In regard to throwing out a lot of stuff that's still in good shape: You may want to look into joining your local Freecycle group (www.freecycle.org). You find your local group, subscribe to its Yahoo! group, and then post when you have an item that you're ready to get rid of. If someone wants it, they email you, you arrange a pickup time/place, and voila! It's gone. General rules are that the the poster can't charge for the item and the person who takes the item can't intend to sell it (i.e., post it on eBay) and must intend to use it rather than throw it away. The purpose is to keep as much useful stuff as possible out of the landfill.
I've gotten a laptop bag and a couple of other small things out of my local group, but I've seen some amazing stuff offered up: computer monitors, big-screen TVs, furniture, etc., much of it in very good shape because people are moving, remodeling, downsizing, etc.
Sorry to hear that your parents are slowing down as they get older, but it's great that you and your family live close by. When you're not local, you end up worrying almost constantly about whether they're doing OK. I used to imagine all kinds of horrible scenarios when my dad didn't return my phone messages in a reasonable period of time.
My sister Ryn signed up for Freecycle, but didn't do it soon enough to post in enough time to get rid of stuff. The move date just seemed to sneak up on us. But, we'll know better for next time.
I imagine all sorts of scenarios even though their close by - it's the curse of an overactive imagination.
I've gotten a laptop bag and a couple of other small things out of my local group, but I've seen some amazing stuff offered up: computer monitors, big-screen TVs, furniture, etc., much of it in very good shape because people are moving, remodeling, downsizing, etc.
Sorry to hear that your parents are slowing down as they get older, but it's great that you and your family live close by. When you're not local, you end up worrying almost constantly about whether they're doing OK. I used to imagine all kinds of horrible scenarios when my dad didn't return my phone messages in a reasonable period of time.
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I imagine all sorts of scenarios even though their close by - it's the curse of an overactive imagination.
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