I cleaned out my parents home. It was perfectly obvious what was junk and what was worth saving. It took a few days, yes, but Mom was happy with her stuff. Depriving herself/yourself of things you want, love, or need so your kids won't have to deal with it seems strange to me. They will still have all the stuff of daily living to deal with in the end, furniture, clothing, etc., so it didn't matter to me that Mom had junk mixed in with her "good" stuff. The few extra days it took me to get through her stuff were worth it, because the stuff meant a lot to her.

I know my kids won't mind, just as I didn't mind for mine. I like having reminders around in my life.

My parents just upsized from 2000->4000 square feet and moved boxes into their new house they hadn't unpacked since their last move in 1997. It's gonna be rough when it comes time to go through it but I think a dumpster rental will be in my future. It's not stuff they treasure or even like. It's just stuff. It kinda burns me a little bit because they held onto it even when I was setting up my own household and could have used some of it (like mismatched Pyrex) and they never once used it in the intervening 20 years. I think that's part of the problem, parents are not looking to part with things when the kids can really use it. to be fair they did set me up with some things.

My family are more on the hoarder side and I'm slightly more of an organizer. I had to stop responding to my mom's requests for help organizing because she would ask me to help her get rid of stuff but then sort of cast me as the wicked witch of the west for doing so ( stuff that I checked with her first on). She was kind of joking but kind of not. I didn't like having my time and energy used and then denigrated that way. So I pretty much washed my hands of it and enjoy my visits with her a lot more. Meanwhile she got a really bossy cleaning lady who seems to work wonders with her.

I have a button collection in a cigar box. The cigar box is covered with pictures buttons, it was made to hold buttons. It is filled with about 2,000 different buttons that we used for homeschool many years ago, for teaching math-type skills to little guys. I know how many there are because we've counted them. I can barely close the box, which thankfully ended the collecting. I hope that when I die, my children sit down together and divvy up the buttons to make little collections for their own children. In this way, choosing buttons and remembering who gave me which button, etc, would hopefully be enjoyable and mitigate their grief. Some of the buttons are really goofy (plastic frog face with shakeable googly eyes), and others are amazing: for example, made to look like an Indian Head nickel, and others are the boring extra buttons you get with new clothes. I have a set of four straw hat buttons that are glass, so lovely! Anyway, you get the idea. Not sure if this will happen but the thought is pleasing and helps me get rid of less meaningful belongings. All I need to do now is share this plan with my kids. Does this sound silly?

I wouldn't share the plan with them. I would write a note, just as you did above, attach it to the box and put it in a little hiding place where they will find it when the time comes.

Cupofkindness-my 40 something son searched and searched my parents' house for for an old metal band aid box full of buttons he played with as a child. It was one of only 2 or 3 items he requested. I remember his smile when he found it.

Thanks, Dee and blfenton! Great idea about not saying anything and I love that your son treasured those buttons from your parent's house. How precious is that in this day and age?

My grandmother had a button box, but I had completely forgotten all about it until a cousin mentioned to me recently that she has it. I haven't seen that button box in over 40 years.

Do I resent my cousin for having it? Do I want it? Nope. It's just stuff. I remember the box and I can see it in my mind, but I don't need the actual box.

I love to get rid of things. I really do. Someone mentioned above getting rid of all the little HomeGoods placeholders. I think I probably started doing that about ten years ago. We had a financial crisis in 2005 that led to some real austerity for a few years, and part of the cure to that was simply not going to TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, etc.. At first I felt deprived, but then I realized there was absolutely nothing in those stores that I had to have. It was emancipating in a way, and helped me realize that I also didn't need much of the stuff I'd already accumulated.

I think growing up in a military family also made me more accustomed to traveling light, not getting attached to things/people/places, and to uprooting and starting over. We downsized in 2014 from 2000 square feet with a 600 square foot barn/shop and tons of storage to about 1,600 square feet. I got rid of SO MUCH before we moved, but there was still a great deal to purge once we got here and bought a house.

And now that we've been in our house about 2.5 years, I'm fully aware of what's been sitting in the basement or closets untouched for the duration. DH is more of a keeper, though, so I approach it in baby steps. We purged wardrobes a year ago, but kept a lot of "maybe" things. Three weekends ago we went back into those closets and took no prisoners. We also hit the basement again and made a good dent. It was so satisfying!

Once we no longer have our dogs, I'd really like to move into an even smaller place that has no yard at all. Just a courtyard, or some small terraces, and enough rooms to keep life enjoyable and allow a bit of privacy. A girl can dream.

Pal, I love every word you wrote and it is exactly how DH and I felt as we were going thru our parents homes after their passing, while shedding quite a few tears. How could we forget all the holidays in each of those homes, not to mention the "introduction" of a new baby, birthday parties, christenings, bar-b-q's, graduations, wedding and baby showers, family reunions...you name it! We took on that responsibility gladly and with love, and tried not to be 'sacrilegious' toward the things we knew our parents treasured and loved. Family was first offered things we did not want to keep, and very little was donated~that made us feel very good. Neither set of parents had huge homes, nor were they collectors or hoarders, thank goodness. We took our time, reliving many memories along the way, and couldn't even bring ourselves to sell either house too quickly. My DH was an only child, but my 2 siblings were becoming very annoyed with me, and couldn't understand what the hold up was. Looking back, I feel so good about taking more time, and for not making decisions I might regret later down the road.

I had a very unsuccessful yard sale recently (timing was bad) and instead of packing it all back up for another time, I hauled it all off the charity. As i unloaded my truck I had a few pangs and almost called back an item or two, but I realized it was absolutely nothing my children would want if I died. So I now have a shed where i can store my outdoor furniture during the winter.

I was ruthless when going thru my house during some minor renos recently. With my MIL gone, I no longer have so much 'stuff' coming in (she was a shopper, that one) and I just don't feel the need to go to a retail store and buy more.

Speaking to what our kids would love that we wouldn't think was a big deal-I have a stuffed pickle that I got when my eldest was very, very small. It's always been in my kitchen, wherever we've lived. Recently it was knocked off a shelf and one of the dogs got hold of it. I'd forgotten it was on that shelf. I mentioned it to one of my DD's and she was upset that I almost let Mr. Pickle become a dog toy. So back on the shelf he went. I have no doubt that Mr. Pickle will be one of the things my kids fight over when I'm gone.

dee, what a cute story about the button box! My mom had one and I did keep that, it's actually a coffee can. Some things hold such memories and are too hard to part with.

I'm with Pal on this one. For whom is it less painful to throw the things away, the parents or the children? If they aren't ready to give up their things or their tangible reminders of other times and experiences, I want to be kind and handle it later for them.

"How could we forget all the holidays in each of those homes, not to mention the "introduction" of a new baby, birthday parties, christenings, bar-b-q's, graduations, wedding and baby showers, family reunions...you name it!"

With the caveat that this is such a personal issue-I think some are confusing the intent/reality of what people describe with the ideal as expressed above.

Most of what people are trying to downsize and get rid of and most of what people express such frustration at being left to deal with is simply junk pure and simple. Empty cool whip containers and half used makeup that expired 25 years ago and ancient stacks of magazines and unopened advertising flyers piled in heaps and curlers last used in 1978 and empty packing boxes and drawers full of used bread ties....sorry but those are NOT emblems and totems of a life well lived and talismans to be cherished by the heirs. They just aren't.

Particularly for those dealing with aging or departed depression era parents, it's about having to deal with an almost unimaginable level of objects and material that are unusable and unwanted. This has nothing to do with treasures although even those in my opinion shouldn't be inflicted on other people. Human beings imbue objects with meaning based on the owner's personal memories, likes and passions. So for example the button box may or may not mean anything to the owner's children. They may smile and exclaim and want to spend hours sorting through them. Or they may toss the box without a second thought--and that's ok too. It doesn't negate memories of the mother who collected the buttons, it just means that the items are not a talisman for them, and don't have the same meaning. I can't see that in any way as dishonoring anyone. It actually dishonors your children to expect them to take on the burden of cherishing every item in your household instead of their own. Of course there are things that people want to keep and cherish but that is their decision not yours to make as the departed owner of said objects.

A few years ago I had to clear the house of a dear friend who died and left his estate to us. One of the most profound and deepest lessons I learned is this: stuff is only stuff and quite literally in the space of a breath, the meaning attached to all that stuff is gone other than what has meaning for anyone who may choose to find it in our stuff. We can choose to keep physical objects if they trigger our own memories or emotions but we cannot control whether that happens after our breath stops. Simple and yet deeply true and holds for everyone.

These replies are interesting.

I suggest starting to clean out the excess stuff so people can try to avoid some of the stress of a quick clean out. I'm not advocating a ruthless cull of all memories. My inlaws are exhausted and stressed by getting rid of what won't fit into the small apartment, an apartment they chose of their own free will. They cannot fit a houseful of stuff into a smaller space so something has to go. Had they worked on this a little at a time over the past few years, maybe they wouldn't be quite so overwhelmed. But they are now handling every single item in the house under a time deadline.

So, for me, it is a reminder to start looking around my house, in all those nooks and crannies, for the useless items I've accumulated. I don't need six 9x13 Pyrex pans. I don't need to keep the craft supplies for the project that I never started. I have the space for those things and forgot they were even there, but someone else can actually use them so out they go. When it's time for me to leave this house there will still be plenty of stuff to handle, but why not get rid of some of it while I have the time, energy, and enthusiasm.

True confession time: last week I hauled out of my closet a box full of.....my Invisalign aligners. For those who may not be familiar with what that means, Invisalign is an orthodontic system that uses a series of plastic retainers, molded specifically on and for the user, to gradually move teeth into a correct position. Each set of molds (up/down) is used for a couple of weeks then one moves to another set.

I finished my orthodontic work almost 5 years ago so the utility of 40-50 sets of bespoke plastic teeth straighteners is absolutely nil. I kept the very first set because it was amazing to see how crooked my teeth were and I tossed the rest.

Frankly I cannot imagine any scenario in which my children would lovingly gather to go through my box of tooth molds, nor any tender memory of happy family times that these plastic dental tools would evoke.

And that, my friends, is why you should start downsizing today :).

Particularly for those dealing with aging or departed depression era parents, it's about having to deal with an almost unimaginable level of objects and material that are unusable and unwanted.

Hmm, my SIL got through everything my mom left in less than a day, so not all depression era folks were hoarders, you know.

Becky, that is really sad about your inlaws. I can't imagine treating anyone so callously.

Hhireno, actually, I collect Hess trucks, as do many members of our family. It’s my maiden name, and my brothers, cousins and I all collect Hess trucks! Only goes to show that there is someone, somewhere, that may want someone else’s stuff!

I have slowly been in the process of downsizing, however, for the past couple years. Each year more accumulated “stuff” finds a new home, or goes to the thrift shop. I only have the garage attic left to go......

@heidesign - where do you live? Watch for the UPS guy...

I don't doubt someone will take it. What I doubt is the inlaws can resell it.

Most of what people are trying to downsize and get rid of and most of what people express such frustration at being left to deal with is simply junk pure and simple. Empty cool whip containers and half used makeup that expired 25 years ago and ancient stacks of magazines and unopened advertising flyers piled in heaps and curlers last used in 1978 and empty packing boxes and drawers full of used bread ties....sorry but those are NOT emblems and totems of a life well lived and talismans to be cherished by the heirs. They just aren't.

This is brilliant. I don't have much of this, in part because we moved primary homes 5 yrs ago and vacation homes about 3 yrs ago. This is the kind of stuff that really does not have a place in anyone's home and we should all be vigilant about it. Especially when people get older, they don't really have the energy to keep after if, and if they do not have help it accumulates.

Beyond that, keep whatever you want. I doubt many estates are so small they cannot pay for removal and disposal, if it comes to that.

I have had two experiences. We bought our vacation home (an estate) with all of the contents. It had been in one family for years. I wanted to keep several pieces of furniture and other items because I chose an old home for a reason and I wanted to maintain some of its history. (of course we also painted every inch gutted kitchens and baths and added on but that's another story!) But OMG what a chore! I knew that the PO had chosen these things with care and I wanted anything usable to be saved. We ended up cleaning so many items, packing them up and transporting them. We gave to Goodwill, Salvation Army and Restore. It took two 3 day weekends flat out. And this was a summer home!

Other story is my grandmother's 2 Edwardian wicker armchairs. When her things were being disposed of I had no place to put them, though I always admired them and they were unusual. I dearly regret not storing them!

It is funny, though, to be talking about this on a decorating forum. A lot of what we discuss encourages more buying to get just the right thing, rather than making do with what you have because you have it. So when we get rid of something perfectly good because it doesn't work with our new "scheme" or is simply dated, there is no home for the displaced item. No one else wants it, but we know it is perfectly good, and such is the stuff of basement and attics. We are all enablers here in a way.

The flip side of this is when people decide to downsize, start clearing out things and to ease their conscience with it, they use guilt or whatever to place the burden on someone else. My IL's recently sold their home and moved into an apartment. They had many collections of knick knacks that they bought while stationed in Europe. Of course, they could not part with these things and thought they had tremendous value, etc. My DH is not able to say no so now much of it is in my house. Some of it we desired, other things were sent because "I thought you might like it." Oh how I wish DH was willing to part with it. In some way, I think it would have been easier to go through when somebody is gone, because then they are not dumbfounded by the fact that you do not want x item.

My concern is that I don't know how to save and carry on items for my children. My own childhood was not a happy one and I don't care to have any items from my parents. When they pass, I'll help my siblings with whatever arrangements but would gladly agree to the dumpster solution.

I have a few cherished items from my grandparents, just a few, but I don't know that they'll have meaning to my own kids.

I've made sure my kids enjoy a much happier childhood but I tend to be ruthless about what I buy and incorporate in my home, and DH is similar. I'm not sentimental and have difficulty predicting what they will want some day. One of my kids surprises me regularly about what he remembers from his childhood--they're memories that I didn't realize would make an impression on him. And I panic that I don't have any keepsakes of them.

My fear is that one day when I pass, my kids will look around and say, "What happened to our past?" I guess they'll be grateful for the quick clean-up after me.

Lisa, You could make a journal for each kid where you record certain memories, either ones you have of them as children or ones that they bring up. There is no way to predict what kids will want because it may change, too. As my kids get older, I give them their own discretion in what they want to keep or toss for the most part. My caveats are is that it has to be somewhat neat (as in put away) and I also tell them repeatedly that when they get their own place, I will box up all of their stuff without going through it and drive it to them to deal with. I will not be their storage facility indefinitely.

Thank you for the suggestion, Tishtoshnm. I like the journal idea because I could go back to memories that I didn't capture on phone or camera, but that they remember. I appreciate your reply.

The post about the invisalign braces reminded me of my friend. She lives alone in a tiny 2 bd apartment and you can barely get around in there, she's got so much STUFF. I helped her with a ruthless clean out of her kitchen and dining area. I was surprised at how willing she was to do that, and we tossed/recycled/donated a couple truck loads. The most incredible thing we ran across was a plastic storage tote packed full of food from Nutrisystem. She had signed up for it, spent about $400 on the food in the tub and hated it, but couldn't get rid of the stuff because she had paid so much for it. She had moved that tub to six different apartments in the past 5 years. The boxes had use by dates of 2008. When I pointed that out to her she quickly threw the stuff in the trash.

She also had her tiny storage room packed full of mainly things from her late parents. One box held slide carousels and I suggested we empty the slides into a box and only keep one carousel so she could later decide what to keep. So we opened a box-it was an empty carousel. 2 dozen boxes of empty slide carousels. She'd been hauling and storing those boxes, too, for nearly 10 years. No idea whatsoever of what happened to the slides themselves, they were never found.

Oh, neetsiepie, that is awful. Did she pay movers to move than stuff around and around? What a shame.

My good news is I found a chair at my inlaws that I want. I've never seen the chair before, I don't know where it was stored. I can use some additional LR seating and it's an interesting but sturdy chair. It is in the give away pile but my SIL thinks it has value so I'm not sure she will let me have it. It's up to my husband to negotiate that deal.

The bad news is the non-Reusable plastic container count is much worse than I thought. Cool whip containers, every deli container and take out Italian food container they've ever brought home is in a kitchen cabinet. I was not allowed to toss any of it into recycling since they technically haven't started working on the kitchen. My job was food removal only and I wasn't authorized to touch anything else. The good news is they have 2 boxes of food to give to the food collection bin.

"My fear is that one day when I pass, my kids will look around and say, "What happened to our past?" I guess they'll be grateful for the quick clean-up after me."

Being a person who grew up in a happy home with 6 siblings I can guarantee you that your children will have good memories without the 'stuff'. The 7 of us are now aged between 59 and 78. When we get together there is plenty of laughter and sharing of stories of happy times. Don't fret over saving things that may weigh you down. It's the memories not the stuff that are important.

I would like to add that if you're really feeling overwhelmed, there are businesses cropping up all over that help folks downsize. I got referred to one recently by an acquaintance who had just helped her parents downsize twice, once to a condo and then later to assisted living. I'm still at the "throwing out the torn dish towels and plastic containers with no tops" stage for both myself and my mom, but once I get over that hump, I intend to hire in some help. I am having to do this mostly by myself so that's one reason it's taking me so long. I have to work and take care of dad too, so can't devote all my time to it. The hardest thing is to try and stop accumulating faster than I throw out!

I find it easier to sort through things if I am distracted a bit. I'll usually be on the telephone with a friend while I am going through things I need to clear out. There are usually not difficult decisions involved and the distraction drowns out the guilt over having the mess to begin with - or the sadness at the passage of time- the twin emotions I feel when I am faced with a glut of stuff.

texanjana, thank you. It's been very frustrating, between the callousness of my husband's siblings and their spouses, and his parents' wishy-washiness. Oy.

running - I'm still in my Invisalign process but I joke with my ortho and the techs that I'm going to string mine on fishing line along with tiny white lights and decorate their office at Xmas time!! They've all double dog dared me so I may have to do it ;-)

Yes, she had paid for moving each time, Hhireno. She was pretty upset and I could see her calculating the costs over the years (she's on a very limited income). I am fortunate that my mom is forever downsizing. She and her DH have gone back to one home again (I think this will be their last one until assisted living) and had duplicates of EVERYTHING. She is STILL unpacking boxes of things she's packed up 25 years ago from when she and my dad were downsizing from two houses to one.

Actually this is a timely topic for me-as mentioned on another topic, my MIL has dementia and is permanently in assisted living. For the past year we were very fortunate that my young adult son and DIL needed a temporary place to live and moved in there, paying rent which helped defray the monthly ALF expenses. So they actually have been living in and with all her possessions.

However they just bought their own house and are moving so we need to clear the house and put it up for rent-she needs the income and we don't want the house sitting empty anyway. So in a few weeks I'll be starting this arduous process. It's going to be wrenching I'm sure, not least because she spent years literally writing notes and sticking them on objects, about almost everything in the house.

Anyway, I'm reading a great book written by an estate organizer which I highly recommend. My lovely DIL wants some furniture including pieces made by my late FIL which touches our hearts and will be wonderful to see in my son's home.

My dad pointed out that although this will be a tough process, in the long run it has to be done because there is no possible scenario in which she will live in the house again so by doing the painful chore now we won't be forced to do it while grief stricken and mourning.

One book this friend gave me is called "Boomer Burden" although now I see there are tons more like it out there, guides to downsizing.

Pink, that's the one I linked to also :)

Link did not work for me.

Lots of good ideas and insights in this blog: The Estate Lady Speaks

A few quotes:

"Gone are the days of truly caring about quality.

Gone are the days of the younger generations wanting traditional furnishings.
In are the days of how the item looks and functions."

"Do it for the earth, do it for extra space, and do it for your pocket! Donating, recycling, and selling are the way to go when downsizing or handling an estate... With my prediction of millions of households being liquidated in the
next few decades, the very thought of the amount of trash the U.S. will
generate is mind-boggling. Do your part to help others and the
environment too!"

"From cleaning out estates all these years, I have learned that many
people have “skeletons” that need to be dealt with prior to their
passing... We see the dark portals in people’s lives after they leave. We will
never have a clear understanding of why these people did what they did... Some things need to be told to the family and some secrets need to go to the grave with the deceased loved one."

"Many people with a smart phone in their hand believe they are an
expert. I can assure you they are not. They just Google over-inflated
prices, unless they are wanting to buy. If they are buyers, they search
for the lowest possible prices in hopes of getting an item at a small
cost."

I just pitched my 1978 curlers. How did you know I still had them"? Oh and a bunch of always crappy kitchen knives.

Good for you westsider! Isn't it freeing to get rid of that kind of thing?

I lost my mother in 2002 and Dad in 2013. It fell on me to clean out the house. Even though Dad had an SO in the intervening years, nothing much was done with my mother's stuff except her clothes. There really wasn't much in the house that us kids wanted, so the decision making was fairly easy. Donate if it's good, trash if it's not. But holy cow, could my mother pack stuff away! Just when I thought I had come to the end, there would be another box of stuff.

I've also told the older gentlemen in my life: as you're putting your affairs in order, please get rid of your porn stash. Your daughter really does not want to find that.

Shortly after I finished that project, an older lady friend of mine asked me to help her pack up stuff for a whole-house recarpet. Anything touching the floor had to move. Wow, she put my mother to shame in the stuffing department. Her little house is bursting at the seams. All of it terribly valuable, of course.

After these two exercises, I had an urge to purge. I've set a goal for myself, that anyone should be able to go through any room in my house in an hour. Armed with bags or boxes, no sifting and sorting required, they should be able to pack up. We don't have kids, so no memories to worry about keeping.

I have a couple of rooms done, but lots more to do. And we won't even comment on DH's stuff. He is a packrat. But if at least part of the house is done, we're a step ahead. I've often said that when we sell the house, we're keeping the basement so we don't have to clean it out!

We started downsizing today.

We've lived in this house for 33 years, raised 3 kids and had the pleasure of having my Dad live with us for the last 5 years of his life. We've done so much to this place that it's hard to leave - we put on a 1,000 sq ft addition, added a porch and a pool but now's the time to transition and we've decided to move to an over 55 community near our home.

DH went through his closet, chest of drawers and easily eliminated 90% of his clothes. Now that he's retired he no longer needs multiple suits, sport coats and ties, plus he's slimmed down and most are too large.

Unfortunately I haven't slimmed down and my closet is full of clothes that will fit at various weights. But you have to start somewhere and since DH has made the first move it's up to me to continue.

Now that we know where we're going and when it will be much easier. Most of our furniture will go with us and actually look better in the new place. We'll offer some of the bedroom furniture to the kids and then donate what they don't want. A realtor is coming tomorrow to give us an appraisal and then we start getting the rest of the house ready.

That's exciting, Maire, good luck!

Oh Mtn - thanks for the good wishes! DH would have stayed here forever. This home is like your favorite pair of worn jeans that you just hate to part with.

Marie cate, that is exciting news! You can report back from the downsizing trenches with helpful tips for the rest of us. Good luck.

Starting the process is really easy. If it's in the garage and you haven't used it in the last year it can go. If it's inside any of your closets or cabinets and you haven't used it in the last year it can go. It is really hard to let go of all this stuff because you realize that you spent years buying it, collecting it, maintaining it, storing it, and now it feels like a waste. That's fine. Have the feeling. And then let it go.

No one wants you to kill yourself palimpsest, but when my Dad died (Mom had died 4 years before), he had 156 empty 1 gallon milk cartons saved in the basement in case he needed one. That was just one example. Broken stuff, nuts, bolts, screws,boards,pieces of plywood, ect. His parents stuff, my mom's parents stuff, her grandparent's stuff, and their stuff. Yes, it makes it very hard.You hate to throw anything away (except the milk cartons) because it meant so much to them, but now your house is junked. I had just made progress (and it was very hard to get rid of anything) when my FIL died and my MIL went to a Altzheimer facility and we got a lot of their stuff.

We did not find it difficult AT ALL to thrown/sell/give away the stuff we sorted through and did not want. It is STUFF. 99.9% of its VALUE is in the owners opinion. Once they have gone the STUFF can go too. The STUFF is not them and keeping it does not make grieving and saying good bye any easier. A memento or two is one thing to be buried in THEIR STUFF is totally forgetting it is ONLY STUFF.

Something that helps me, when I find an object that causes a sentimental pang, is to think 'if I haven't seen, touched, used, remembered or thought of this is X years, how much does it REALLY mean to me?' Objects that have been literally out of sight, out of mind may seem hard to discard but really if you're not even aware of it then is it really something worth hanging on to?

Well we're moving along in the process.

DD bought her first house a few months ago and now that she's finally arranged all the things that had been in her teeny apartment she stopped by the house today to get the rest of her belongings. Honesty she moved out 5 years ago but if you opened her closets or looked under the sink in her bathroom you'd swear she was still here full time.

I am not sure how to think about this topic. I dont' mind getting rid of my own things, but I do have a hard time getting rid of some of my mom, grandmother and great grandmothers things.

My great grandmother lived to 102 so I remember her well. I have the rocking chair I remember in her house and rocked her great great grandson in it.

My mom passed when I was in my mid 20s (20 years ago) so I have been lugging some of this stuff around a long time, but each move it gets a bit and bit less and I part with some of it.

As we are packing to move we found a box in the attic recently. As DH was handing me the box down from the attic the flap opened a bit. Wow. I don't know what it was, something she wore, some old perfume bottles or what, but the smell just hit me and I overloaded like I was physically hit with emotion. it was like nothing I ever felt before. Priceless. :) I have not opened the box. I sealed it back up and put it in another box to move to the new house. I do want to open it but I am just not ready yet. Sounds strange when I type it!