@amyb wrote:
@rnmom wrote:
Hubby went to his mom's a few days ago and brought home another pile of stuff from his dad's closet. Ugh. I'm starting to run out of room to put everything. He shared some of it with my boys but still, it is in my house as long as they live here.
I'm glad that he's helping her clean out but we just don't need so much additional stuff here. If he keeps this up I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I will just have to ask him to get rid of something else if he's going to continue to add to our stuff. There is a limit to how much room we have here too.
Wow @rnmom ...I got a little suffocated feeling just reading this. I think it's great your hubby is helping his mom with her overstuffed home, however, it shouldn't create a similar problem in your home. If you are feeling like you've reached "critical mass" with this now...it is time to keep less of her stuff, and/or definitely swap out for something you have, but not add to it. Not trying to be bossy to you about something I'm sure is a tricky situation for now...just trying to help you with some boundaries. You simply cannot take on all of her burden to help her out. Some new boundaries need to be set, somehow.
I still have more glassware, bowls, ceramics, than I need, and just about ALL I can store and display and use, neatly, functionally, because I took many of my mom's pieces. I'm glad I have them, I enjoy them, but when I emptied my mom's home is when my cabinets got filled to capacity. Granted I do enjoy them...Polish stoneware pieces, other ceramics I bake and cook with. But I did get rid of some of my old pans etc.
I did have to let go of some things that were just too much for me to suddenly take on, even though it was a sentimental furniture piece (my grandma's secretary, and cedar chest) as it didn't suit or fit my condo. To this day I wish I'd had a bigger home to keep the cedar chest for storage (it was like new and made in Tennessee) and restore the secretary...just couldn't. So I do understand.
I hope you can regroup and not take in anymore before dealing with what you are already overwhelmed with.
@amyb - It is a tricky situation for sure. I've lost both my parents, my dad first and then my mom, and my sister and I had to clean out her condo so I know how hard it is to make decisions on what to keep and what to get rid of. Especially if he thinks it's something one of my boys can use and they might just have to re-buy it later.
I know that I saved more of my mom's stuff when she first died and over the years have let go of some of it, so even though he is bringing stuff home now I'm hoping he will let more of it go down the road.
But I am starting to feel congested for sure, so it's time to start digging into closets, drawers, etc and start making decisions about what to keep and what to let go of because I like things put away and not stuffed. It drives me nuts. We have a decent size house with lots of good storage so there's no reason for us to be overfull.
He was a teacher off for the summer and he is back to work now so I don't think he will be making as many trips there as he had been and the flow will slow down at least some.