Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Sam,

Thankyou for the wake up call. Actually I have missed nothing up north and have done very well without any of it!

Good thing to keep telling myself when I start going thru it all. Thanks!

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

We are giving quite a lot of things to our local thrift shop.

Glad to have the hint about the towels, sheets and quilts, etc. for the animal shelter.

We had a metal file cabinet purchased from a second hand store many years ago. My husband took it back to them and got $20.

We are only planning to take "memorbilia," but that seems to amount to quite a bit. ha, ha. Thank goodness our photos go on disk now.

My son said he found an old pay stub from years ago in some things I had given him.

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Libraries may accept donations of books and magazines - We just donated a set of children's encyclopedias.

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Get a dumpster and go to the home depot and hire a couple of UN documented aliens and start throwing stuff out unless it has to do with golf or fishing it can be replaced, so get rid of it. ( I being politically correct, that rarely happens)

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Cant thank you all enough for your great ideas and suggestions. When I am on my knees in the cellar holding grannies old shawl(I really have it), with tears in my eyes I will re-read all your posts and realize they are just"things" and I cant take them with me either to TV or the grave. :'(

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Nonie, I just spent some days packing boxes of things I'm not going to use while house is on market. I made decisions again not to take some things I thought last summer when I was sorting I still needed. Keep thinking about how much room I won't have. I had linens from my mom and grandmother and finally made decision to sell since they have just been sitting in drawer all these moves. Kept just a few special pieces. Hard to turn off the emotions but have to be realistic. Kids don't seem to want the things we thought were so important. Good luck and shed a few tears and keep all the great memories.

Mik

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Mikark,

:agree: Our kids are the same, don't even WANT the things we thought were so wonderful and necessary when we were young. They have totally different ideas about life. They save money to go to Europe or on a cruise instead of buying 'stuff' like we did.

So we figure the memories ARE the most important,,, and we'll keep those... :bow:

I have gotten rid of most of our stuff. My hubbys Santa collection is our big problem now. He doesn't want to part with it bit it really takes up tons of space for something that's seasonal.
He's the Clark Griswold of our neighborhood, so it'll be hard for him...
But I think he's mentally starting to accept now tho that they will have to go...

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Nonie:
don't get rid of grannies shawl. I still have a crochet afghan my grandmother knit for me. I keep it in the linen closet and every once in a while take it out and wrap up in it(during the cold days in Dec and Jan). I have tried several times to part with it, but just can't. Those are the things to keep. Give away the "I might need this some day "items.

Mint:
Keep the santa collection and display it year round. I know of one villager that has a Christmas collection out all year long. It is about what makes you happy and who you are.The Santa collection makes your hubby happy and is part of who he is, so I vote to keep it. :bigthumbsup:

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

For those of you who are trying to declutter as are we, a tip about the things your children have left behind. Our daughter and family left behind quite a bit of "stuff" when they moved out this last time, "because they had no place to store it". We said okay for awhile, then we set a deadline for the removal of same...then another...then another...(we are push-overs, I'm afraid)

Easter weekend they invited us to their new home and we arrived on Saturday, towing a large, stuffed to the limit, covered trailer, behind my husband's full Avalanche, (that's a truck). We helped them unload the truck, then we unhitched the trailer, took our grandchildren and told our kids we would be back the next day to celebrate Easter.

What a great weekend. We got to have our grandbabies (2 & 4) all to ourselves overnight...and we emptied a large quantity of "stuff" from our house.

Long story, short...if they don't come for it take it to them. Worked for us.

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

We got a dumpster about a year ago and filled it to capacity.....why of why am I afraid to get rid of, "STUFF"? I joined a DECLUTTER list on the internet and it helped.....

Good Luck!

Shirleevee

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

I need the url to the "declutter" list shirleevee

It's hard for me to let go

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Nonie, one thing I found that helped with some of the things that I couldn't bring but truly meant something to me was to take pictures of them. It wasn't the thing that mattered, but the memory behind it. What's nice is that I put them on my puter and wrote explanations of what they were and why they were important. It made it much easier to leave them behind.

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

My daughter told me about 1-800-GOT JUNK. (Also www.1800gotjunk.com) Call them and they will cart away whatever it is you want them to take-- for example, everything in the basement, garage, attic, etc. or specified things. They charge by the truckload or part thereof. A full truckload (their website gives you an idea as to what that means in terms of furniture and other junk) costs $638 in west New Jersey (half load is $385 and quarter load is $260--they estimate the size of the load before you sign.) They cart everything away and even sweep before they leave.

Understand, I have never used them but read all this on their website. I plan to use them.

Good luck

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

About getting the real junk up or down those steps, out the door, and off the property...

Other than that little essay I wrote in this thread a couple of days ago about getting a Sawzall, the only other advice I have is to make sure anybody you hire is carrying the right insurance coverage, workman's comp, or whatever it is.

I know you don't care if they break the junk.

But you did not come all this way in your life to find yourself first in line in some litigation over liability if someone you hire gets hurt at your place. I would have the paperwork that proves coverage in hand. You may want to check your homeowner policy for liability coverage, too. Just a suggestion. My guess is that you already know this anyway. And besides, I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on television.

Boomer

Re: How do you clean out a 37 year accumulation? HELP!
 

Boomer, But I'm guessing you stayed in a Holiday Inn last night! ;D

Becky