Gramie bj

be careful not to through out anything that may be related to property (old servays) or any legal papers no mater how old! My Mom had a disagreement on the property line for her place they were going to make her move a 30 by 20 foot block building, they said it was on the right of way, Mom still had the original servay from when her father baught the place. Over the years the county kept widening the road, only on her side LOL now the neighbor on the other side is having a battle because county wants him to move a fence so they can widen the road the way they should have years ago. Same neighbor isn't happy that Power Co. and Phone Co have poles on his side of fence(those co. know where the right of way is)Those orignal papers showed where in the old books to find correct info. When computers became used for recording a lot of the very old information was not entered, just the most recent al lot of mistakes were made.

june6995

I am sitting her laughing! I have done the same thing........saved and saved. Then I had a health problem and realized the things I wanted family and friends to have, would probably be sold or thrown out. That brought me to my senses. I gave a niece her Grandmother's wedding ring. Then I divided other pieces of jewelry between my 2 daughters.

As far as those greeting cards.....just think of all the money used to purchase them. I declared a moratorium on greeting cards. NO MORE! I have had enough to last a few life times.
they went to recycle into crafts and other uses.

Then the family photographs. I sat on the floor for days and sorted into piles, one for each child..(4) and when it was finished, each one got a packet of baby pictures, school photos, etc., to do with what they pleased. If they threw them out, it was their choice.

All that stuff is OUT of my house and I am glad. Now I have to deal with the other collectibles....glassware and trinkets. Some are gone already, returned to those who gave them, or just put in the box for a charity Thrift store.

Cleaning out has to come one day...and I would rather be the one to do it than to leave it to my children to do. If they do not want it now, what makes me think they will want it later?

Happy cleaning to all you hoarders! It has to be done!

June in Cincinnati

flowerjoy

I have moved so many times between the ages of 20 and 63 (now) and once from a house to a sailboat that many, many things have been thrown out during those years. I do not like clutter so tend to throw out those things that do not get used. A rule of thumb I go by: if you have not used it/looked at it, etc. in a year - toss it out. This has worked for me and I never remember/miss what was tossed.
Oops... but I NEVER throw out my son's baby clothes, old report cards, team shirts, etc.

OHSue

I am good at the occasional purge. Funny part is my son is the one who wants to keep stuff. He is 14 and I just recently got him to toss out the salt map he made when he was in fourth grade. He kept saying, I remember working so hard on that. But his memory is wrong, as I remember having to do a most of the work. At the time another mother and I were discussing how this was usually a parent project, mixing, having to find a map to trace, food coloring, finding the cardboard, carting that giant thing into school, etc.

OHSue

OOPS, duplicate.

Lynneander

When my husband and I moved to our present location we decided to finally downsize. The process can be difficult in the beginning, but I really believe that if I haven't used something in the past two years, I'm not going to use it again. The end result is worth the process!

nativetexan

yep, i'm living with a semi-hoarder and i'm finally clearing out boxes and stuff and taking them to the charity shop in town. I now have a bit of breathing space but need more!

Patchesnposies

Well, you all have been an inspiration. I have been wrestling with this very subject for a year now. We haven't exactly reached hoarder status at our house.....but we are definitely cluttered!

Our problem is we are all sentimental. We treasure everything. Papa started a tradition that goes back to when our grown kids were babies....all of the beloved stuffies, blankies, favorite shirts, toys, drawings....etc....went into the "permanent archives".

Now we are on our second set of kids and they have all grown accustomed to being "too precious" and are sure that every scribble drawn or page of schoolwork, dilapidated toy, you name it, is worthy of permanent archive status!

We have two extra bedrooms full of plastic totes (no garage) that are full of things that are too wonderful to throw or give away!

Five of our six children are adopted, three from foster care and have experienced much loss. Letting go of things (change, transitions) are very hard for them.

I think that is why I am reluctant to jump into mass removal. I know it will be opening a can full of wriggling worms and I will have to figure out how to get them all back in! lol

My DH has promised me that I can have one of the spare rooms for a sewing room once it is cleaned out and that is great motivation.

This thread has given me the nudge I need to face this unpleasant task!

quiltingme

What do you do with old photographs? I have a storage chest full, and I know my sons would not want them, but I cannot bring myself to throw them out. Lots of memories there!

SharBear

I'm a tosser by nature. Every now and then I'll see a closet / shelf / drawer that is getting unruly and BOOM - cleanout time.

Some days my husbands and sons are afraid to sit in the same spot for too long -they are afraid I'll bag them up for the Salvation Army drop!