Lately i have been in the mood to just "clean house" so to speak! I have been going through things that i have had sitting around for a couple of years ( i know that's bad uh? ) But most of the things are things that were my parents and i just haven't had the heart to do.
But, I finally did it!
My mom was a great recipe hoarder and had a million and one recipes in two huge boxes from clippings out of newspapers, magazines, books etc, and i went through it and threw about 99.9% away. Relief is all i can say-
I mean have you ever just got to the point in your life where you look around your home and say " Man i have a ton of things but WHY?"
I have a HUGE collection of cookbooks and i am going to go through them today/ this weekend and donate them to our local thirft shopp. I already have a big box in the van full of quilts, pictures, frames, books , clothes, toys. Things that i have but haven't used for at least 6 months!
Now for the hard part and this is where i need suggestions, ideas and moral support. I have a huge box of old dishes, bowels, glass pieces that was my moms and grandma's that has just been sitting up in my attic for at least 9 yrs. I have asked my sister if she wants any of it and she always comes up with an excuse not to go through it with me. (Granted she does live 4 hrs away but still...) So my question is what do i do with it? Should i just donate it? i mean it has been sitting there and if someone out there could actually enjoy it that would be better than sitting in a box in my attic wouldn't it?
I feel guilty wanting to get rid of it but after all is is just a bunch of " things" and i don't need them around to remember my mom and grandma do i?
Comments, suggestion??

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You must do the thing you think you cannot do~
-Eleanor Roosevelt

I don't have a lot of suggestions but (and I'm sure you'll do this without my thoughts anyway ) but make sure your sister is in the loop. Yes, she has put you off when you have attempted to go through the stuff with her but I've seen so many families argue over who got rid of Grandma's old quilt collection. Maybe just putting a deadline on her, "Hey Sis, this stuff is going in a month and you need to come look through it."

About 10 years after my great grandmother died, my mother's cousin showed up at her doorstep and wanted to know what happened to some tablecloth that belonged to their grandmother! My mother never even had it to begin with.

I would get rid of them, unless they were something really special, like wedding china or something. As for your sister, give her a date (like in a month or two) on which you are going to take these things wherever to get rid of them. Say that she has until that date to come look through them with you. If she doesn't come, then do whatever you want with them!

I am not sentimental about most things. I have my grandma's wedding/engagement ring, a betty crocker cookbook she got for her wedding (in 1956!), and a nativity scene that she loved. I have my great grandma's (which was her grandma's) sewing basket that is from the early 1800's on top of my fridge. Those are the things that I have, and that I have kept, out of all the things my grandpa gave me after she passed away.

He gave me a lot of things that didn't mean anything to her, but I kept the things that I knew she really loved, and gave the rest away. I think that would be a good place to start - was there anything in that box that your mother and grandmother really loved? Sort these things from everything else, and then see what you've got!

I don't know if you have the time to do this, but what about itemizing the things you want to get rid of, make a list, and email/mail it to any family members that may be interested. Be sure to include a note about how it is very difficult for you to do but you have realized that you are "storing" it and it will go to much better use for someone in need. Make sure you include a "let me know if you want anything by ______" date. I had to do this when my sweet sweet mama passed away a few years ago. Beware though, don't be offended when someone says, "Well if you don't want it, I guess I'll take it." Just reply, "Enjoy!"

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melsb- Thats a good idea i never have given her a time line so to speak and i think that i will call her and tell her that she has until the end of May then i am getting rid of them.

telaine- You sound a lot like my sister- She is not the sentimental type either. After my parents died i was the one who went through all of their belongings. She said she didn't want any of it- i kept at the time what i thought ment something to both of my parents. I could calll my nephew ( although he doesn't speak to me) and leave a message that i am getting rid of some of his g-ma's things and offer them to him.

Addimom- That is a great idea ! I think that i will try that with my sister ( along with the time line! )
It's just the two of us we do not have any other family. I am the youngest and have always been super close to my parents. ( i was both of their caretakers for many yrs) and of course i am the sentimental one out of my and my sister. But i am just at a point where i am asking 'Why" am i holding on to all of this stuff?? KWIM?

Thanks ladies! :O)

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You must do the thing you think you cannot do~
-Eleanor Roosevelt

I would ask family members if they want any of it and tell them if not, then you're donating it. Give them a date and then donate anything that is left. Someone else will enjoy it.

I inherited a piano from my Great-Grandmother. For some reason she really wanted me to have it. It was from the 1960's and not anything special. I really didn't want it, but no one else would take it. I eventually got rid of it, although it was hard to do. I sold it to someone whose wife had wanted a piano for years but couldn't afford one and he was going to give it to her as a Christmas gift. It felt so good to give it to someone who truly appreciates and wants it. Of course, my aunt said recently that she wishes she could have it back (even though she already has one) for sentiemental reasons. She should have taken it when I offered so I don't feel too bad.

This is what i did with my dad's chair- it was one of those ones that lifted up and although it was still pretty new and worth a lot more than the 100.oo that i sold it for it felt good knowing that it was going to a good and much needed home!My mil who i asked before i got rid of it now keeps saying that she wishes that i would have given it to her. Hey she had her chance! She gets upset with me becasuse i tell her " You just can't keep EvErThInG! If you don't use it WHY have it?? She on the other hand is a majior HOARDER!

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You must do the thing you think you cannot do~
-Eleanor Roosevelt

I have heard of people who use the old china on a regular basis. Knowing all this now, I wish I had just kept all the plates that we had stored away and used them, rather than buying new stuff. I like the idea of the deadline and itemized list to your sister.

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"It's time to move from what we can do, to what we must do, to what we will do." ~Hillary Clinton

I'm a sentimental hoarder, so I don't have a lot of good advice.lol I do have a suggestion for the recipes though. If your mom had some that were your favorites or that she was known for, just keep those and you'll know what you kept was for a good reason and not just because it was hers. HTH in your decluttering process. I'm was a cookbook hoarder (not by choice), my mom gave me half of my "collection". I also keep a buttload of recipes I clip out of magazines and such and need to get rid of those I haven't tried and won't.

I agree with asking your family if they want it first.

I am not a good person to ask for advice. I am ruthless about decluttering.

What would you want your children to keep? Would it matter to you? I wouldn't want my kids to keep anything they weren't using or enjoying.

I have some dishes and other kitchen items that were my grandmothers. We use them, they are not in storage. I use her sugar bowl every day. It has a chip in it but I still love it because it reminds me of her.