There are two empty houses on my street. One neighbor died a few months ago. The second neighbor moved in to her son’s home because she is no longer capable of living alone due to health issues.
Both houses have been unoccupied for a while. Over the past few months, I’ve seen family members visit each of them to clean them out and I assume, get them ready to be put on the market for sale.
I suspect that family members kept some items they wanted/inherited like furniture, heirlooms, etc. After that, the houses were still full of a lifetime’s worth of belongings.
A few items might be sold. Some others will be donated to charity. Everything else will go in the trash.
I know how this goes. The stuff of our lives – things we loved, treasured and cherished – nobody wants.
I’m a big proponent of doing death cleaning before you are unable to. But most people do not do this.
Having purged my life so many times – of stuff, family, friends, homes – I’m not overly attached to stuff anymore. I’m still attached the memories though.
Still, observing my neighbors’ homes being cleaned out makes me feel a little sad.
