I've been going through my moms things, as we have to clear out her house. I've been working in her kitchen for two days. Initially I thought it would be easy, just pack up all the stuff that has to go to charity and the stuff that can't be donated, throw away.
I managed to get rid of two garbage bags of stuff, which I'm very pleased with. And I was having an easy time getting things into boxes for donating. Unfortuately, everything needed to be washed first and she didn't have a dishwasher. It might seem crazy, but I figured it was easier to just bring everything to my house and stick it in my dishwasher.
Well, most things needed to be hand scrubbed even after the dishwasher. As I've been handling every item individually now, it's suddenly getting harder to part with it all! I worry that things that I donate to charity will end up thrown away instead of re-sold. Somehow that makes me feel like it's my mom that is getting thrown out. I have very little to remember her by, she was a minimalist. But she loved to cook and as I go through all of her kitchen items I feel like it's her life there. Sadly, most of her stuff wasn't in great shape which makes me feel even more sad that perhaps other people won't be able to make use of it.