# Some advice



## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

for those whose homes are filled with clutter!

I'd been living with my grandmother for nearly eight years; she died this last February, and after my mother, aunt, uncle, and other relatives got what personal belongings they wanted, it's been mostly up to me to figure out what to do with the rest of Grandma's stuff. On top of that, the house is for sale, and DD and I plan to move back to New England to be near my other two daughters after the house sells, so I'm also going through, and packing, our stuff. I'll need to go through and re-sort a second time before we actually leave, as I know I've packed some things that I shouldn't carry with me on such a long trip, especially as we'll probably have a very small house for a while.

So my advice is, to look around at your home and de-clutter now, gradually, while you have plenty of time to decide if you really need and want these things. I'm finding that a lot of what I've packed in boxes and stored in the garage (to prep the house for showing) isn't being missed one bit, and might never be. At the same time, I'm very much enjoying living in a de-cluttered house! It's so much easier to keep things clean and tidy! And it feels better! 

We were at my mother's house yesterday. She's taken home a lot of Grandma's things, as did my aunt, who lives in Alaska. My aunt's home has always been so cluttered and full of stuff and just plain untidy that I always wondered how anyone could live there. Now my mother's house is starting to look almost as bad, although she does try to stay organized and keep things clean. Someday her children (probably one of my sisters, if I make it back to New England) will have to go through *her* things the way we've been clearing out Grandma's stuff, and it's going to be a bear of a job. So do your heirs a favor, and clear things out before they have to!! 

Kathleen


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## donnam (Sep 27, 2005)

I agree completely. Someday we will have that problem with both my mom and my in-laws. I'm sorry for your loss. Good luck with your move.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Always good to hear how people deal with this issue. Our family home became so cluttered with things "taken in" as friends and relatives passed away they were all blocked from access (and one thing breaking another), yet nothing was to be taken away.

I sorted stuff by season/holiday and boxed it up nicely, Christmas absorbed a lot of heirloom personal items and "special memory" things. (A box for birthday gifts was especially enjoyed by my mother as she remembered folks from years past.) Then they can be taken out as the last box is packed up again, and the items finally enjoyed. I like having a choice of things to bring out for Christmas too, instead of always the same stuff. Makes every tree a special memory.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

You could have done like my first cousin did who had POA. 

She had everything sold at the consignment store right before my Grandma died. Even the clothes she had gotten as Christmas gifts the month before.

Grandma was buried in her VFW Ladies Auxiliary uniform. I guess they didn't want it at the consignment store.

I would have liked to given my cousin a smack down for sure. Luckily enough every gift I had given Grandma had been inscribed with either an permanent marker or electric engraver. I was glad to get them back...music box, wind chimes.

Sorry for being so venimous, but you are right. Declutter now, and save your progeny the headache and heartache.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

So much clutter is because of the feelings attached to the object. Think, are your heirs going to keep this, or let it go at an estate sale? Or throw it away? Who are you saving these memories for. Use a photo album for memories. Every now and again I do as you advised, I go through and start throwing things out. I've thrown out crummy yarn that was given to me that I'll never use, I've given away yarn that I'll never use, I've thrown out all of the cheap fabric that I'll never use. I dont' keep Christmas and birthday cards. I don't hang onto furniture that we don't use. My house is still cluttered but it is cleanable. If I died tomorrow it would be easy to sort through my clothes and box up the still good stuff for Goodwill, toss the work clothes. My knitting and spinning friends would come in and divvy up my quilting hobby and my fleece hobby. I hate the thought of people going through my "junk" and throwing it away because it really is useless junk.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

This may sound silly but this is one of the methods I have always used to "discover" if I need or even like an item and help me sort and declutter. To determine if I need something I put it away in a very inconvenient place - top shelf of the cupboard or in the basement. Since I am pretty lazy it is amazing how I can nearly always figure out a way to do something without making a trip to the basement or top of the cupboard. This proves to me if I really need to keep something or not

As to whether or not I like something - I pack it away in a bin in the basement for a couple months or so. If I am happy to see it when I take it out I keep it. If I have forgotten about it and am surprised I own it I get rid of it.


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## Waiting Falcon (Nov 25, 2010)

Put your stuff in storage for 6-12 months and if you get along without it that long it is not likely you will ever need it. It is a very expensive way to go about decluttering but it can sure show you what you haven't missed.
I am guessing that is why so many people walk away and leave their unit to be sold......
i have boxes brought out of storage since my move and I have no desire to unpack them. I have done without this stuff- some of it nearly 2 years. I do not need it.


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

My MIL grew up extremely poor, often times hungry........so as an adult she "tucked" stuff away..........every nook and cranny in her house is full.......she has an old house with many rooms and closets........cans and cans of tuna fish in the bathroom closet!! :huh: Enough toilet paper throughout that house to last for 2 years.......she was always saying she would clean it out before she died, not fair to us..........ahuh.........bless her, she died and it was at least organized.......unfortunately all her stuff has sat long enough while she was in a nursing home that the mice, snakes and so forth have invaded and ruined a good part of it. :run: I'm de-cluttering now!


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