Anyone else feel like this?

I've got a shed full of 'might need in the future' stuff.

Pretty sure I won't really need it. Even now, can't be bothered to sort it out though.

Mine is all in the attic, along with boxes of who know's what that the children left behind when they left home.
I can't face the task of clearing it all out. I hate to admit there are several gifts too hideous to display - I might re-gift them if I remembered who donated them in the first place.

Be careful there ExD you may cause some family ructions

I'm just hoping that when our voluntary library reopens we won't be inundated with bags of tatty old books that people have been clearing out of their attics and barns.

I think it might Sodapop, and I think charity shops will be extremely busy. I believe that this crisis will make folk think about why they are holding on to things. We have become very materialistic.
I put a note on gifts of who gave me it if I keep to recycle. Buf recently we did a very ruthless clear out because let's face it most things we hold on to for years will never be used again. Letting go is the problem.

yorkie20 not sure if you can do anything with it just now but when lockdown is all over please think of others. My grandma had a house/loft and garage full of stuff she refused to get rid off or donate/give to anyone. Her argument was "it may come in useful one day" Except it never did come in useful. When she died it was absolutely heartbreaking for the ones who had the job of clearing the house. Just looking at the things that had been so dear to her was bad enough but nobody seemed to want any of it (in our disposable society). Made my mind up then, I would de-clutter every year. Although am mindful that you say your house isn't cluttered and the stuff in garage is in boxes so may not be applicable to you. Have a rummage round while we are housebound and decide what you can get rid of when it is lifted.

We moved house 3 weeks ago after 39 years in the same place. I decluttered so much. A lot of things were valuable but had been sitting in the cupboard for decades. A lot I came across I didn't even remember I had and some was of sentimental value. These were the hardest to get rid of but I rationalized it by saying had I used them instead of putting them in a cupboard they would probably be broken or worn out and I'd not have them in any case.
I'm actually liking not having a cluttered house and cupboards that are not full to breaking point.

Well I'm normally one to get rid of things. But I'm thinking that prices may go up a lot after this pandemic. So I'm hanging onto things a bit more than I might have done.

I am dreadful for hanging onto clutter. I think it comes from being brought up only getting things for Christmas and birthdays. If something got lost or broken, too bad - you still had to wait to get it replaced, and that has stayed with me.

Also, I was taught at an early age that you should 'buy things to last', which doesn't really fit with today's society, where things become unusable, rather than simply out of date. I'm thinking of things like the enormous number of DVDs we have, despite the fact that we tend to stream films, and know that before long it will be impossible to buy a DVD player if ours breaks or wears out.

I now have an 'it might come in useful one day' mentality that is very hard to shift, and I have so much 'stuff' after living here for many years that it's getting on my nerves. It's not remotely on a 'Hoarder Next Door' level, but bad enough to make me realise that I need to have a massive clearout, which won't be easy.

It's annoying that at the very time when we could be getting on top of it all there is no way to get rid of it all, but obviously there are good reasons for that.

In many ways, I would love someone to come in (when I am out and unable to make contact in any way!) and do the clearcut for me, so that I don't get too upset at the thought of throwing things away. I'm quite sure I wouldn't miss 99% of it, and the other 1% could easily be replaced.

I'm a declutterer. If it hasn't been used for a year then it's not needed and out it goes.

I used to keep things just in case but when I escaped I had nothing and quickly realised how little you need to be happy. Not that I haven't collected some stuff since but I try to follow the Willam Morris adage, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

The next few years are going to be very difficult for a lot of people, with businesses failing and jobs vanisjing. Itis possible that all that stuff that would "come in handy one day may be very useful indeed, maybe to you as things need replaced, or to your family, as grandchildren leave the nest and set up separate homes, or to complete strangers buying in charity shops or reciveing Fresh Start donations. I believe domestic violence has increased with lockdown, so there will be people moving out of the marital home when they can, perhaps with children.

So don't send/take anything to the tip that may still have years of use in it. Don't waste good stuff!

I am a declutterer. Everything goes to a Charity shop, Freegle, auction sale, within days of me deciding it is surplus to requirements. Only in extremis does anything go to the tip. That is an admission of failure.

I've moved several times in the last 20 years so have de-cluttered quite regularly.

Lockdown has made me have another big clear-out.

This is what I did Yorkie. We downsized last year, and we don’t even have a garage now just a shed. I told myself I could only keep a third of what was in the garage ornaments, extra Kitchen stuff, books etc the rest I gave to charity, Some i sold and the funny thing is nearly a year on I hadn’t even thought about it until I read your thread.its only stuff.

I'm like you, M0nica, If it goes to the tip then it is of no use to anyone.

I used to have loads of just incase stuff, but I dont any more. Last year I decided after 40 years to hang up my uniform and take early retirement from nursing. I then decided to update the house, doors, central heating, bathrooms, furniture, the lot, will not be doing that again. It was utter chaos as every room was done, so it gave me an opportunity to donate or throw out so much stuff that we had accumulated over the years and boy was there alot. We now have an easy to manage, clutterfree home, that I have more time to clean that needs less time to do it. It does make it easier to get things done and gives me more time to go out and work in the garden, which I think needs to become easier to manage. Xx

I cleared my loft out because I knew it was full of things I might need in the future. What did I do with most of it? Put it in the garage, of course. At least it’s easier to get to if I ever DO need it!

I moved home early last year and have only the things I need or love in my home now
Nothing more
Easy to keep clean and maintain
And beautifully calming for the mind

My dad in particular was a great "might come in handy" storer!
We had bags of nuts, bolts and screws from when he was at work - he used to put animal feeding systems together and always brought home the bolts etc that were left over !
After he died, my brother took most of them to a scrap merchants and got paid £50 for it all ! Just about paid for his hernia repair !! ha ha!

I often hear about people keeping items of a sentimental nature but are never then are taken out of boxes. Can I suggest taking a photo of the item, pop it into an album along with others and then you can donate the item so someone else can then get memories from your item. When you're gone, your family can then sit down and look though the album, maybe even adding items of their own into it to be passed on.

When we come out the other side of the current situation which could easily be a year for us older ones, you could have a garage sale and donate the funds to charity. There are also websites such as freecycle where you can give items away for free to someone who wants them and will come and collect. Again not possible at the moment.
My whole house is a rubbish tip and I am coming to the reluctant truth that if I can't clear in the next 2-3 months then it is never going to happen.

ValerieF I understand the difficulty if dealing with your Grandma's items.
What I would like to remind us about is that our parents or grandparents lived through the war and through times when there were no jobs and nothing in the house. I was born after the war but brought up not to waste anything. Everything had a second purpose or would 'come in useful one day' and therefore was not thrown away. So I do understand why that generation held on to things.

Beanie654321. I too have been ruthlessly getting rid of things including books which was very hard! But being practically confined to the house through pain and disability I need hobbies and I find that they require storage space for the bits and pieces.

I cleared out my wardrobes the other day and have several bags to go to charity when we're allowed out. We also cleared about 20 years of old business records on Sunday - far too many to shred so had a good ripping session and filled two huge boxes. I managed to empty one into the recycling bin this week so just hoping that they don't stop collecting that imminently!

As for the garage ....... boxes and boxes of old stuff that came from my parents as well as craft stuff I put away in case I ever got round to doing any again

Everybody is different. I often read advice about getting rid. of clothes you haven't worn for a few months. That may be ok for people, who buy a lot, but I don't. So every time I re-organise my wardrobe, I may find things I haven't worn for years and give them a new lease of life. Much better than the throw away mentality of younger generations. For my daughter's graduation I wore a 20 year old skirt and 35 year old top.