Moving house

Baybay

Really struggling.

We've exchanged contracts both to sell our existing house & buy another.
The new house is smaller, exactly what we want but...

I still have so many things belonging to my parents. It never crossed my mind to get rid of some of it but we won't have the same storage in the new house & I find myself having to choose.
Do I keep my grandmother's memorial cards from when she died, four years before I was born, my mother's wedding day mass book, my father's first driving licence?
My parents kept these things, I've enjoyed seeing them but what now?
My father died in 2010 & my mother in 2016 & I'm not an impressionable youngster so why do I feel like I'm betraying them?

Ursus Horribilis

Umm...I'm probably not the best person to be advising you because this isn't something I've had to face into yet. Perhaps you might try categorising the items? As in, what things would you like to hold onto for you, rather than what your parents valued. I think if I was clearing out the home place, I'd have no issue with getting rid of their clothes or books. It's the more unique and personal things I'd like to hang onto. Wedding rings, family photos, diaries etc. Everyone has different levels of hoarding though. What I'm telling you is very different to what my siblings would say.

lazybones32

Cleaning out isn't easy.

They kept things that were important to them but you should only keep things that are important to you. Putting stuff that was important to family in the bin feels disrespectful.

Ghekko

We cleared out my parents house so quickly and kept very little - even my mother's sympathy/Mass cards were binned. We were ruthless as none of us needed the items. We kept momentos that we wanted but not a lot and I think the fact we had to move fast was best. Had to do the same with Dh's home and again we kept very little. There were memorial cards of relatives/friends in both houses - all binned. I'd say if it's paper items you have, keep a shoe box of things but nothing bigger. I have kept a piece of clothing of mum and dad and a tea set, mug, Dh took a couple of ornaments and a tea set. I think photos are lovely to keep, though mil had loads and we binned lots of them as there were people we didn't know in them. It's a bit of a wrench to get rid of stuff but once you do I find you soon forget. No sense cluttering your new house and leaving all this stuff and more for your own kids to deal with down the line.

Adviceme

OP, I feel your pain.
After my mum died I moved house. I was in a position to take all what I wanted. It's nearly 2 years on and I'm only getting to throwing out stuff now as I prepare for yet another move. I did it slowly. I would hold the item in my hand and think about what it meant to my mum and dad. It's not an easy promise. Be kind to yourself. X