How to Part With Old Bibles and Religious Keepsakes Without Feeling Guilty
My mother’s Bible sat in my nightstand drawer for three years before I could look at it honestly. It’s worn soft at the corners, and the spine is held together …
Declutter
What to Do With Your Wedding Dress Decades Later When Your Daughter Doesn’t Want It
Have you ever held onto something just because it cost a lot and meant a lot, even when it hasn’t left the box in thirty years? For me, that’s my …
What to Do With Inherited Silverware Nobody Wants (Without the Guilt)
Have you ever kept something for years, not because you loved it, but because you didn’t know what else to do with it? That’s the silverware for me. When my …
When Does Saving Sentimental Things Become Hoarding? How to Tell the Difference
A while back, my niece was helping me in the kitchen and opened the cabinet where I keep my coffee mugs. She just laughed and said, “You’re such a little …
Why You Can’t Let Go of Your Pet’s Things (and How to Start When You’re Ready)
It’s been three months since we lost our dog, and I still can’t move his bed away from the back door. The blanket is still rumpled the way he left …
I Had to Empty Mom’s House by the End of the Month. I Had No Idea Where to Start.
When my mother passed, my brother and I decided to sell her house. It was too much to keep, and neither of us lived nearby, so putting it on the …
The Hardest Thing I Inherited Wasn’t the House. It Was the Photos.
When my mother passed, I braced myself for the big things. The house. The furniture. The bank papers, the car, all the pieces of a life that have to be …
What to Do with All the Coffee Mugs You’ve Collected Over the Years
I opened my kitchen cabinet one morning and a mug nearly fell out on me. I caught it just in time. And when I really looked at that shelf, I …
What to Do with Trophies, Plaques, and Awards Nobody Displays Anymore
Somewhere in most homes, there’s a box of trophies. Maybe it’s in the attic, or the back of a closet, or down in the basement. Bowling trophies, a plaque from …
Does Keeping Their Things Really Keep the People We Lost?
There are three generations of dishes in my basement. My mother’s good china. My aunt Ruth’s everyday plates, the ones with the little blue flowers. A full set from my …