I'm right there with you! LOL My husband and I are going through our stuff, so my mom can move in with us. She's going through her stuff, too!

No hoarders, but we all have our weaknesses. Mom has her books, I have too many dishes and my husband has some collectibles. We are paring down, but not eliminating any one area more than others. We've tried to incorporate the best of everyone's "stuff" to make an interesting, but less cluttered home.

Sentimental....in what way? Grandma's favorite mixing bowl. No way, keep it for sure. My second grade homework (if I had it) would not make the cut. Unless it was something truly wonderful and mom wanted to put it in a binder....that's up to her ;)

Board games with no real value and not especially difficult to replace....I'd let go. Donate if possible. If there's something your kids loved and it's no longer being made....if it's in good shape, possibly keep a shelf or box for favorite toys for possible grandchildren.

Husband's stuff.....help him get organized. Don't push too hard and don't sort for him. But if possible encourage him to reorganize everything into boxes, containers, onto utility shelves, etc. If no one can find something, it's not doing anyone much good. And you should have fairly equal storage spaces...depending on what's being stored. If you have books and he has furniture, then that might make storage sizes less equal.

Finally, something I realized. You can't sort anyone else's stuff. It's difficult and often painful for the other person to go through, especially in a hurry. Went through this with my Grandma. So....start by example. Get your own 'stuff' in order. Find a way to make your storage spaces your own and keep them organized. Maybe others will be inspired....

I went through a forced downsizing in Feb 2004 - economic reasons. I ended up donating most of what I owned and keeping only what would fit into my Honda Civic hatchback - and that included my 2 cats! For a year I 'mourned' the stuff I gave up - told myself to think of it as if I had lost it in a fire. As time passed, I realized I didn't miss those things, really I didn't. And the upside is that in the almost 12 years since, I have become judicious about what I buy, and what I keep.

I'm probably looking at another move within the next 1-3 years and I've gone through the entire kitchen and storage boxes throughout the house. What is worth moving? What isn't? My mom has eight 9 x 13 baking pans and eight pie pans. We have never used that many no matter how many people we have cooked for and we never will! They will be easy to cull. Some of the duplicate/triplicate utensils, pots, skillets have disappeared from the kitchen already. ;) Now we can actually find the utensil we need easily and the utensil drawer isn't jammed up. The multitude of glasses that are never used go next.

So my advice is to first go through everything you have and cull the extras. IF you moved to a smaller place what would you really want to take with you? IF a natural disaster would happen...what would you truly grieve for? It's a start.

Also cyn427, I've found it's more palatable for people to give possessions up if they feel they are "going to a good home". When he was a child, my son felt okay about giving away toys he had outgrown to younger friends. Last year, my 75 Dad felt okay about giving away a huge corner desk he hadn't used in a decade to my sister who was going back to school.When my parents do move from their house, after we have culled the things that go with us, I plan to have the remainder set out for the adults in the family to pick through. Sumbody might need baking & pie pans, and Grammy's old gravy boat!

You might try this out on your DH - would he be willing to give up some of his stuff to a person in the family who would appreciate it?

A lot depends on how sentimental you are. I'm sentimental about a couple of things my grandfather gave me because he died when I was pretty young. Other things not so much. A friend is sentimental about almost everything her relatives owned. Each object brings back a memory and she has a hard time letting go.

If you won't need the gardening supplies why would you keep them? You can indoor garden if you won't have the outdoors space. Think of that as a transition not a loss.

I wouldn't keep anything for (possible) someday grandchildren.

Everything can't have special meaning or memories! I would start with the obvious. Extra pots, pans, dishes, glassware etc. Clothing can easily be donated in those bins that are placed all over town.

Here is what I am doing. Things that have meaning but are starting to amount to clutter, I am boxing up and storing. Some, I will wind up giving away. I have visions of when I am really really old of looking through all my Girl Scout things that I have accumulated as a leader.

I have baby furniture stored. I am not sure if wither of my girls will have kids and if they do, they might not want this furniture. I working on getting rid of it.

The more room you have, the more you collect and keep. you really don't need everything.

I rarely regret giving anything away, unless someone else makes that decision for me. It has been years, but I still regret Mr. Hammer selling my Wii Fit and Super Mario Galaxy. He would sell the shoes off our feet if he could. I tend to keep things, but not as much as I did before. We had to move to a 700 sq. ft. apartment for about a year, and I didn't miss any of the things in storage. I was brutal when we moved and I got those things back.

I heard a quote here on GW that there are a lot of forces bringing things into the house, but only me taking things out. I am mindful of that, and try to get things out as much as possible. I just don't need stuff. I need the space more.

We're like a lot of people, I think. Over the years, we've accumulated stuff, and never get around to getting rid of anything. Then, a major change occurs (we've just moved) and suddenly you're faced with all this stuff. As an example, we found that we had 20 coffee mugs! We need two, and a few for guests. Multiply this times plates, bowls, flatware, well, everything, and it becomes unmanageable.

We had the luxury of furnishing our new home slowly, as we built a barn on the property, where everything is stored. We have furnished the house to a comfortable level, with no clutter, but barely made a dent in all of our stuff. Now we're going to have to make some tough choices (and many easy ones) as we decide what to keep.

When my Mom had a life-changing injury and had to move out of her house, we were faced with getting rid of a lifetime of stuff, as she couldn't take much with her. I'm determined not to burden our son with a scenario like that when we pass. In addition to the household, I have tons of 'man stuff', and I really need to thin out. I realize that many hobbies that I once enjoyed no longer appeal to me, or I'm too old to pursue them anymore, so that stuff has to go, too.

Agree with mushcreek! I'm not a hoarder, but still reeling under the effects of too much stuff, and although I moved into my new (old) home nearly 3 months ago, I am still getting things out of the old place. I've been throwing things out, donating, and plan a tag sale next year - would have been better prior to the move, but was too focused on reno details then, but the time will give me more opportunities to let go of more things. I especially have too many sets of dishes, vases, books, etc. Never, ever, ever again!

We moved to a smaller house (2600 to 1000), and had to get rid of quite a few things. Once the 'purge' really got started, it wasn't so difficult to pack and donate because I realized I wasn't using any of the "stuff", but felt compelled to keep it because I had spent good money buying it. Once those items were boxed up and donated, I felt better about having less. (We did the purge in reverse of most people's moves -- we moved to the small house, then went back and got rid of what didn't get moved). If you're honest with yourself about what you really use (vs what you have in your house), it makes it easier to get rid of things. Of course, my DH was a great help in providing a rational voice about keeping things.

You are all wonderful! So much good advice. Since I have been home sick for the past week (lots of coughing, so don't want to spread it to other teachers!), I have been doing little jobs, spot by spot. I gave DS and his sweetie a set of lovely sheets and some practically new towels, so that freed up some space. I have a pile of older towels to take to our animal shelter tomorrow. I have also started a box to donate to the vets after going through clothes-even threw some out! Added some pots to the box, too. I think I will offer some old evening gowns to the local school's theater department. They took a bunch of stuff we brought from my parents house when we cleaned it out. Mushcreek, cleaning out their house made me want to get ours cleaned out for the same reason you cited. I do not want our son to have to clean out a packed-to-the-gills house either!

It really makes it easier to look at what we really use. So much stuff is just extraneous, isn't it?! Anyone need a baked bean pot that Campbell's gave away as a promotion back in the 50s? My elderly neighbor gave it to me several years ago. He was so pleased to give it to me after his wife died. He really thought of it as a treasure. So sweet. It is going out with the donations!

So, I am feeling that I can use your suggestions and maybe, over my winter, spring, and summer vacations, I will at least get my stuff sorted, organized, cleared out!

Thanks to you all. Hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving.

cyn427 - I felt the same way when I helped my parents pack and move closer about 8 years ago. I swore when I got home that I was going to clean out our house and get rid of the duplicates (we found three salad spinners in the basement of their house, two were brand new!) Really, how many of the same thing does one family need? But then I got home from that pack/move, and went back to work, and broke my promise to myself.

We did a kitchen remodel (modest) in 2006. I only brought things back from the basement as and when I needed an item. Stuff was still down there after one year, and I got rid of most (other than roasting pan, a couple of platters, special occasion things). In 2013 we moved to a new home. Things were on shelves in the basement that had not been used or looked at for years. 99% got tossed or donated. Guess what... we haven't missed a thing. We have not needed a single thing we eliminated. We figured if we absolutely HAD to replace something we tossed, we could. But it has not happened!

We downsized from 2400 to 1300 this past summer. It amazed me the stuff we have accumulated in the last 10 years. And it was literally in the last 10 years we lost practically everything in Hurricane Katrina.

I found I kept the storm lessons and tossing stuff out wasn't hard for me. My husband is another story, he is attached to everything he has accumulated since and there were several things that we argued over. I gave in a lot, but there were a few times I put my foot down. Still my side of the bedroom in neat and clutter free, I try not to look at the other side of the room.

I would not wish Katrina on anyone, Erin, but you seem to have turned it into a positive.

I think that 'after a year' rule is a good one. I am going to try that. We have some boxes that have not been opened for much longer.

Thanks again all. Winter break is coming up and I have two free weeks to purge! Woohoo.

Interesting thread .. my farm with 2500+ sq foot house is currently on the market, I hope to purchase a smaller house with no acreage when the farm sells. I have spent the past year going through every drawer, closet, outbuilding and basement.

I have sold off smaller family antiques that no one in the family wanted, I have donated tons of towels and sheets to a local animal rehab/rescue. I have gone through everything.

I don't want to pay to move things I don't use and can't fit! I will have to make some decisions on some more antique furniture when I sell and then find the next house. At this point I don't know what will fit so I'm not willing to get rid of a few pieces until I can space plan the new house.

It got easier to do the more I did, and now I have the mentality that I don't need more "stuff" ... so that's my new mantra!

Funny how a disaster can change your thining on how much stuff is important. We were in a flood and it was the big beginning of my clearing stuff out. It has taken me years and I still have stuff that could go away. I really do not know WHY I do not just get rid of it. Welll it is in the shop loft and the high today was 15 degrees so I am not working out there this time of year. I think I did boarder on being a hoarder Not a dirty kind of hoarder just way too much stuff.

I have shed many things I thought I was sentimental about and once they were gone I realized I was just hanging onto them because I thought I was supposed to be sentimental about them. Now that was an eye opener.

I like to change things around in the house for a different look so keep some things around to be able to do that with out having to buy new. They are things I do love just do not want all of it out at one time. Then when I feel the need for a new look I shop my house and the little loft in the shop to make that new look.

We had a minor flood in the basement a couple of years ago and lost a lot of stuff. We moved to this house in 2005 with out any planning whatsoever. My father-in-law had moved in with us after his wife died and we suddenly needed a few things our old house did not provide - a second bathroom, a first-floor laundry, easier access for a 90 year-old to let 3 dogs in and out all day! So we up and moved. We hired a neighbor to pack the basement, so it never got sorted out, it just got moved here! The basement here was filled with furniture, boxes, lots and lots of stuff and it got ruined with 4 to 6 inches of rain water and kitchen drain water. No sewage, luckily, but still, the company we hired said that anything permeable really had to be discarded. It was an expensive way to clean a basement, let me tell you! The only things that really hurt were the sentimental ones - a table my great aunt and I had breakfast at every Wednesday for a school year and that she had for 60 years, the oak frame for a dressing screen that hid my grandmother's basement incinerator, and my record collection. Now, that record collection was in the basement because I had not listened to any records since the 1990s. But it really hurts to know they are now all gone.

One thing that has occurred to us is that many of the family mementos that we hang on to have little or no meaning to the next generation. My wife has her great aunt's china (as well as hers and her mother's), and our son never met her, or even knows much about her. The china is not fancy, so it has no collectible value. He will have no interest in it. We have many things that fall into this category.

As for me and my 'man stuff', I have a hard time letting go of things that have (or had) value. I can't throw away a bolt, even though the car it belonged to is long gone. I have tons of that kind of stuff. Some of it might be worth a small amount if I could connect with a buyer; some of it truly is junk.

I don't regret getting rid of anything. I am a clean freak and my DH is a semi-hoarder in recovery. We had the big battle of junk in the year 2002. That is when my DH had turned the attic into a fire hazard and was working his way to the rest of the house. After pleading for months, then threatening him to no avail I decided he needed more space for his beloved junk. I removed myself from the premises to give him that extra room. It was a lonely two days before I got the call from him that he had cleaned out the junk to make room for me. Hooray!! Now he tells me how much he loves that our house is clean and uncluttered. But......I get rid of the things he tries to sneak in when he isn't looking and he pretends not to notice that I did. For example- I removed old kitchen tools he brought home and stashed in the basement. Like he is going to need or use a SS strainer or old juice maker.