getting parents to declutter before they kick-off - Page 2

[lexmas]

My dad died last year and left us a house full. It wasn't fair to us or to my mom. To be fair, he had always said he would declutter before he died, but he died a year after being diagnosed very unexpectedly with cancer. And he did declutter a little tiny bit before his second surgery...but I'm glad he didn't do too much, it was too much like giving up. If you can bring up the subject tactfully, I would. My mom is trying her best to clean things up so that she doesn't leave that much for us.

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by zinemama

With my mom, I made a list of all the main "family" items. I asked her to go through it and designate who gets what. I wanted that already decided, by them. I didn't want there to be wrangling. She was fine with that.

I sure wish my mother was like that...I asked her also to decide in advance, and she reacted really badly as I was waiting for her to keel over and die to get my hands on her things! I am not game to ever bring it up again...and have decided that what will be, will be....