Good idea

On the other hand, cleaning out a dead loved ones stuff might be part of the grieving process

Respectfully. No. Not just no. Hell no. I’ve done the dance countless times. A treasured memento and laughing at a shared story is wonderful for grief. The 27th box for Goodwill? 😡 Do your loved ones a favor. Dump the stuff. m.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN...

We move every few years and have very little useless stuff. We’re almost finished building a one bed one bath house and I’m sure the entire contents could fit in a 20 yard dumpster with a few hours labor. Our daughter is a sentimental pack rat but that’s on her, we’re trying to make it easy

These days, I look at things and say, “should I throw it away, or should my son throw it away?”

I inherited 7 socket wrench sets, 18 nail clippers, about eleventy dozen incandescent light bulbs (they were on sale!), and boxes full of "open a new account and get a piece of crap free" junk. A dozen staplers, lots of costume jewelry (I don't wear any jewelry, junk or real), and a massive number

of expired credit cards, manuals for appliances that died decades ago, road maps from the year the first road was paved, jelly jar glasses, an enormous stack of Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons...

😂 My father had paper gift certificates from his sister and brother , LL Bean and Lands End. They're both gone. I called the companies and they will honor them. 😀

Did that THREE times with my parents. I've never been one to keep stuff but after that experience I don't even let anything get into my house. Yet we have TONS of stuff, no kids, and no one wants to buy any of it, even dirt cheap. Charities here are overflowing and very fussy about condition.

You don't need to read a book... put out an ad: Some good stuff.. FREE... please come and get it...

I did this years ago. I have a minimal amount of stuff--nothing in storage or stored elsewhere. I like it that way.

I beg to differ, maybe some of it they don't want, but most of it they do. I have some cool old stuff.

Nah. Throw all my shit out.

That's just it. I don't want people to see all the useless stuff I amassed (& carried from house to house, unused). I've made a start!

Depends on the music you leave behind.

Working on it. 😉

But everything is so precious!

Look up the 5min clip by Saint George Carlin on YouTube about houses. They are only a lid on our shit.

This post is a sign. Time to close BlueSky and get to my closet… 😁

😂

Not true, i have met many a nearly dead person who had things i was interested in. Furthermore i have known people who have died, and i was upset that someone else got their stuff so like… maybe ask around and make some agreements pre death so i can have some free stuff, thanks

Having to go through my Mom’s clutter was a wake up call for me! She saved everything! Every paystub (in order by date), every card she ever received, I could go on! Made me realize I needed to declutter. Something every week. Committed.

Toss me out with the clutter pls

😂

Just get it down to a manageable level where your kids won’t have to spend months going through it. Carloads to Goodwill, a dumpster, give aways, selling online and I still have so much of mom’s stuff. Headaches, a sore back and knees from the physical work. The emotional burden. The time. Not OK.

Am halfway done doing. Driving out of the recycle center is a light, free, happy feeling💨🚐😇

Since I am dead I really could not care less if my death is a minor inconvenience to some 30-40 year olds.

What a nihilistic/absolutist take? Didn’t structuralism and postmodernism make a convincing point that maybe clutter can give meaning to life?

Going through a parents or loved ones house that is completely filled is hard. Not only from the amount of crap but having to do the emotional labor of going through everything and making those decisions while grieving. Getting rid of some unnecessary clutter in advance can be helpful.

What you call “crap” might not be so to someone else;”unnecessary” is a vague term without fixed meaning in this context. Objects aren’t just things for everybody, they’re signifiers; nodes in a system of relations where meaning can come. Clutter isn’t otiose or emotionally laborious for everyone

I’m not against declutterring but to universally prescribe it it all individuals/families is just absurd Clearly, Messie Condo isn’t a fan of “clutter”, that’s their prerogative of course…good for them

It’s a sometimes helpful option for some. Obviously, not all would want to or can do this. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual who currently owns the items and the people who would be responsible for them in the future.

It's my god given right to have my family worry about getting rid of all of my worthless shit after I die.

My grandmother teased my dad that he would have to go through all her stuff (lived in the same house for almost 70 years) when she died. I laughed about it right up to the point where he moved out of state and I ended up doing it.

Yikes

😂

what if i am the clutter

Most passive aggressive Mother’s Day gift

😂

After cleaning my brother's place after he died, I purged my stuff based on whether I cared about it, or if anyone was going to care about it after I died. I don't want to leave that chore to my kids, and if it is something they want, I'd like to give it to them in person.

Lol, my ex in-laws threatened my ex with becoming hoarders if he was bad. I bet they filled that house!!

Declutter now you never know.

I'm constantly working on this project. I have a thing against sending anything that might be slightly useful to the landfill so I tediously evaluate which thrift store will have the best chance of selling something before I decide where to take itl Also, when I shop, I try to buy previously owned.

I don’t understand at all you people. I spent a lot of my youth going through stuff that was thrown away by families. Signed books, unopened utensils, unique demos of unheard bands, historical magazines, wonderful photos of historical importance that showed how my city was in the past.

Keep your stuff. Unless it’s broken or dangerous. Keep it for fuck sake and don’t just pay an agency to throw away your parents belongings. Go through them, you’ll discover a world about them you didn’t know. Damn this modern minimalism.

Tbc I’m not talking about keeping trash, but tools, electronics, books, screws, vinyls, toys, diaries, pictures, memorabilia, etc. should be kept. And unless you hate your relatives (absolutely legit) you should go through it after they pass. This is my experience at least.

So... Let's get some clutter where we can read how to declutter?

Crap expands to fit the space allotted.

My mother has been on a 50 year quest to prove that cliché wrong.

Except the farmers. They definitely take a lot of shit for top shelf prices

Yes! Working on it. And I am still going through my mother’s things at the same time.

I went through my mom's house with her a couple of years before she died, and we got rid of a lot of stuff. Some of it went to kids and grandkids. I thought it was going to make things easier. Then, my dad died - he had a shop, a garage and a barn.....

How many hammers, screw drivers, boxes of nails/screws, extension cords, pieces of wood, pvc pipes. Pack rats. That’s not even the garage…

The man had five tractors. Used a hammer to 'fix' everything. Poor guy also had five DAUGHTERS. I could tell you some stories... We had a huge yard sale, made many husbands happy, many wives roll eyes.

We have 3 compressors, 2 woodchippers, 2 lawnmowers, 2 snowblowers. Men are funny. 😂

They are! But to be fair, I just took a load from my craft stash to the thrift store.

But you know you will need it as soon as you toss it.

If one has not used stuff for 1 1/2 year, it is time to give it up.

I’m sorry but my family has a proud tradition of once a family member dies we spend way too much time sifting through tons of useless crap saying things like “why would anyone keep this?” And I will not deny my relatives the same chance to be flabbergasted!

Why bother?

Downsizing is a hugely freeing experience. Why pile up a trainload of crap you drag behind you like Bob Marley's chains until you die. Let go and live a little, you're a survivor and you've earned it.

Indeed.

"like Bob Marley's chains" 🤣 Maybe mental slavery? (As in: Emancipate yourself... None but ourselves can free our minds.) I think you meant Jacob Marley

Hahaha yes! Damn, dunno where that came from.

wow someone hates their parents.

Humans consume way too much. We are destroying this planet with our materialism.

LOL surftofind.com

Thanks - my kids appreciate the reminder😜

When my in-laws died, I knew we were in trouble when we found the 1955 tax returns.

😂 Looks interesting! Added to my reading list!

I’ve been telling my mom one bag a day. She’s a hoarder. I love her but dear Lord, she saves everything.

If you don't know why, would you care? Not sure what you are trying to say

That's bleak

Beyond the trauma of losing my mom last month, I've also had the lesser trauma of realizing I've inherited all her stuff, and she was a packrat in her 70's. So there's a lot of shit. :-P

My mother and her 'stuff' I've been de-cluttering my own house for months now.Throw away or put out for Free by the roadside. Now that my youngest has a house of his own, I've purged upstairs and basement so only 1 floor of my stuff. My kids are appreciative of the effort & I've got less to clean.

I listen to this book when I clean. It’s a great motivator to get rid of all those boxes of shit you are saving, but shouldn’t be.

Try telling my dad that.

It wont be my problem once I am dead.

So true

Ha! I got this for my birthday as a joke, but I love it!

I used to want to do this but the older and nearer to death I get, the more I think ‘Ah, feck it ‘

No. Unless you can give me a definite date. Because once my “stuff” is gone all I can do is sit and count the days off in total boredom. So NO.

Fun thing I learned. The museum and the archives here will take many things like social group documents or photos. The museum also accepted my great uncle's WWI uniform from 1918. I'm emptying file cabinets and so on and I can still go see the stuff if I want. They digitize all the photos etc.

But making them deal with it is the best part!!!

In Swedish ”dö-städa”, literarlly death cleaning.

This isn’t a real book, is it? It sounds hysterical. I’d read it.

Wish my parents had read this.

My brother and I decided that when my parents pass ( 81 and 86 ) we only take the photo albums and for the rest we hire a company .

Working on it. Why did we feel the need to accumulate stuff.

Mom went to assisted living. Cleaning out a hoarder’s house that she lived in for 51 yrs was a nightmare. Worst thing was the food stuff- meats & ice cream in the deep freezer from 2012, cans in the cupboard from 2019. Ugh 😑 just gross. 🤮

I have been decluttering for past 10 years after a divorce and going from our big family home to smaller flats. Got rid of so much and still keep doing it,and it is because : 1 I just want less stuff personally as you just don’t use it and 2. I just dont want my kids to have lots to sort/ get rid of

Keep your stuff - if that’s what you want. It’s your life. They’re your things. You’re not dead yet. Let your lazy-ass kids deal with it when you’re gone. It’s not difficult. Veterans will take it free. Hauling companies will cart it away & donate what’s useable. They can organize an estate sale.

Oh it's more difficult than you might think. All Organizations are picky about donation pick ups, junk removal and hauling are expensive. My mother lived in a rural area in Maine, not easy.

Yes, location matters. I’ve always been near urban areas. I got rid of so many things when my mom went into assisted living, and after she died. Now I find myself looking for things I wish I still had. I still have my uncle‘s cookie jar & it means the world to me. You never know what will matter.

If you think you’re going to miss it, take a photo.

When asked to declutter, Mom waved us away, said we (adult children) could handle it when she dies. Thanks, Mom. Nightmare. Broken pots - might come in handy; rusted tools -no future; 5 sets of china to set on yellowed tablecloths. You CAN live happily with less (and save your children the mess).

The china sets we have are from every great aunt and grandma we had. We set them out and cousins go “I didn’t know we still had these! I remember when… “ use them for skeet shooting when we’re gone, right now they bring joy.

Spot on with my parents.

Shelves and shelves of plastic cool whip containers? Boxes of clothes from when memaw was in highschool? Don’t forget the priceless dish set (over valued as gold) that no one could use unless it was during that one time of year.

God, the Cool Whip containers.

Cool whip containers, bags upon bags of plastic bread bags/sacks, the jars bread clips/tags, jars upon jars of newspaper rubber bands, and all other assorted pencils, paper clips, pens without ink and anything else you could think of in the “kitchen” junk drawer. Throw that crap away!!

My grandmother received two sets of good china when she got married. She packed the nicer one. It was never used. Mom got it when she died. When Mom died, we sold it. It had never been used.

I am over 60 and single with no children. I am purging stuff all the time because even I don't want it, let alone my family - other than my Gram's or Mom's things which I hope they keep. I call it American Death Cleaning since I am not Swedish 😀

I'm always at it. But hubby's basement, ugh

As someone who is dealing with clutter from like at least five different ppl, please, for the love of God and all that is holy, list only a few things you'd like for your loved ones to keep/pass down. You don't have to hang onto everything.

Exactly. I had to go through my parents house when I had to move them to an assisted living. My Mother could not give up all of her crap so I took home everything I could. All of it sits in boxes until she passes. I won’t burden my children with all the old shit I loved. They’ve got their own thing.

Me: "Mom, there are ice skates in the basement. I'm going to donate them to a local kids athletic program. Mom: "Don't you DARE, I might need those." Mom is 86, and hasn't skated since the 1960's. There are also a few tennis rackets down there. There are MANY THINGS down there.

Just wanted to add that not all the 'things' are just in the basement. There is also a big pile of empty Amazon boxes at the foot of the basement stairs because that's where she throws them.

My stepdad died 2 years ago I helped my Mom sort, clean, trash, donate, move and sell the house. Difficult. The realtor and i made a " sneak box"of stuff to go. 😂My sister the hoarder, yelled I haven't looked at those 32 lamps yet don't u touch any! 😳She took 10 lamps.

I love to purge every once in a while. Except for tools and books, if I haven't used or cared about something in about a year. Out it goes. I do woodwork as a hobby, and tools are always necessary.

My parents downsized and decluttered. It’s a most thoughtful parting gift. I’m embarked on this process now. I’ve already given or promised many items.

My parents stuff became mine and one day it will become my kids stuff. When you’re not rich, all you get to inherit is other people‘s junk.

It's actually surprising that there IS someone out there that wants your sh*t.

Ok the author being "Messie Condo" was hella suspicious but this thing does in fact exist lol. And that language ain't AI.

My wife and I have been purging crap for years so that when we die our daughter doesn’t have to deal with it. I had to deal with it when my father ended up in a home following his second stroke and it was not fun

Yes. It’s awful isn’t it

Definitely, and the worst part is the guilt of disposing of stuff that they held on to for a reason. Even if it was laziness or hoarding that possessed them to keep it, it weighs on you to throw or give it away… not a pleasant position to put a loved one in.

To my parents’ credit, they have been doing this. I appreciate it.

Release the Epstein files Trump you felon

💯

This book was written for me.

Does your "sh*t" nobody wants include this useless and obnoxious book by Messie Condo?

Already on it. Got rid of almost all my heavy furniture. I want there to be very few things left. Although I do hate when one side of me clears out a bunch of stuff for the thrift store and a week later, I need one thing I gave up

Hell No !! I will make sure to store some obscure shit, like a 9 foot dildo and a blow up chicken .. just for when that happens !! I will giggle all the way to Hell or Valhalla ... depending on my luck

😳😂

Not all of us are hoarders! Stop whining

Amen to that!

I started. Every week, something goes.

My mother refuses to declutter and has every horizontal surface covered. My sister and I have decided that when she dies, we will give her house key to an estate tag sale company and let them do their thing. I have mostly cleared out my clutter so my son won’t have to deal with so much stuff.

This is the only way.

My crap makes me happy. They’re inheriting my decent estate, they can deal with my crap.

Typical boomer attitude.

Hypocrit

Touché! 🤣

Why do you care, you’re not the one inheriting my crap. Too bad for you, I have some really good shit.

Starting tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow.

@guusbeugelink.bsky.social haha. Ben al paar jaar bezig maar nog niet rigoreus genoeg.

Me too…

The books, the books ...