insurance policy  for 15 years.  When he sat down with the young agent, Chester realized he had been paying for milage that he did not need.  Chester only drives to the grocery story, the doctor and to church.  He no longer drives miles to call on customers.    And Chester's car is the same 2002 car he had when he  talked with his insurance agent in 2002.  Then he needed collision, now, not so much.    As a result of the discussion,  Chester is saving money.

He also suggested that we take photos of each room of the house with particular attention to any item that may be of value so that there could be some record, however accurate it might be, in the event of a fire, flood or theft.  Such a good idea. 

Turning thoughts into action – the most difficult behavior change- is now on my list.  I scheduled a time to use a camera, then upload them to a site and get prints made.  These prints will go into my fireproof safe.  I can also put them on a thumb drive and put that in the safe but in 10 years, the current drives may not be able to be used due to new technology.

I still have to work on getting my family photos in order but his visit spurred me on to take action and create snapshots of my house and my stuff.

If anyone is interested in finding a new insurance agent in Pittsburgh, email me and I will share his contact info.  If not,  call your car/home agent and review your coverage.  You never know what you might learn.

Happy picture taking!!

Hand Me Downs

Most of us are familiar with the term “hand me down”.  For some, it denotes poverty; for others, it means adventure.  Growing up, the “term hand me down” represented both.  I felt poor because I was relying on cousins giving me clothes and at the same time, the arrival of a package from New York was an adventure.

In the early years of child rearing, I created 2 new terms: “hand me up” and “hand me over”.  The concept is simple:  a “hand me down” is an item that is given to a younger person; a” hand me up” is an item given to an older person; a “hand me over” is an item given to a contemporary.  Recently, one of my daughters did a closet purge and I am now the recipient of several “new to me” tops—the perfect “hand me up”.  When my daughters exchange clothing, the “hand me over” concept plays out.  It is rare that any of the kids want to wear my clothes and if they would, I would be happy to give them my “hand me downs.”

Why is the important?  Because cleaning closets and drawers is a necessary and freeing activity.  It goes along with being organized.  The less “stuff” we have to deal with, the easier it is to find what we want and we can share our excess with others in the community.  One of my college aged granddaughters told me about a project at their school that promotes swap days.  Girls who want to exchange clothes meet and most everyone leave with something new to them. 

The takeaway is – go clean a closet or a drawer.  Decide what to do with the items- keep, pitch, give away.  Free up the energy around you for new inputs!

Hidden Treasures

A story in a local newspaper shed light on the challenge of “stuff”.  The reporter wrote about a woman who is faced with clearing out her mother’s home.  The mom lived with her sister for over 60 years.  That’s 60 years of stuff from essentially 2 independent women.  The mom was married and had several children and subsequently multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren.   The sister in law worked as a buyer for an upscale clothing store.  Now, the daughter/niece has to determine what to do with all the items so that the house can be sold.  This is a very time consuming task. 

The article quoted several Professional Organizers.  Both said the same thing- look over the materials and select a few things to bring into your own home.  Do you really need all the love letters from World War II or will a few suffice?  How many sets of dishes do you want to bring into your own home?  If you don’t know the people in the photos, do you really need the picture?  Many of us had scrapbooks, before scrapbooking was a “thing”.  I recently looked at one of mine and realized the greeting cards I saved were meaningless and my kids wouldn’t know the senders; I put the books into the trash.  One less thing for my kids to do when I am no longer around.

There are people in the community who can use dishes, pots and pans, etc.  As responsible adults, we can make those decisions now so that our loved ones won’t be saddled with the task later.  If the children and grandchildren already have their own homes, they probably do not need another set of dishes or pots. 

Schedule a few hours each week to go through a closet, a chest, a few drawers.  Get rid of the extra stuff now by selling it, giving it away or throwing it away.  I’m not talking about being a minimalist; I am talking about freeing oneself of things/clutter/old and outdated items.

There’s lots of talk about food cleanses/ detox now.  Whether or not they work is another topic.  A “stuff” detox, however, will be very helpful to your loved ones.