Clearing out DM's flat and feeling overwhelmed. Any tips to make it easier?

[BeforetheDawn]

My DM died last month and although it wasn't exactly unexpected, I'm still finding the prospect of sorting through her things and clearing out her flat daunting and overwhelming. We're luckier than many in that she had downsized a couple of years ago and got rid of a lot of things then but there's still such a lot.

I've just been trawling through amazon looking for books that might help and have come across The Gentle Art of Swedish Death cleaning, but it's written from the point of view of getting rid of your own stuff in advance of dying. I feel like I just need a bit of a handhold and some pointers on where to start and how to organise such a big task, and I realised the collective wisdom of MN might be more useful than a book! I was wondering if anyone who has experience of this could share tips on how to go about it, physically and emotionally.

I don't think I can add much to everyone else's suggestions, from my experience it did take time. For your boxes, I'd keep a list of contents in each box or taped to the lid. You can probably find a home for most things, it all depends how much time and effort you can realistically put into it. I've still got some old lace which I fully intend to find a good home for.........

On the old photos, you said: "One of the things that's on my mind is a huge amount of very old photos (think Edwardian era and before) of people I have no knowledge of. They're beautiful and I feel like I need to pass them on responsibly to someone who will make good use of them, but I have no idea who that person might be or what use they could have. It feels disrespectful somehow to get rid of them fairly randomly."

Can I suggest that you contact the local family history society? They may be very interested in your collection and have the knowledge and skills to research them. You will be able to at least give them a lead by saying where they come from. They could well be family or friends and you may even find that a distant relative is interested. Please don't bin them!

@BeforetheDawn just saw your post so sorry if I am too late to help but this is what I did, when I cleared DPs house after 45 years residence and hoarding... 🥴

1. hire a skip. Broken worn out things went straight in, old kitchen utensils etc
2. books to a charity shop if you don't want them
3. ditto clothes
4. photos I boxed up and brought home. About a year later I sorted them into keep and chuck. Next step is to get them digitised.
5. sentimental things ie graduation gowns: suitcase in my loft
6. auction/house clearance for furniture etc. Anything that didn't sell went to charity.
7. white goods freecycle or local Facebook giveaway site
8. take friends up on it when they offer to help. The company makes the time go quicker and its good to have a sounding board
9. have wine ready for the evening
10. give yourself a hard deadline. I did a fortnight and then got the house clearance in

Good luck!

People will take almost anything half-decent advertised for free on Facebook Marketplace. Bricks, breezeblocks - for some reason we had a massive pile of them - garden tools, brushes, containers - these things have got quite expensive. And people also seem keen to take anything metal for scrap value.