Getting Rid of Stuff

I have a strange co-occurring set of personality traits. I am very nostalgic and yet I hate having too much stuff in my house. You can see how these two things compete with one another. Nostalgic = collector of stuff with memories attached. Clutter hater = one who throws things out or sells them with regularity; noncollecter.

My mother is a clutter hater and is also nonsentimental. Not that she does not have any sense of sentiment at all, but her pragmatic side rules, ultimately. She has moved a lot, and I think this drives part of her detached stance when it comes to stuff. The other part is that she just feels better in a clean environment and likes to update and redecorate. It is impossible to bring more stuff into an already-full house and have it feel as clean and airy as she likes.

My father is a keeper, and is nostalgic in some ways. He thinks everything can be reused and should be used until it is just plain unsafe. In that way, he is a great environmentalist. In that way, he has no sense of interior decorating style.

My spouse comes from a family of keepers. There are no people who throw things out. Well, his grandma once knocked down their old farmhouse and built a new ranch home, and really has never lived it down. They were rather displeased that many family heirlooms ended up down the old well. In their defense, she didn't ask them if they wanted it, and this was mostly their objection. In her defense, it was her stuff and she can pitch it if she wants to, especially if she wanted new stuff and didn't want to mess with a garage sale.

Sigh. So, I like my environment to be fairly uncluttered. BUT I have a hard time getting rid of things, especially if they were given to me by my inlaws (the keepers - these people still have my husband's baby clothes and changing table), or if they have some family connection. But I have that side of me that says, "Why? Why is that hard to get rid of your newer Fenton glass if you are not that into it any more? So what if your mother-in-law frowns if she knows you want to sell it?"

Can you tell I spent the day cleaning and sorting? Yup, I did. And I STILL think my house is either too small, or I still have way too much stuff.