realising you don't need to keep stuff!

Yes I agree it is just 'stuff'. The only thing I hoarded was a few photographs and I had been thinking of getting rid of those. The decision was made for me after the storm the other day. Leaking roof into the wardrobe where they were stored. Problem solved.

I so agree. We heaved and recycled a load of stuff when we moved in July.

I went to a lovely craft fair the other week, bit felt no desire whatever to buy anything even though there were lovely things - no more stuff!

We got rid of a mountain of stuff a couple of years ago, when dh re insulated the loft. Of course we had to clear it bit by bit. A lot of stuff went to charity shops - just one of them informed us later that the things had raised £250! Must have been better stuff than we'd imagined!

I would hope to clear a lot more in future, to save our daughters extra work when we finally cark it. It's the sentimental stuff that's so hard. I still have the lucky horseshoe thing my mother was holding in her wedding photo in 1939. It's still in its box. Dds will have to be hard hearted over that one day - I can't bring myself to chuck it.
Also have a silk christening gown and cape, all beautifully sewn and pintucked, I think by a great granny - which was my father's. He would have been 100 this year.
Another one for dds one day!

One thing I found it hard to chuck was a mass of soft toys of dds' in bin bags in the loft - they still had half a dozen favourites each elsewhere. But I really hate just binning teddies etc.
Luckily we thought of Battersea Dogs' Home, and they said they'd be pleased to have them as long as there were no polystyrene beads. They would get chewed up eventually of course, but if the dogs could enjoy them even for a little while that was good enough for us, and infinitely better than the tip!

I do agree Jordana. We are still in the middle of a downsizing house move. It has involved clearing a 5 bedroom house and encouraging the kids to sort their stuff (though we still seem to have lots of it) but to my mind, the best bit was staying in a one bedroom apartment between houses with the furniture in store. We literally had a couple of suitcases full of clothes, some books and a laptop each. It was bliss! Both of us didn't want the furniture etc back but of course, it is hard to take that step.
Currently, we are in rental and a lot more has been cleared out. I do not know why we hoard so much or why we imagine our children will want little ornaments or sheaves of paintings they did at junior school or cards they made and gave us!
My mother used to say 'we come into the world we nothing and we leave with nothing'. I used to think this was rather morbid but now I can see the point! Life is, however, slightly less fun now I don't often go into charity shops!