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YOU HAVE
ALWAYS
RELIED ON
EACH OTHER
... NOW
YOU CAN
RELY ON US.
For my readers old enough to
remember the
THE GRADUATE
starring Dustin Hoffman and
Anne Bancroft, you will recog-
nize that line as a pivotal one in
the film. Dustin is the graduate
attending a graduation party
where older guests are offering
advice to any young guest who
will listen. With all of the brava-
do in the world, one tells him
the word of the future is
PLASTICS,
and who amongst us
would argue that plastic is a way
of life for all of us?
The
PLASTICS
to which I am
referring, however, is in the form
of big black plastic bags, and as
a senior, you will learn there is
nothing as valuable! And that is
because of two other important
words: downsizing and moving.
Downsizing requires large
trash bags, and more large trash
bags. Not only are they sturdy
and quite safe for hauling the
trash out of your home, they are
opaque, so once an item is
thrown into the bags, they are
“out of sight” so we don’t feel
morose about their disposal. We
all know the feeling of being
overwhelmed by items we have
collected over the years, and if
they have special meaning to us,
they feel too valuable to discard.
But in reality, since most of us
will be living in smaller space,
we need to “right size” with
fewer possessions. We talk with
our families hoping they will
want these possessions, but
the younger generation doesn’t
seem so inclined. Their desire,
most often, is to have more elec-
tronics and less of what we truly
valued. So we are faced with the
need to discard...thank good-
ness for those big black or green
trash bags!
The bags are invaluable for
packing, as well! Fill them with
towels, bedding, clothing not on
hangers and you have made
impact on your moveable items.
Throw them into your car and
you will be able to get a head
start on unpacking in your new
home. If things need pressing
after removing from the bags,
throw them into your dryer with
a few ice cubes and put on low.
Take them out after you no
longer hear the ice cubes bounc-
ing around and let them hang
for a few minutes. The wrinkles
should disappear. By the way,
that is my tried and true method
to refresh my clothing when
necessary.
For other tips and assistance,
call me at
SENIOR ASSISTANTS
at 908-883-0469, or write me
a
t ellynmantell@aol.com.
C
arol
and I would love to help!
I HAVE ONE WORD FOR YOU...
PLASTICS!
By: Ellyn Mantell
PAGE 38
Spotlight on
“SeniorS”
www.theconnectionsnj.com