Declutter Archives

A gray metal basement shelf full of extra kitchen things: a box of dishes, glass pie plates, casserole dishes, a waffle maker, a fondue pot and a coffee maker

How to Stop Hoarding Dishes and Kitchen Things After 60

“Grandma, why do you have three can openers?” My grandson was helping me carry groceries in. He opened the drawer by the stove to find a pen, and there they …

A vintage mink stole, a long mink coat with its satin lining showing, and a small mink hat with a bow laid out on a white bed

Mom’s Mink Stole: What to Do With Old Furs Nobody Wears

My sister lifted the garment bag off the hook and unzipped it slowly, as if something might jump out. Something soft and brown slid into her arms. It was our …

Two open boxes of Christmas decorations, a wreath and a tangle of lights on a dining table, with a laundry basket of garland on a chair

A 4-Week Plan to Declutter Before You Decorate for Christmas (Over 60)

The box said “Dining Room Lights” in my handwriting, and I hadn’t opened it in four years. It sat on the top shelf of the hall closet, behind the boxes …

Three vintage Hummel figurines, a collector plate with a snowy village scene, and a woven basket on a dining table

The Things I Was Sure Were Worth Money (Hummels, Collector Plates, Longaberger) and What They Really Sold For

For twenty Christmases, my mother gave me a Hummel. Each one came in a little white box, wrapped in tissue paper. A boy with a fishing pole. A girl with …

Three old stamp albums, a coffee can of old coins, coin sets in envelopes and a magnifying glass on a kitchen table

Dad’s Stamp and Coin Collections: What Decades of a Hobby Are Really Worth

Three stamp albums. One heavy coffee can. Twenty-six coin sets, still in their mailing envelopes. That’s what my father left in the bottom drawer of his desk. My mother never …

Folded crocheted afghans and an old patchwork quilt stacked in the middle of a wooden dining table, with a striped afghan over a chair

Mom’s Quilts and Afghans: Which Ones to Keep, and Where the Rest Can Do Good

My mother never sat down in the evening without a crochet hook in her hand. She kept her yarn in a basket by the bed. She watched the news with …

An old film camera, a black sewing machine case, a stack of record albums, a red plaid wool blanket and a video game cartridge on a wooden kitchen table

The Old Things I Almost Gave Away That Sold for More Than I Expected

The best money I made this fall came out of my donation tote. It’s the canvas tote that hangs on a hook in my laundry room. When it fills up, …

Corner of a laundry room with a boxed roaster oven, a box of frames, a brass floor lamp and a donation tote waiting to leave the house

Too Good to Toss, Won’t Sell: The 24-Hour Rule That Got It Out of My House

I made a mistake with my crystal punch bowl. It didn’t sell. I wrote about that this fall, the week my granddaughter helped me list things for sale. Twelve little …

Old fishing hat with lures resting on an open box from the closet beside a phone and coffee on a kitchen table

Decluttering Over 80 When Your Kids Live Far Away

“Is that Dad’s fishing hat?” That was the text my brother sent from three states away, the first Sunday we tried it. My mother was 82. She was sitting at …

Birthday card with a handwritten list tucked inside, banana bread, coffee and a shoebox of old photos on a kitchen table

The Decluttering Checklist I Wish My Mother Had at 75

This is the list I wish I had tucked into my mother’s birthday card the year she turned 75. She would have rolled her eyes at it. (She did not …