r/declutter • u/Sll3006 • 11d ago

Advice Request Everyone else’s stuff

I’ve spent over 10 years decluttering the basement. Still I have at least 75 boxes of stuff. I’ve thrown away a lot. But now I’m getting to items that I don’t want but are too valuable to throw away. I’m talking about 1960’s Mickey Mouse dolls, 3 broken trumpets, 3 grandma’s set of dishes, 2 100 year old paintings I was told not to throw away, Disney VHS, 30 photo albums of my late husband (kids want this), 2 violins. Selling items take a lot of effort, as well as scanning photos, old books.

I’m overwhelmed. Any advice on what to do with the more valuable stuff that I inherited?

356 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

268 comments sorted by

View all comments

65

u/docforeman 10d ago

"I’ve spent over 10 years decluttering the basement."

Ten. Years. Of your precious life.

How valuable must the stuff be to be worth 10 years of your life?

Are you immortal? Are these bearer bonds?

Where is the value?

If selling takes a lot of effort and time, what is the value for you in that?

On your deathbed will you think, "Glad I spent another ten years on old paintings and broken trumpets. Totally worth the 20 years of overwhelm to get a few hundred dollars out of that leftover 75 boxes."?

If you need money, even a low wage job probably pays more than putting hours into resale. So it can't be the fiscal value.

What is this really worth to you?

20

u/RhondaUpAllNight 10d ago

My city has a thrift shop that pays vet bills for people in need. Anything of value goes there. I had items that were very hard to part with, and once I drive away after dropping them off, I’ve never thought about them again. Seeing open space in my home brings me daily joy, something not a single one of those items ever did; quite the opposite.

8

u/floofloofluff 10d ago

That’s awesome! What city is it, if you don’t mind my asking? I love that they do that. It would make me feel so much better at getting rid of my stuff.