Suzanne Allbee, CEO of Bee Organized Seattle, talks about a harsh reality: Your kids don't want your stuff. The idea of sorting possessions can be overwhelming, but there's a better way than piling everything into a storage locker. Bee Organized offers a short quiz that helps them understand how you relate to your stuff. This helps them understand you, so they can help you focus on how to celebrate what's special, while letting everything else go. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Suzanne Allbee says, "Your kids don't want your stuff. They don't, it's the truth. That generation lives very differently, very much more minimalistic. They don't want the same things. However, there is a case for wanting to maintain a memory. My mother, my grandmother, and my aunt quilt. There's probably 100 quilts in our family. Do I need to save every one? No, but I can choose one or two to save and actually use, or showcase in some way, in my home, celebrate those special things. But you've just got to let go. It lifts a burden."

Suzanne adds, "So many seniors think of downsizing as moving into a senior facility, or some other environment that isn't their home, but you can downsize in your own space. You can declutter and downsize and end up in a home that works for your needs, your new needs, perhaps, and also your lifestyle."

Regarding the biggest challenges with seniors as a whole, Suzanne says, "It's a daunting task, especially if you have been in your home for 10, 20, 30, sometimes 50 years. The idea of going through your things is overwhelming. We get that. There's a sense of not wanting to burdening family or friends. It's the pride factor."

"I don't know if I call it pet peeve, but it hurts my heart to think about the thousands and thousands of dollars that are being spent on storage lockers. People don't even know what's inside them. You know, it is one of the largest growing industries, that storage locker component, because the Baby Boomers are aging. What do I do with my stuff? I'm just gonna put it in here and deal with it later, and then later never comes. It becomes the problem of a family or friend."

How does Bee Organize help people help decide what to save? Suzanne says, "Everyone is different. But we do have one tool called our organizing profiles, that we use quite often. It's a short quiz on our website that basically helps us identify how people relate to their stuff. They're holding on to something. Are you holding onto it for a reason, or maybe because you paid a lot of money for it, you can't rationalize getting rid of it, or maybe you're holding on to something just in case you might need it someday. So once we kind of have a better idea of why you're holding on to your things, we can help you go through those things, and we are really wanting to celebrate what's special and let everything else go."

Answers for Elders listeners get a free consultation and $100 off their first session with Bee Organized.

Learn more
* Bee Organized locations: https://beeorganized.com/about-the-company/
* Bee Organized: https://beeorganized.com/
* Suzanne Allbee: https://beeorganized.com/our_team/suzanne-allbee/
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Bee Organized at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/bee-organized/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
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