3 ms·

My mother went down this road (she, fortunately, had enough resources that it wasn't a catastrophe), but last year was forced to downsize due to a medical condi

My mother went down this road (she, fortunately, had enough resources that it wasn't a catastrophe), but last year was forced to downsize due to a medical condition. I filled 2 20-yard dumpsters with the trash, donated another truckload, and put the rest (anything she might actually value) in storage. Since then, I've been going through that remainder with her and I think she's finally coming around to the absurdity of her situation. It turns out she isn't actually attached to her parents' monogrammed (but moth-eaten) linens, or the contents of her grandmother's sewing box.

gedy 9mo ago
It's not for everyone, but I found I was keeping a lot of things "for the memories". I started taking pictures of the thing then getting rid of it. Serves similar purpose and easier to let it go.
- ToucanLoucan 9mo ago
  Also scrapbooking. I've really gotten into that lately as I struggle to get rid of like, strange things. Parking passes and tickets for concerts, receipts from dinners on trips, that sort of thing. Scrap booking is wonderful for such things. And when I need a boost, I pop it open and get a rush of memories from all the lovely things I've gotten to do.
ToucanLoucan 9mo ago
In my strictly non-professional opinion, as a watcher of this stuff: the hoarders stuff almost always replaces something. Maybe it's a person who is gone, or was driven away. Maybe it's a purpose they only had before they retired. Maybe it's an event that drove them to crazy places to get by, and even though it's past, it's scars remain. Maybe it's merely the abstract concept of control, and agency; this one crops up a lot with the older female subjects of the shows, who's abusive husbands controlled them their entire lives, almost with regularity exhibiting all the classic signs of Battered Woman Syndrome. It's hard for me to disentangle this with the inhumane way modern life lets people live.

gedy 9mo ago

It's not for everyone, but I found I was keeping a lot of things "for the memories". I started taking pictures of the thing then getting rid of it. Serves similar purpose and easier to let it go.

ToucanLoucan 9mo ago
Also scrapbooking. I've really gotten into that lately as I struggle to get rid of like, strange things. Parking passes and tickets for concerts, receipts from dinners on trips, that sort of thing. Scrap booking is wonderful for such things. And when I need a boost, I pop it open and get a rush of memories from all the lovely things I've gotten to do.

ToucanLoucan 9mo ago

In my strictly non-professional opinion, as a watcher of this stuff: the hoarders stuff almost always replaces something. Maybe it's a person who is gone, or was driven away. Maybe it's a purpose they only had before they retired. Maybe it's an event that drove them to crazy places to get by, and even though it's past, it's scars remain. Maybe it's merely the abstract concept of control, and agency; this one crops up a lot with the older female subjects of the shows, who's abusive husbands controlled them their entire lives, almost with regularity exhibiting all the classic signs of Battered Woman Syndrome. It's hard for me to disentangle this with the inhumane way modern life lets people live.