thank you for your encouragement, luludou! Well.... I did not really begin to declutter until I retired.... so there were decades worth of clutter stuffed around! PLUS...... I now have "an eye" towards eventual downsizing.
I know that dh will not want to leave this place.... he is very comfortable with letting our younger son do all the maintenace/repairs that dh used to do! (In addition to ds & ddil being the most lovable, wonderful people.... they are also extremely kind and generous to us.) And.... it is sort of dh's heritage" --- dh's mom really wanted to stay in her own home.... luckily, we were able to arrange all kinds of services to help her to stay there.
On the other hand, my mom happily moved to a studio apartment in a high-rise senior living apartment building, as soon as she retired! Dinners were served at night; all repairs were quickly taken care of.... and my mom enrolled in the state university a couple of blocks away! Classes were free to senior citizens... and she happily spent her time enjoying interesting classes, reading... and enjoying college life! Since it was California.... when I visited.... I slept in a sleeping bag on her balcony. (Sshhhh.... I don't think it was really allowed!) That way... I could go to bed early.... and then sneak out early in the morning, for coffee and the newspaper. My mom could watch TV late... and sleep as late as she liked! (I brought her home: fresh coffee, a roll and the newspaper.) She had breakfast in bed.. while I straightened up the balcony, the bathroom and the studio apartment. And then.... we had the day free. No repairs.... no maintenance.... not even cooking (unless we wanted to).
My mom had almost nothing in her studio apartment. It was fresh and unclutered! She had divided up the photo albums and any other sentimental items, among the children. Cleaning out her apartment took no time.... the plants on the balcony went to her friends in the building. So did the furniture... to anyone who needed it. There wasn't anything left for the Salvation Army.
For my mother-in-law... it took us FOREVER to empty her house (and garage!) Dh is an only child. All the sentimental items from a lifetime were there... it was painful and time-consuming to deal with them. AND... there were things like.... hundreds and hundreds of clean mayonnaise jars... lined up on shelves in the garage. Empty... but ready for any future need...... Years and years of magazines... etc. etc.
So... my goal is to keep dh comfortable and happy.... while getting rid of stuff that he agrees is clutter! (I haven't gone into the attic yet!!!!! And it just stuffed!) So.... I am hoping tha Gingerbug will let us create a 2012 Decluttering Club, next year!