The Stuff

[politicat]

5. Omg. Your mom and my gran and their houses are twins.

My grandmother moved back to the family farm several years ago with the same blending of stuff and the same "don't touch that, it's priceless!!!1!!111!!! attitude. I had the advantage that she was, at the time, a hard-core HGTV addict, and had absorbed a degree of that channel's de-clutter attitude, though not enough of it. (Unfortunately, she switched to Food Network not long after, which didn't do her pancreas any favors.)

For me, the best tool then was ebay. If she gave me the priceless heirloom speech on something I knew was probably junk, I made her go search for it. If we didn't find an auction or listing for it, it went on the yard sale pile. It helped, somewhat.

I'm sorry for your loss and hope it was as peaceful as possible, and I hope the smile and the mental girding of loins can help.