Should I dump my random junk at mom's house in the trash?

[oregano]

I am thinking of heading to my mom's place in the spring to clear out stuff I didn't get around to cleaning out in September and greatly reducing the stuff I have, then bringing the remainder up here to store in a shed on my property. I don't want to have to do it after my mom dies-she is almost 80-so I am doing it now. I have a box full of old vinyl records, just over 3 trays of cassettes, and a bankers box stuffed with maybe 100 CD's. It's all been in storage since 2010 and to be honest I can't stand most of it anymore because of the memories. I have a few items that could be considered collectibles and will save those, but the bulk is from obscure pop, rap, and rock artists that nobody remembers, indluding their songs. Music goes for very little on Ebay, even big artists like Elvis, so my collection is pretty much worth $0. I am thinking of just junking the whole mess and selling my ministereo on Ebay. Also there is a bunch of books that will also go in the dumpster. And then there's the boxes of random junk that have already been whittled down over the years. I am thinking of just tossing most of it in the trash except for a few sentimental items and a few things that might be collectible like old restaurant matchbooks from mid 90s San Francisco. I am going to get up the nerve during winter to finally relieve my mom of my junk.

 

[Gerontius]

Trash bin or the thrift store.

I know it sounds sacrilegious but even those matchbooks won't do you good surviving in the woods like you do, and apart from things like old 78s or some indie/underground cassette or CD labels almost all modern music is backed up somewhere else. Dumping usable music and books is probably wasteful though so I would suggest making it a thrift store's problem, and someone else's find.

I just junked my Smith Corona electric typewriter a little while ago because it had failed and I cannot repair it. My other Smith is a 1936 Sterling and can be overhauled with a few screwdrivers so it remained. When something ceases to be useable, leave it to autistics to hang onto it forever...on that note I have to scrap a few more things.

Good luck.

 

[velociraptor]

Dumping usable music

Check the value on eBay before tossing. Some old media is worth quite a bit.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Facebook marketplace is good too. As there's no listing fees. And everything I listed on there sold quickly.

Ed

 

[AuAL]

@oregano, If you’re not worried about making some money from it, why not just put it in a box on the sidewalk with a, “Take it, it’s free!” sign on it? Maybe you can spread some joy that way.

 

[Judge]

If you are certain that such possessions no longer carry any value to you on a very personal level, by all means purge them now. I agree, it would be more difficult to purge them later. Particularly if you are charged with handling your mother's estate.

 

[oregano]

If you are certain that such possessions no longer carry any value to you on a very personal level, by all means purge them now. I agree, it would be more difficult to purge them later. Particularly if you are charged with handling your mother's estate.

I would be her sole heir, as far as I know. She has distant relatives living on her land but I don't think they are in her will. She is the type of person who collects trinkets that look pretty-Hummel-style figurines, decorative plates based on the size and shape of a dinner plate except with artwork on them meant to adorn walls. I would also be tasked with selling her home/land and having to kick the relatives off-they could not pay the mortgage, but kicking them out means they will end up on the street. I want to get everything I own that is still on her land dealt with now so when she dies I will be able to handle what she leaves behind.

 

[Judge]

I would be her sole heir, as far as I know. She has distant relatives living on her land but I don't think they are in her will. She is the type of person who collects trinkets that look pretty-Hummel-style figurines, decorative plates based on the size and shape of a dinner plate except with artwork on them meant to adorn walls. I would also be tasked with selling her home/land and having to kick the relatives off-they could not pay the mortgage, but kicking them out means they will end up on the street. I want to get everything I own that is still on her land dealt with now so when she dies I will be able to handle what she leaves behind.

I was the trustee of my mother's trust and had to deal with such a task. It was agonizing to have to dispense with all of my parents' treasured possessions of a lifetime. But I had no choice knowing I'd be a renter with no point in paying for the storage of so many things I'd never need or want. Very painful emotionally speaking.

 

[Gerontius]

I would be her sole heir, as far as I know. She has distant relatives living on her land but I don't think they are in her will. She is the type of person who collects trinkets that look pretty-Hummel-style figurines, decorative plates based on the size and shape of a dinner plate except with artwork on them meant to adorn walls. I would also be tasked with selling her home/land and having to kick the relatives off-they could not pay the mortgage, but kicking them out means they will end up on the street. I want to get everything I own that is still on her land dealt with now so when she dies I will be able to handle what she leaves behind.

Her own collection probably brightens up her living quarters a lot but she probably won't find a ton of buyers. I would go ahead and dispose of the collection you have at present and then figure out her collection after her passing depending on who she leaves it to.

 

[oregano]

She is an only child, and I am her only child. Relatives she's involved with now are quite distant, despite the colloquial terms we refer to each other with. When my father-her husband-died in 2015 he had a bunch of really oddball books and collectibles worth virtually nothing-his faves were World War 2, Star Trek, and John Wayne-that she gave most of it away. She still has some of his more oddball war books because there are simply no buyers even at a $0 price point.

 

[Judge]

She is an only child, and I am her only child. Relatives she's involved with now are quite distant, despite the colloquial terms we refer to each other with. When my father-her husband-died in 2015 he had a bunch of really oddball books and collectibles worth virtually nothing-his faves were World War 2, Star Trek, and John Wayne-that she gave most of it away. She still has some of his more oddball war books because there are simply no buyers even at a $0 price point.

Yeah. I ultimately found it easier to just give away things given a number of constraints I had in settling my mother's trust.

 

[SusanLR]

It is a process for sure.
One I've been through twice. When my mom died in 2013, I had to sell her mobile home and go through everything in the house. A lot of it was my stuff too.
I started with taking everything and separating it into two piles in the kitchen floor.
Things that were just junk to throw away and things that other people might like.
I put those out on the front yard with a big Free- Take sign. And it was all taken by others living in the park.
Very little did I keep for myself.

Since August of this year, I've been going through the same thing again.
This time with my own stuff. I've collected a lot since 2014 living in a large house.
I like pretty trinkets and decorations too, but I'll soon be moving into a small apartment sized villa.
Sorting through years of "stuff" isn't easy. I had boxes full of photos, books and articles that I haven't looked at in years. Looking at all of that and deciding what I want to keep or can keep takes time.
Sentimental things like a box of photos, my rock collection and a few nice trinkets is all I'm taking with me.

It can be emotional.