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My hubby and I are doing this now 33 years and the stuff you collect is unreal. I have cleared out over the years but the last 6 is everything has just built up again. Plus my father passed away so we had to clear his house out and I had to bring the stuff to my house as my brother has one bedroom apartment. My parents were hoarders so I really try not to have that gene but it’s just so difficult to get rid of stuff these days and I hate the thought that I’m adding to landfill, but I guess I have to.
I see this all the time in my business, rather I see the “stuff”. I’ve been to countless on-site estate sales. High end to low end. It’s all the same. There are collections, memories, trophies, hobbies, passions…. You see the way people lived - hoarder, collector, neat as a pin, dusty as all hell, loved to entertain, history buff, clothes horse, more money than sense, no money but elegant, on and on and on….
What I have learned after many years is that it is all just stuff. It pretty much all can be replaced. It pretty much all can be sold. It just depends on whether or not you want to deal with it, or if you want your kids to deal with it, or if there’s no one to deal with it. It will all be dealt with once you are gone - by someone. Pictures, writing, art, sewing, handmade things. Those are the irreplaceable things, like the thesis that was mentioned. Some of those things are valued by collectors. Given the opportunity, a dealer may want to sell something like that. Many dealers scour charity shops and estate sales for such things. If you want someone to get use from things like that, it’s best to donate them. Quilts, embroidery, drawings, art, even old Christmas ornaments are collected by someone. Sometimes the things people think are valuable are just old, but everything has value to someone.
In my personal life I used to crave having more things. My mother was a very spare person, she didn’t acquire much that was not utilitarian. When my parents divorced I left my house at 18 with my clothes. My dad sold all my bedroom furniture. I think that led me to acquire at a fast pace for a long time.
I love things. I love to look at them, learn about them, make things, fix things… But I find now I just like saving things for other people to enjoy. I love selling antique and vintage things that make people happy. Things that are pretty, or nostalgic, or useful or just cool. It gives me immense joy. By buying and selling I’ve learned you can let everything go. You can find another one. But I’ve also learned that having too many things is a burden. They have to be cleaned and dusted and washed and stored. If you have too much you can’t take care of it (as evidenced by Ms Jarvis and her collection of
tit), your things will ruin. Your clothes will end up with holes and mold. Your spaces will be unusable. Things will become a burden.
Mainly I’d say keep what you can care for and keep in mind what you want leave as a legacy and who will be handling it, and donate everything you can. And there is always help if you want to sell it or need the money.
My first reel celebrating THE ESCAPE being a Richard and Judy BooK Club Pick 
