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POSTED: Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009

Downsizing minimizes home-maintenance headaches for sewing buff

Name: Joan Corliss Collyer

Age: 79

Hometown: Bellingham

Previous home: "I had lived on San Juan Island for 38 years. I lived on the northeast side of San Juan Island, about two miles from Roche Harbor. My (second) husband, Bob, had built the house on the beach, on a lovely lot. It was a nice, modest home on the water. We had six good years together. I was 67 years old when I moved in (in 1997), so my cooking and cleaning there were just the basics. "Bob was a gardener and he took care of the outside, and I took care of the inside."

Making the transition: "I had already given up most of my stuff to my kids after my first move (to Bob's house), although I did move in my sewing supplies and I have a big collection of fabrics. Bob passed away in 2003 and I moved into the Leopold in June 2006. I fell in love with (The Leopold Retirement Residence) because it's like living in a big mansion."

Family involvement: "I have seven children and I was surrounded by all of them during the process. My baby is 38 years old and my oldest is 57. They moved me. We did not hire a moving van. The kids helped clean and pack and the grandkids helped carry the heavy stuff."

Living in a small space: "I live in an apartment with one big room and a kitchen in a little alcove. It used to be two little hotel rooms. I have a small bedroom, but I have shelves to keep things organized on, like pictures of my grandchildren and my sewing supplies, and I have a little table where I sew."

A life of quilting: "I started sewing when I was in the sixth grade. My grandma was a quilter and made beautiful things. I still have one of her blankets made out of neck ties. I've made lots of quilts for my grandchildren and I made wedding dresses for two daughters and one granddaughter. I have arthritis in my fingers and I can't hang on to a needle and thread for that long, so now I top stitch with a machine."

Biggest home maintenance challenge: "I just have to keep organized. That is my biggest maintenance problem - not bringing new stuff into my home."

Smaller world: "When I do get new things, I get tiny little comfort things, like comfort foods and plants. In my travels I have col-lected little trinkets. And also DVDs, because those are things I can pass on. I have seven children, and there is always someone who wants something."

Other challenges: "I struggle with losing my energy. I can do a little bit of house work, but then I flop down on the couch to watch TV. Another maintenance battle is that I have no place to air out my clothes. I don't want to put them back in the closet. I used to always have a laundry room where I could hang things and let them air out before I wore them again. I don't believe in washing clothes again every time I wear them."

Staying on task: "Now I'm working on sorting things out and getting rid of stuff. The biggest job is to keep contents of my home down to a minimum. I have to decide, 'Why am I keeping this?' I have to constantly be working on minimizing my possessions."

Extra help: At The Leopold, "they come in and vacuum and dust once a week and I haven't once cleaned a toilet since I've been here. I go down to the dining room for lunch and dinner."

Major project: "I had about 12 picture albums, because I'm a picture person. I took them apart and I got rid of all the pictures that were of absolutely no interest to me or my children. I have only kept the pictures that will interest my children or grandchildren. Now I store them in one book only about an inch thick."

Treasures she couldn't part with: "All my videos, like the Shirley Temple and Winnie the Pooh sets, and all my books and dolls. And I have stacks of quilting books because I like to sew."

Hobbies she has more time for now: "My favorite thing is eating out in restaurants. I like to be waited on. Also, my son and his two kids and significant other and I just spent the month of December in Hawaii."

What she misses about home maintenance? "Nothing. The less space I have the less I have to keep organized. "I do miss when the whole family gets together and I don't have a big place to host them anymore. Sometimes I look at these big old beautiful houses and think, 'Oh how nice.' But I wouldn't want to clean them."

Heidi Schiller is a Seattle freelance writer and journalism graduate of Western Washington University.