My father's second wife died a couple of months ago, and we helped my younger brother and his family move stuff out today. they've been at it for a month now. She wasn't a hoarder, but she had lived in that house since 1946 and kept the better and sentimental things along the way. She had been the one who told us when we were first married that you spend the first half of your life acquiring things and the second half getting rid of it.
Lots of dark wooden furniture, now stacked up in the garage. Some of it is quite nice, but I understand no one wants it anymore. In the garage rafters is an 8-ft sled with runners that looks about 100 years old. Even the steering rope looks that old. It's probably worth something and even looks like the sort of thing that gets restored and put in an Historical Society display. There are more than a few things like that in the piles of stuff, but neither Ruth nor my brother had a guy in that knew about antiques to pint out what should be saved and sold or bequeathed. They both kept saying they were going to, and my sister-in-law says she certainly reminded them about it repeatedly over the last five years.
Next weekend one pile is going into a U-Haul for donations and the other pile is going into the portable dumpster in the driveway. There's still time to save some of it, but no one will. My wife took a creamer and sugar bowl as a memento of the very dear woman.
So find the guy you heard about that checks out antiques and put stickies on the ones you want to sell or bequeath. You will have less energy next year, not more. Or you might get injured, as I am, and be much less able to to carry stuff.
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