Self confessd Hoarder

I'm trying to dispose of things that I don't use anymore as I don't want my family feeling guilty about binning things they thought might of been precious to me. Could you not have a serious prune of your 'stuff', I always feel happy when I've cleared a shelf of clutter or things that are just sitting there unused .

I have just made a new will and the solicitor is in the process of sorting out the Lasting Power of Attorney. I am doing what tanith is doing because I also do not want my clutter to be on display when I shuffle off this mortal coil. Mine is mainly paper but there is so much of it.

Why don't you sell some of the things

If you enjoy it, use it from time to time, and it's not hurting anyone why throw it out? I'd love not to be a hoarder but I am and DH is even worse. When we've died it won't be problem - for us anyway

If you keep it all in nice big plastic storage boxes and it's tidy then all they will have to do is take the boxes to the charity shop.

Let's hope it's not for a long time yet.
I really need to knit up my yarn stash.

It's all the books I keep thinking about - will they keep them/charity shop them/skip them

I can't see myself selling anything. Never know when you might need them That's how my mind works.
I am still an active crafter and use most of the gadgets that I have. That is of course if I can find out where to locate them . And then hope to remember how to use the darn thing when I do. Oh! The pleasures of growing old

DH has garages full of motorbike parts, tools and other junk, he has now done an photographic inventory and price list in case he pops his clogs first, i wouldnt have a clue what 99% of it is and would certainly be ripped off when i sold it, some small bits are worth £30/£40 and i would have given them away thinking they were worth pennies

P.S he has finally had to admit how much he has spent over the years !

Maybe not quite now but I think that in a few years you could consider donating some of it. We have lost lots elderly friends and relatives lately. All of them have had their precious possessions just given to house clearance people or taken to the dump.

We paid £800 to a hospice to clear my mums house. House clearers were charging up to £2000. It was a wake up call for us and we have cleared out lots of stuff because I don't want my kids having to do what I have had to.

Every time I buy something new my OH deflates me by reminding me that it is just one more thing for the skip when my kids clear the house.
I know that is exactly what will happen. Both my boys live abroad and they will want the place sold with the minimum of fuss. Everything that has given me pleasure, things I cherish, even my mother's treasures which I could not part with will all go to the dump. So sad!

With all the predictions of doom about rising prices, falling standards of living, and ballooning populations chasing scarcity of resources, perhaps we would all be better just keeping all that hoarded stuff to use up when we can no longer either afford to replace it or find any replacements to buy? It could all come in handy in the future. Mabe I might even use the teamaker and the fondue set that I found at the back of the cupboard, or the aluminium hi-dome pressure cooker (replaced with a stainless steel one when we bought the ceramic hob that was not supposed to be used with aluminium pans and stowed away "in case it was needed"

Anyone want a hi-dome pressure cooker? Apply within.

I have waited to declutter for some years but decided to do so when I moved house. Am now moving house in December, so far everything - will come in useful one day or I can't discard that X bought it for me

I don't save anything much but things I throw out my husband hoards in the barn. I don't even look in there.

What does it matter if things are chucked after you are gone?
If you are enjoying them and finding them useful now, that is what they are for.

I think we too are entitled to live our lives and enjoy them - not just prepare the way for the youngsters. I try to keep things fairly tidy but I'm sure my son and family will just hire a skip for all my hobbies when the time comes. In fact I'm sure they are just glad that I am happy and busy so that they can get on with their own lives.

What about a tin of butter beans two years out of date, should I carry on hoarding them?
The juicer which DD loves but she left home years ago?
George Foreman grill anyone?

I have a hi-dome pressure cooker thank you, Elegran, at the back of the cupboard.

ps does Carnation Caramel in a tin go off?

I am not a hoarder myself, but why don't you arrange for the local Embroiderers Guild, or Womens Institute or similar to have your crafting things( After you shuffle off of course). You could as another poster suggested have them all tide in boxes, write to the said organisation with the promise of what is to come, inform your nearest and dearest of you wishes, and hey presto all that is needed is a telephone call, and someone should come and collect it all.

If you want to keep it round you, keep it round you and forget what will happen when you are not longer here. That's not for you to worry about now. If you get pleasure from having your stuff around, then have it.

I have lots of little things around which bring me comfort and I couldn't care less what other people think. I need them around me. I have been throwing some things out too and have took a trip to the tip a few times recently but it just highlights the things which I really want to keep and to have beside me.

One way to do it if you want to get rid of some stuff is to take photos of it and to do an album of favourite things. That way you still have a memory of it but it is not cluttering up, but only if you want to get rid of it.

If you do get rid of any of your craft items, then think about charities like the one on diy sos last night, a young carers charity where young carers meet up and have some time out from their caring responsibilities. That sort of charity would love some craft items and it would benefit all of you. Just a thought. X

I felt like you mamamags and last year made a new year resolution to get rid of one thing every day. I joined a group who make items for NICU s across the country and have had hours of fun making things for this worthwhile cause.

I don't hoard because my husband does. I do have lots of art materials but that's because I paint. When I retired I threw out all my teaching resources, records etc. And I have even given over 1000 books to charity shops. I regularly go through my wardrobe too. I'm not a paragon of virtue. I just don't want to leave a mess for someone else to clear up.

I moved home this year. What a chuck-out!But I couldn't bring myself to get rid of ( throwing out or passing on ) my supply of cake tins, loaf tins and baking trays, even though I should not be eating what I bake in them. I also could not prune my cookery books. I was a devil for keeping out of date tins of food, but my daughter went through those and stood over me while I binned them. Because I'm so close to shops now I won't do that again - I promise.

Since sorting out my mum's house I have got rid of lots of clutter. I know I won't be there to worry but it was so upsetting disposing of things she had once loved but then simply stored away in bedrooms until they were so full they couldn't be used. She loved sewing and crafts and kept on buying stuff even when she couldn't do it anymore. As someone said, craft stuff was easy to find homes for. Fabric and sewing stuff went to charities who make clothes for children here or in other countries, but other personal treasures have little value and even charity shops won't take everything.
I don't want to land my children with the same task so I'm keeping the things that I really treasure and getting rid of anything else.

I love decluttering. It's a hobby for me! However I knit, and can't through away anything related to it.