Commandment #5 – Be Extravagant

This is my favorite commandment! Here’s why: when you are downsizing, you are getting rid of most of your stuff. Right? Therefore, this is your opportunity, your golden moment, to keep only the best, the ‘stuff” that you love the most! There should be no more “I’ll save this for a special occasion”. You have now reached your own personal “special occasion” and there should be no holding back. I am now drinking my water, milk, juice, whatever, out of my long cherished Waterford crystal glasses that were wedding presents. I am using – every day- my grandmother’s porcelain dishes. I am sleeping on linen sheets that are older than I am! I am using the sterling silver that I hoarded for years. You know what? It feels good. I think my grandmother, my mother and all those people who gave me these treasures would be thrilled to know that finally I am using and appreciating. Plus, my own children and grandchildren are seeing these lovely heirlooms honored and appreciated, so they in turn will do the same.

Keeping this goal in mind, of being “elegant”, helps with some of the tough decisions you have to make when you undertake the serious and difficult task of downsizing. Keep only the best and most beloved of what you have. It doesn’t have to be valuable to anyone else but you. This is your time, your moment, to create a new environment for yourself. As I said, my favorite commandment and I hope it will inspire you.