What do people do with things like giant silver bowls that were given to grandparents for a wedding gift? I have no plans to get rid of them, but I don’t display them, either.
I keep a donation bin in my laundry room so my family can easily/regularly get rid of clothes that no longer fit or that they don’t like anymore, but I like the idea of filling a bag a week too. I just cleaned out the closet in our spare room and got a full bag to donate and a bag of trash as well, so bonus points to me for having 2 bags my very first day. 
@VeryHappy, I saw a woman make a stunning planter out of a silver bowl. She put a potted fern inside the bowl - the plant was wide enough to cover the space between the pot and the silver bowl. It looked amazing.
Otherwise, yea. There are some things you can’t throw away but can’t use much, either. A minimalist’s nightmare
I am happy to report that I came from Sweden without buying any crap - only a Chantelle swim suit, which will be eaten by chlorine and sunlight soon. No Moomin mugs, Orrefors glass, or Eva Solo carafes!
This morning was the garbage pick up morning… I tossed a few scented candles which we never used - we now have LED ones that don’t produce soot and smoke. Chipping away at the clutter!
Baby kiddo told me that she now realized that her parents don’t need anything material… form now on, she will bring us food and consumable goods. The Spanish wine we had was delicious! Can’t wait for the Swiss chocolate. 
If you don’t need a tax write off and you are tired of the drive to Goodwill, I’d like to suggest another location to drop off your clothing.
I teach English to adult refugees. At many teaching locations, there are tables outside the classroom where teachers drop off clothing & household goods. The students are thrilled with a “new find” and is so interesting to see what they select.
This humbling experience has actually been the best motivator for me to get rid of items. They love notebooks with only 20-30 pages left, a handful of pencils or pens, scissors, towels, and they LOVE sweaters and sandals!
I just realized we own eight beach towels, none of which I remember buying. Ever. One is even from the Boston Red Sox, of which we are not fans.
We do use them when we bathe the dogs, but really – where do these things come from??
VH, thank you! Your post reminded me that I need to make a stop at the local pet shelter to drop off another pile of old sheets and towels.
Cleaned out a pile of shoeboxes out of the closet! Out of sight… The shoes have been long gone, the boxes were still there! Now I have room for more shoes.
I’m not doing well at the moment–I’m blessed with good genes for longevity but close relatives are old and at life’s end.
So I’ve had two funerals in the last month. Both sides of family. Tough but okay.
Just for this thread though–I’m the recipient of lots of memorabilia now. From two sides of the family. And more to come. I have a hard time deciding what to keep for my own immediate family. I keep pehotos, small stuff that’s easily stored (work on that later).
But Furniture? Dishes? Crystal? Large antique pieces? Sell? Store?
I can sell stuff I think without TOO much angst. But what would you really keep to pass on to your kids?
@gouf78, I suggest you ask your children what they’d like and, if they’re adults and no longer living at home, give them the things they want to keep in their homes.
Gouf, sorry about the passing of your relatives. I’d do what rosered says about asking adult kids now what they might want, and then if you can store stuff for awhile, it may be easier to make decisions about what to keep with the passage of time. Nothing says it HAS to all be divvied up immediately unless you have no space.
Great suggestion, rosesred. Sorry to hear about your relatives, gouf.
Neighborhood just had a “West End Garage Sale.” Put two old kids bikes, a kids twin bed headboard and a max sized luggage missing a foot ( broken off in travels) in the front yard for free. They all were taken. Put lots of hanging basket pots out for free in the beginning go the summer. All were taken. Little by little we get rid of stuff.
Mr. dropped 6 bags of stuff (where did it all come from???) at the Goodwill place.
I took some stuff back to Nordstrom… Now the “staging area” on the master bedroom floor I used this weekend for sorting through the closet is clear!
My son moved into an unfurnished apartment this weekend so I took the opportunity of getting rid of a few extra things laying around that I was saving for just such an occasion- old silverware, a trundle bed, desk and bookcase, pots and pans, utensils… phew! Good to have all that gone!
dropped a bag off. H no longer looks upset but just asks “does this go?”
2016, yes! We are taking bookcases, a table, a bed, a file cabinet and more to our S and DIL in two weeks.
I love this thread. As I begin packing for a vacation I went through my closet and my dressers. I organized and filled 3 bags for the thrift store.
I next ventured into my bathroom. I have a floor to ceiling linen closet in my master bath. It gives me room to store a bunch of stuff which is both a blessing and a curse. I threw away a lot of half used small bottles. Stuff H has brought home from hotels. I realized I had numerous toiletry and medicine bags leftover from various travels. I found that I have everything I need and I don’t need a trip to CVS.
4 bags last week, after cleaning my big chest of drawers. What is hard now is to get rid of stuff that still fits, but hasn’t been worn in awhile.
I haven’t posted on this thread for a long time, but we are back to the “bag or TWO” a week these days. Our goal is to move when our youngest is finished with college. (He’s now starting sophomore year) I knew my H was a pack rat, but I really had no idea how much until we began cleaning out some cabinets, drawers and closets. Since we have at least three years before moving, I think if we continue to do a bag every single week, we should be in good shape by then! It could be donating, or throwing away. Both count!
We recently bought new garbage cans that hold more bags! I think in recent years we’ve gone from 35 lb. to 40 lb. to now 50 lb! We try to fit in as many bags into the one container allowed per week. Usually it’s around 6 or 7. Half everyday garbage and the other half the things we find around the house to throw away. We have to do it in a pattern so we don’t forget anything. In our basement we tackle one area at a time. Today we spent two hours cleaning, organizing and throwing. We decided we have so much stuff that we’re going to have a garage sale in September!
We have given away so many bags of clothes, gloves, hats, mittens, boots, etc.,etc in recent years, the charity calls us specially in advance of their next truck run on our street!
I LOVE the feeling of pairing down, throwing away, giving away…it makes me feel less stressed when I know an area has been recently cleaned by us! After 28, almost 29 years of marriage, H is FINALLY on the same page as me and is trying to throw away as much as he can too. Yay!
I assessed our “stuff” needs for the nearest future, and the verdict is in: we have all the necessary clothes, shoes, socks, etc. for the nearest foreseeable future! I might splurge on a pair of booties and another Lulu running skirt, but that’s about it. Other than that, I declare September a No Shopping For Me Month! October, too.
I also snuck into the baby kiddo’s room and went through the top shelf in her closet. There was some stuff she would never wear… items in good condition went into the Goodwill-designated box. Crap was ruthlessly tossed.
So how can I get my husband on board? He still owns sweaters that I bought him in the late 1970s/early 1980s that he hasn’t worn in – oh, 30 years or so. They are lovely sweaters, but he doesn’t even like to wear sweaters. When we moved almost three years ago, I tried to get him to get rid of them, but Nooooooo – He says, we have the space; I want to keep them. So they sit on the top shelf of his closet, taking up space and doing no one any good.