Sentimental Paperwork
I am a sentimental person. I binge watch television shows, and never watch the finale because I don’t want the series to end. If you come to my house and leave “garbage” it might end up displayed on my bookshelf as a memento of the time we spent together.
And, yet, by many standards I am a minimalist. Often sentimentality is the nemesis of minimalism. But I have found some strategies for letting my sentimentality and my minimalism co-exist.
Last week, I went through my papers. For the most part, the minimalist in me won. I got rid of a lot of papers. But then I ran into this.
It is the cremation bill for my dog Egypt who passed in 2021.
Damn.
I lost it. It like almost took my breath away.
And it occurred to me why paperwork is so hard. On the surface, paperwork is just papers. But some of these papers tell the stories of our lives. They tell the stories of who we are, what we love, and, in this case, who we’ve lost.
The sentimental person in me wanted so bad to keep this paper. It was the last paper I ever filled out about her. It represents the last time I ever saw her alive.
One of my strategies for keeping all the sentimental papers and such at bay is to create space in my home for those memories. When Egypt passed they took an imprint of her paw for me to keep. I have that displayed. I also actually have her ashes next to my bed. The idea was to spread them at the park she loved, but I can’t bring myself to do that yet.
So, when I ran into this paper, I held on to it for an extra long time, but ultimately, I knew I’d made space in my home for her memory in other ways. And, so, I was able to let this paper go knowing that I properly honored her and her memory in my life.
Managing paperwork can seem like an easy task. On top of that, it can be easy for us to beat ourselves up over not completing an “easy” task. But, as my emotional full stop with this paper shows, for some of us, paperwork holds memories and sentiment that matter.
You don’t have to go at this potentially triggering task alone. Click here to sign up for updates about my up coming Paperwork Management course. We can support each other through this process.
