realising you don't need to keep stuff!

I am the same as USAGARRY. I have kept cards sent to me by my children, who now have their own children...so I keep theirs as well! :-) They say I am mad cluttering up the place with things like that. I might well be, but there is no more than a drawer full. What I do get told off about is keeping toys when the children grow out of them. Actually they have been very useful for when the grandchildren come to visit. The time will come when they have to go soon enough.

I give books straight to charity now when I have read them. I used to hoard them but I had too many so I got rid of them.
Clothes I have grown out of but which are still in good nick I put in the charity bags you get through the door. I feel it is wrong to hoard them when there are so many people without or charities that could sell them.

I did go to a seconds shop with a suitcase full of my wedding outfits and a couple of best suits which I cannot get in to, but she said she didn't want them, which made me feel a bit miffed. They were lovely suits and good quality. They went to Oxfam who were overjoyed, so I hope they found a good home.

I remember clearing out my Mother's home when she died. She had lots of handbags full of lots of 'stuff'! It was upsetting to see what she had kept. All sentimental stuff such as our little notes and drawings. She even had our clothes we used to wear before we got married in the spare room wardrobe. They had been hung so long the colour on the shoulders had faded. She might just as well have thrown them out, but we should have done that for her I suppose.

It is a very difficult job sorting out someone else' 'stuff' and as I said to OH a lot of it our children would not even know the value of. Old engineering tools OH's father had. Old treasures that have been passed down the families, china tea services, old photographs of people we don't know. A chest that had stuff from Rhodesia when GGD lived there before WWI, also GGM's jewellery and Victorian jewellery and medals from WWII. I told my OH to label it all because our children would not know what they were or where they came from. As for photograph albums, well we all have those don't we.

Lucky for us these days photographs are stored on computers, but sometimes I think what a waste because all that history will be dumped when the computer goes the same way when we die because our children have their own 'clouds' don't they.

Jordana, my OH spent years doing the family tree for both of us so he could give it to the children in case somebody wanted to carry it on. Actually it kept him busy and gave him something to get stuck in to to ease him in to Retirement, but it cost us a fortune in birth certificates etc etc. He put it on to memory sticks and gave each family a copy.

One bonus for me was that we travelled UK to see the places where people came from, taking photos of churches and houses if they were still there. I enjoyed that part of it.

l am heartened by words of help on how to let go of things from relatives who have passed such as gifts from my sister which have never graced my shelves. l felt too guilty to give away because she chose them for me.

l had to also clear my brothers flat. The mountain of decades of old paperwork and stuff was overwhelming! Seconded by his collection of air rifles and air pistols - not my area of expertise!

My mothers house is crammed with stuff and nic nacs which will be left for me to sort when the times comes.

l am 55 and with all this in mind l am a serious declutterer and will not leave the same behind for my DD and DS.

My parents have recently died and I am clearing the house they had lived in for 50 years. It is totally daunting as so much useless stuff has been kept. They have been using cracked chipped crockery, threadbare towels and in the cupboards I am finding new versions obviously kept for "best" . Their "best" time came and went without them being used.
I have paperwork for everything under the sun, even going back to my great grandparents probate papers, millions of unnamed photos, and that's just in the house. The workshop is lined from floor to ceiling with shelves of tins labelled with contents, eg short nails, short pieces of string, etc.
Very sadly all I have chosen so far to keep for my own house are a couple of paintings and a few bits of jewellery.
I am quite minimalistic but this experience is making me even more sure not to keep anything I don't use, love or need.
Any idea about how many years of paperwork for utilities, bank statements, income tax etc need to be kept?
I haven't ventured into the huge attic yet, or the garage or the summer house!

Although today I did peep through the window of the summer house. Retreated when I spotted 3 lawn mowers, a couple of big heavy metal wheelbarrows, a motley assortment of aged canvas chairs and enough clay pots to stock a garden centre.