Simplify Saturday - Death and Stuff

We are out of town, going through CP's mom and dad's home to clear out all of the STUFF that has accumulated over their 53 years of marriage. It has been an interesting process. There are TONS of photos that bring back memories, but reality is that none of these photos have been looked at in YEARS by either CP, his sister or his mom. Despite our sentimentalities associated with these photos, they are packed away in boxes and other places and are never seen.

While I know it may be hard to get rid of old, sentimental things such as photos, the reality is that if they aren't where they can be enjoyed regularly, why do we keep them?

As far as all of the other STUFF, we just had an auctioneer to the house to look at auctioning off all of the personal property. Partly due to the age of the STUFF and partly due to the lack of "big" items, the estimated value of all of the STUFF is only about $3000!!! It makes me really wonder what the value of the STUFF in my own how is worth? And what level of frustration does it cause to have it all there, in the way and having to dust, clean, move it etc.

There are also important papers, but we are going through medical papers from years ago. It makes me realize how much stuff I have kept for a good purpose, but that needs to be purged from time to time. The problem with us is finding the time to purge with four busy kids.

I really love the way my Dad sees things. He is 78 and lives with us. He has a room to himself. In his room, he has two bookshelves, a desk with computer/printer, a TV, a recliner, a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. All of his wordly possessions that he really NEEDS are contained in that small 10 x 11 room. I hope that when I am his age (and even before) I can realize what I truly NEED and spend the rest of my money on other more important things - like caring for orphans.