Done that twice in my lifetime. First time was the inlaws who had the WW2 mentality of not throwing anything at all out that could become useful - hence about thirty years of folded brown paper from the local laundry who used to do all MIL sheets because she had her parents also living with them. It was under the stairs, all neatly folded and tied in batches with string. The amount of garden tools was unprecedented too, we took some for the house in France, some for the UK home and gave so much away. It was a nightmare I can tell you and the same with moving house in 2022 especially with OH tools and stuff and you feel so sad and that you are betraying folks but afterwards, the relief its gone is marvellous. I could not help out with my parent’s home as I was living too far away and coming on Ryanair would not have had weight allowance for any souvenirs of them.
Most of what I have left could reasonably go into mine and my friendly neighbours’ wheelie bins. As happened with a great deal of the “easier” stuff.
The process started in 2021 with a bamboo forest, a greenhouse, and a concrete workshop I never finished in 1993…
I’ve sold or given away pretty well anything anyone might want.
Hopefully once I’m sitting in my house with just my bed, my PC and a car-load of new clothes, things will seem less impossible…
What will seem less impossible if you don’t mind my asking?
Well, I do. It’s her turn, and she went back to school and left me alone to deal with her Mom’s stuff. I thought I had learned my lesson after leaving the US with 60 years worth of crap to sort, plus what my Mom and Dad left me years earlier. Just kidding…
Swedish death cleaning, or cleansing.
Yes both MIL and FIL were hoarders and had hardly thown anything away since the War.
Complicated by SIL who is also a hoarder “helping”. I had to resort to subterfuge, ie lying, to get house cleared. Pre-decimal tins of cat food? I know a neighbour who would love them… etc Took forever, and now live in fear of having to deal with SIL’s house one day!
In that case, ignore what I’ve suggested - sounds like you’re well on the way. 
Doesn’t make it easy to put the stuff in the bins.
But I actually have some treasured vintage HIFI I thought I was going to store and have shipped . I never thought I was going to have to sell it… in a way - knowing I have that ahead of me helps make the other stuff less important.
I tried to be minimalist minded when I bought this new house but somehow things have arrived from the family in the next commune they don’t have room for like toys, cot mattress,a grandfather clock and other bits and pieces, good job I got two spare bedrooms but it will have to go soon.
No it doesn’t. The big one for me is books.
Interestingly I had a treasured vintage Ossie Clark evening dress - unbelievably beautiful. I hadn’t worn it in years. I took it back to the UK to a friend and (much to my surprise) it went easily and I don’t miss it because I know it’s being worn.
Since I started this process I have been obsessive about not acquiring new stuff.
It will be interesting to see how I behave with a much bigger house (which they usually are tending to be), a car, likely a trailer for my gardening activities and doubtless vide-greniers a-plenty - beyond furnishing the place so I can invite friends and family..
How’s the decluttering going, verdoux?
By the way, there seem to be loads of organisations in Bristol who will help with decluttering and hoarding tendencies. It could be a good investment to have someone who will work with you to achieve what you want and give you the motivation to do it.
It’s a multiple pass process - helped by sifting out metal and electrical stuff for the scrapman - I have one in my phone contacts - I was an electronics hobbyist with easy access to the scrap bin of an IT department - plus there were bicycle parts etc…
I suppose in the final analysis I could arrange to be sedated and have it done for me - volume-wise I suppose it might actually only be 3 wheelie bins -they get collected every 2 weeks… it was much easier to fill them when I first started on the house and garden -…
The mantra of “if you haven’t used it in the past five years, you never will” is what I stick/stuck to and it works. Trouble is, there are always lots of promos here for all sorts of things “that might be useful” that you have to be strict. My son has already warned me not to clutter up my home as it will all go into the bin or to the déchetteries as he helped me with his dad’s huge workshop after he died and it took us and two friends two months to clear completely as we had to sell big woodworking machines, stocks of timber and menuiserie, it was heartbreaking but a relief not to have to go there ever again.
When my brother died I sold his large architects drawing board on Ebay. I knew roughly what we would get because there were two others, somewhat similar, already listed that sold before his.
Then the bidding started for his, and just went up and up and up - I couldn’t believe it.
The guy who came round with a van and the cash and told us it was his eighty-year old father who had bought it. It was identical to the drawing board that he had lost in a fire in his office and he was thrilled to have found one exactly the same to replace it.
Over the months after my brother died stuff like that just kept happening - including our finding our house in France. We reckon he was keeping an eye on us. It was a nice lump sum for his wife and a lovely story to go with it.
Has anyone had stuff internationally mailed via Royal Mail within the 12 month “free” period ?
Would CDs get through customs OK ?
Though theoretically all I will have in the car will be myself, my PC, several changes of clothes and my coffee making device so they could fit in there.
I have them ripped in a lossless format on I think 5 hard drives and will likely never open them, but …
I just realised some people I know about are sailing close to the wind…
They regularly drive over to their son in France with large quantities of cheddar cheese, sausages, beer etc..
Never mind the duty they proudly say they never pay, I just learned that food is illegal to import for sanitary reasons..
It’s a fairly common practice and generally ignored. You might get checked if you had a white van full of cheese and sausages though.
Think I prefer Vero’s version - Nordic TV whodunnit?
We sold OH drawing board too which I bought him many years previously from the sister firm to the one I worked for. Considering at the time the company only charged me £40 for it, we sold it for €150 as it was a large model and I was inundated with calls from the LBC
Or a metal band?