If I don’t use something or it doesn’t “belong” in a space then it needs a new home where it can be loved. We moved 3 years ago from a 100+ year Craftsman home. I had collected antiques over the years that “belonged” in specific spots in the home. Our new to us home is modern and rustic and about half the size so we have been collecting new to us pieces and sending the old off to the Restore or my daughters house. Once you start the purge it feels good to enjoy the space without the clutter.

We just had to do the same thing as we had our place in NY and our place in FL. We moved the pieces to FL that had the MOST sentimental meaning to us, gave to the kids anything they wanted to take and donated the rest that was worth donating. Anything that wasn't worth donating was given to a junk mover.

If you have special pieces that no one you know would want (Old Stickley or Morris chairs for example which are highly collectable), you might want to try and post them on CL.

I’m not sure how much you have or where you are located but there are companies out there that specialize in this sort of thing helping clients sort through their items and then helping to sell or dispose of what you decide to part with. Their commission may be worth it in many ways.

It's a lot but not a lot if that makes any sense. A lot of it are mementos from my folks, a lot of it is just stuff I've accumulated over the years that frankly isn't worth that much at this point. Anything that would go for less than $100.00 on eBay I just consider something to donate to Goodwill. Im not rich, but I've largely gotten my use out of those items and the hassle of selling/shipping/dealing with a cleanout company is more effort that it would be worth, There are some expensive items I have, but without going into details I think it's best I deal with those on my own.

I think the main thing that a professional organizer can do is help remove the emotion from the decision. I've become less and less sentimental over the years but we still have a ton of "stuff" that I'm trying to go through right now as we move out of our house for a year to do a full remodel/addition. I'm truly trying to embrace the "less is more" mentality but I'm my own worst enemy at that, too ;)

Watch a couple of episodes of "Hoarders". That all ways gets me motivated!

If you have older family pieces, do try to home them with a child of yours, or a niece or nephew. One or two of them may someday (if not now) value having something of their great-grandparents - I know that I do, and fortunately I have a niece and a nephew who will cherish them also.

Other than that, if you have no use for something, for beauty, for memories, or for practical purposes, let it go! We have companies here that specialize in helping people downsize - they will come in and purchase as a lot anything you want rid of.

I've just cleaned out a cupboard full of syllabi and audiovisuals from courses that I've taught - finally accepting that I've no use for them anymore.

Kudos to you, Greg, for allowing enough time to do this without traumatizing yourself! So many people wait far too late to declutter prior to a move. It's hard physically, mentally and emotionally. Be aware that you will usually tire mentally and emotionally before you tire physically.

There are a number of different approaches. Choose a way that you can sustain, because it's unlikely that you can do this in a day or even a weekend. You need the right balance of effort and reward, so that you'll keep coming back without dread.

I like Marie Kondo's approach of "keeping things that spark joy" rather than "getting rid of stuff," especially for memorabilia. Her relationship with things is rooted in Shintoism and isn't everyone's cup of tea. Her approach to paperwork doesn't work for me.

You might want to view the videos of Clutter Clarity's Laura Moore. She very sensible and down-to-earth. She also does remote consulting. That is very appealing if you don't want a stranger in your home rooting around in you things.

Here's what I do:

• Put 2-hour decluttering sessions on the calendar. It really helps me to have definite beginnings and ends.
• Think about stuff in categories. Clothing, furniture, linens, papers, books, photos, kitchen tools, dishes/flatware/glasses, shop tools, household tools, art, memorabilia, etc.
• Consider the probable emotional and mental effort for each category. Work from easy to hard, if possible. The practice helps when you get to the hard stuff like memorabilia.
• Consider which categories will have the most immediate impact. Having only clothes that fit and that you like, makes getting dressed more pleasant every day. Letting go of unloved/unused furniture frees space and is less to clean.
• Refine the chosen category into something you can work through in a couple of hours. Example: You have a lot of clothes. So maybe you use sub-categories of outerwear, footwear, business/formal, sports, casual, underwear, sleepwear. Whatever you can do in a couple of hours and say "I'm done with xyz!" It's important to feel that something was accomplished in order to stay motivated.

Best of luck! You will feel so much better when this is done!!

Take a picture of sentimental items, then let them go. AND tell your spouse what you are doing, lest he delete photos of baby clothes because who would want that? (face-palm)

If you give special items to family/friends, document what it is that makes the item special. Who did it belong to, where did it come from, when, etc. People think they'll remember details forever, but ....

We are downsizing for a move to a smaller house next summer. Rather than going about it in an organized way---which I know is the most efficient way to get it done---I do one task each day in no particular order and slowly I am seeing more space in our house. Along the way, I am organizing our storage items. I just finished doing our Christmas decorations, organizing, throwing out, donating. We have a large thrift shop in our area where my husband makes frequent trips to drop off items.

As we get closer to our move, I will have to buckle down and go about this in a deliberate and organized way but my present approach works for now.

Several years ago, following a serious health scare, we panicked, not knowing what was going to happen, and rented a dumpster for some serious decluttering. I don't remember what the dumpster cost but the two week rental fee was enough to to cause us to start throwing in things big time, without deliberating over each item, and we pretty much got our attic cleaned out.

I, too, am paring down our household in preparation for moving into a smaller place. All of that stuff that once had some importance enough to keep now just seems so wrong. I have passed it by and it means nothing to me anymore.

Once you clear out the debris of life you can see what really does have importance.

It is such a freeing experience. I think that I deserve a freedom in the last run of my life.