Upsizing, Downsizing, Who Cares about Sizing

The Old Baguette began her adult life with a roommate in a small apartment.  They didn't need or want a lot of stuff, so their possessions were few.  If they couldn't store it, they didn't buy it.  Then, they grew older and began acquiring stuff::  husbands, children, and things they wanted whether they needed them or not.  If they couldn't store it, they bought it anyway.  That was their first mistake. They "solved" the storage problem by moving into bigger apartments or bigger houses.   They grew attached to their stuff.  That was their second mistake, and it was a biggie.

Then, one by one the kids moved out, leaving their stuff behind.  Did they have room for it in their small apartments?  Of course not.  Don't be silly. Sometimes the husbands moved out, too, for a different wife or a different life.  (Less frequently the wives took off for greener pastures, and the husbands were left with the stuff.)  Those big homes were no longer a joy.  They were expensive burdens.   Just think of having all that  stuff to dust, all those flights of stairs to climb,  those expanses of lawns to mow.   When the Old Baguettes or Crusty Rolls got knee  replacements, the time for upsizing abruptly ended., and the time for downsizing  began.  The time had come to move into smaller digs.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         it   For those of you still too young to know the word, downsizing, here's a quick definition.  Downsizing means getting rid of unnecessary stuff.  Sounds simple, but it isn't.  Remember that second mistake?   Over the years, the Old Baguettes and even the Crusty Rolls had grown attached to all their  stuff.  They lost the ability to differentiate between the stuff they need and the stuff they want, so they don't know what to keep and what to toss.  The children are no help.  They don't want anything.  The result?   The process of downsizing turns into something like this:  "Oh, I don't want to junk this meaningful piece of junk.  I'll take it with me and find a place to put it later."  Ha!  There is no place to put it later or ever.  Is there a solution to this problem?

There is.  The residents of  some buildings for seniors like to go on outings together.  They have bazaars to raise money for transportation to and from restaurants,  theaters, gambling casinos.  And what do they sell at these Bazaars?  They sell the stuff they don't want or need.  In time they find a place for their stuff in the apartments of other people as long as they resist the temptation to shop.  Old Baguettes, Crusty Rolls, take warning.                                                                                                                                

Note:  No definition for upsizing exists because the Old Baguette made up the word.