If you inherited a home here in the Pittsburgh area and are in the process of organizing and making it your own, consider these ideas:
Just as we update our computer software, we need to organize and update our mental, emotional, and “social” software…
Once upon a time, people didn’t use the
living room. Do you remember that time? It was all covered in plastic sheets to protect the furniture. Well, that strategy is still happening – and not just here in the Pittsburgh area. Some of us, especially in certain age categories, are still prone to what’s called “depression era mentality.” We don’t use something because we’re saving it for a special occasion.
This happens both literally and also metaphorically. By metaphorically, I mean, we don’t use things as they are intended. We save them for some future time. (Or we go to the opposite extreme and use everything now without regard for the future.)
It’s all fine – there’s just some balance and rethinking that needs to occur to keep updated in our lives.
If you inherited a home and are still using it as your parents did (plastic covered living room, for example), think about the impact that has on visitors – who are taken past the nice living room to be entertained in the family room. They feel second best, not good enough, not worthy, like second-class citizens, in fact!
It’s the old “ham in the pan” story. Ever hear that one? It’s about the fellow who always cuts off the ends of the ham before baking it. One day his mother comes to visit and sees him doing this and asks why. He replies because that’s the way he saw her do it. And she says, “I did that to make it fit into the pan!”
See you next month with the conclusion of Reorganize – to Make Your Parent’s Home Your Own.