We will be moving in July but....

I'm totally with Lucca on this. After many years of widowhood and never having visited the loft, I asked son2 to go up there and dispose of everything whilst I went on a short trip. I knew I might want to keep certain items once I saw them strictly on emotional merit. Such nonsense. My husband had been an awful hoarder. Over all these years I've only ever wanted two items. One I replaced and the other was gone. Not bad out of hundreds of items. I'm still trying to live a degree of a minimalist existence as I had the pain of emptying my lovely Mum's home. The horror still lives with me and I'm trying to reduce that experience for my children.

Will he have a space in your new home just for him? If so, then it all goes there. If not, rent a storage unit? I am ruthless when it comes to clutter. You could get rid of things in small doses until he notices! Does he look at or use all his stuff? If so, you're screwed. If not, gradually throw out. Blame the moving company if he goes looking for it!

Can’t bear to hear if all this . What is supposed up happen to all this “stuff” when you die ? Do you have children who will have to deal with it ? So much can be digitised ie just photo sentimental cards etc. Decluttering is so much healthier

Of course it is his home too ! More than happy to keep his Grandmothers paintings she was a very good amateur artist , old photos and things which I feel the next generations would appreciate but ephemera of lost youth I find bloody annoying !

A trunk of books and old notes is nothing we still have those and the gowns.
We took a real skeleton with a skull around from house to house, some poor chap from India. What brought it to an end was on a big move the removal men said my two-year-old had a handful of something peculiar.
She had found the box from the loft with the skull and removed all the loose teeth and she was playing with them while I was busy.
It was finally donated to somewhere that would use it.
These days it is unethical and plastic ones are used thank goodness.

Ladyleftfieldlover, perhaps someone could get up into the loft and bring down some of your husband’s essays for him to reread and enjoy all over again?

This is a tricky one! Unless you are downsizing, just let your husband keep his stuff. I do understand it’s frustrating, but it’s his home too!

Get some popcorn and watch the Marie Kondo videos with him, she has helped a lot of people declutter.

OH went to Oxford 50 years ago. In the loft is a trunk containing his text books and essays. He hasn’t looked at them since we bought our first house in the 1970s. That trunk is taken from loft to loft every time we have moved. He can’t get in the loft anymore because of his health issues! Madness.