That was a very good description. In our case one parent had already passed and the 2nd was needing full time care so moving into a facility was required. Now that we were helping moving her into a place and ensuring they get the care they really needed we also found we were challenged to 'declutter' a home to get that sold to help pay for all the current and past bills. At that time we were both working and were supporting our kid in college with both time and funds. We know what it is like to find old printed stock certs mixed in with varied other 'worthless' piles of paper.Yeah, there is a wide spectrum of stuff that people accumulate. And a wide spectrum of how easy it is to deal with, for many reasons (free time, proximity, work and/or family obligations, personal health, personal strengths and weaknesses regarding completing large tasks, etc etc).
When I see the word cluttered I think of large amounts of fairly unorganized stuff in all places - cluttered.
YMMV
So, a fairly organized parent passes, and their adult child has time and energy to deal with their stuff, and that adult child doesn't happen to be simultaneously burdened with ADHD, and/or a demanding job, or another sick family member, or whatever, then it may be straightforward.
But if a parent was on the clutterbug/disorganized end of the spectrum, it may become overwhelming even for an adult child with the time and energy to deal with things. Add in an adult child that has their own significant challenges in their life, and it becomes a big deal.
So what may be no big deal for one family to deal with, may be an overwhelming task for another family to manage after parent(s) or other loved ones pass. I don't think there's any need for people to get rid of the stuff they like and use. But if they have a bedroom/garage/whatever or full of stuff they've been meaning to sort through for the past 10 years, and there happen to be important papers and whatnot scattered amongst that stuff, or if they have stuff they're done using, then yeah, they would be doing their beneficiaries a favor by taking care of that while they're alive.
For example - my parents have both passed, and I'm sorting through their things. Just got a quote for $85 an hour per person (and they want to send two people at a time) for folks to help me sort through and dispose of my parents things. (Donate/trash for much of it, keep a select number of items, send a few items to out of town family members, and perhaps sell a few items.) I have some medical issues, can't lift heavy items, and I work full time, so I can't do it alone. I have friends, but none that are healthy and available to help with these sorts of tasks. In addition to heavy items like furniture, there are a lot of things that need to be sorted through carefully so the wrong items aren't thrown out by mistake. For example, we'll checking each book to make sure there is not money or important documents tucked inside. And there's a lot of books! I know I don't need most of the books. But they still have to be individually dealt with. Ditto for clothing - every pocket will need to be checked. And there are lots of other categories of items. Plus dealing with grieving and figuring out what to do with sentimental items along they way. I'll get through it in time, but it's certainly not a "no big deal, I'll be done with this in a weekend" kind of thing. My parents weren't living like Marie Kondo (extreme decluttering expert) but they were also not on the extreme end of the spectrum for accumulation of possessions. I suspect variations of the challenges I'm dealing with are not uncommon.
Anyway - good luck with the current and any future challenges with your family.
Statistics: Posted by smitcat — Fri Oct 17, 2025 7:33 pm — Replies 113 — Views 60225