I am very sentimental and can't throw away or sell anything that has a sentimental value. Some people just aren't sentimental. A case in point is in a friend of mine whom I have known for over 40 years. Her father was in the construction business and she and her father were very close. She is a single lady and her father wanted to build her a very nice house. He put a lot of extra things in the house because it was for his only daughter. It sat on 2 acres and was built with his love for her in mind and he wanted it to be perfect for her. A few months after he finished the house, he died very unexpectedly. She lived in the house for a few years and then decided that she wanted something else and sold it. She wasn't satisfied with the new house and sold that after a year and had another house built. I was shocked when she sold the house her father had been so careful to build for her. All 3 of her houses were in the same general area. She just got tired of them. I guess I am too sentimental but I would not have sold the house that my father had built for me just before he died, no matter what.

Here's what I've read lately: "Left Neglected" by Lisa Genova (she wrote "Still Alice"). I really liked it, almost as good as "Still Alice". "The Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold (she wrote "The Lovely Bones"). I didn't like it although the 2nd half was better than the 1st. "Deception Point" by Dan Brown, a good read. "The First Time" by Joy Fielding, pretty good. "A Secret Kept" by Tatiana De Rosnay (she wrote "Sarah's Key"). It wasn't very good and I skimmed through most of it. "The Distant Hours" by Kate Morton. This is the 3rd I've read by her and I've enjoyed them all. "Earthly Possessions" by Anne Tyler. I usually like Anne Tyler's books and this one was not bad. But some people find her books boring, so she's not for everyone. I am now reading "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain. I like it so far!

Keep a couple of things in mind before making your decision: digital format stores nicely and is convenient; however digital formats have changed greatly over the past few years and are expected to continue to change... think about those irreplaceable -and unreplaceable- Polaroids. If you do go digital, wrap the original photos in acid-free paper and then vacuum-pack so your great-grandkid has a chance to see them. Which is another thing, if you don't want these and your kids don't want these; maybe they aren't worth keeping under any circumstance -especially if they are out-of-focus or photos of your cousin's first dog. But if you do keep a few photos, be sure they (each and every one) are well-labeled and dated. DH has albums with pictures of many, many relatives -- some are marked 'Uncle Joe' or 'Mom's Aunt Sue'... no one now alive has the vaguest idea who these folks were, and although I've heard that Uncle Joe's real name was Donald I don't know his last name, and none of the cousins today know who was the "Mom" that had an Aunt Sue. Now me, I have no photos of any relatives, because mum was sure no one would ever be interested in the past -- and when I was in my twenties and thirties, I surely was not interested. So mum disposed of everything before she passed on. Nowadays, I would dearly love to have at least one picture of my parents or grandparents. And the last thought: If the group pictures are dated and you know the details (where, why, when the pic was taken), you may find an organization that would like to have them. Genealogical societies may interested if the people are well identified; and there are historical sites that collect dated photos of the world around us.

I appreciate the suggestions. I know it is hard trying to "solve" someone else's situation. I think maybe it is more moral support. MIL does not want, at this time, to set anything aside or take anything, other than perhaps some clothing, to Goodwill. She wants me and DH (who is her DS) to come and identify things we might want. I believe she probably wants the other available children and grandchildren to do the same. She says she does not want my visit to be used sorting into piles--just looking over and saying yea or nay, I believe. I'm certainly planning to nudge her a little on that when we go visit, as in, we're here, we're free, why don't we do some sorting? But I'm not real optimistic. What is frustrating is that I've already "reviewed" all of the china and many other items on past visits, but apparently that did not register, as she keeps mentioning the same items. That is just part of her letting go issue, though, I think, or kind of, this is your last chance! Yes, the company has a website, national listings, says it's bonded. Of course there is more that can be investigated to be sure. I'm not too keen on storing stuff--in their situation. I think the biggest issue is getting down to deciding do they think they need to have a "living" estate sale of the items they don't want to take with them. This is actually a big roadblock because a) it inhibits "letting go" of stuff, because it's being "saved" for the estate sale, rather than taking stuff bit by bit to Goodwill (or whereever) b) they can't really have the sale until they move out, and further can't have the sale until they've moved out AND removed a large volume of other stuff, like papers, and they're not working on that now and c) it doesn't make sense to tightly box up lots of stuff for estate sale (unless using one of those types of companies that holds it off-site),. So it may be possible for me to try to engage them in a discussion of, to have an estate sale, you would need to pursue strategy #1--estate sale readiness and also try to consider costs of doing vs. proceeds; if you forego estate sale, your de-cluttering strategy is then #2 approach. It's not so much that one is wrong or right, but just the pros and cons. It's interesting because, with all of their "stuff" and if priced right for vintage items, I think it would bring a fair amount of money, so you hate so sound like, oh, just give it away, when talking to people about their home furnishings and china and things of a lifetime. But, if you were to factor in a $10k fee plus estate sale percentage plus, perhaps, the constraints of the professional person , you then begin to ask, is the reason you need to have such a person, and such a sale, just because you think you need to have the sale, whereas,if you could just let go, your DS's and DIL's could be, and could have been, doing stuff for you all along the way.