I have stuff. A lot of stuff. But I have my ‘fire rule’. I’m just fine if everything I own burns up in a fire, provided I can rescue one object. In this case, my computer. Just the CPU.
And a pair of Emergency Pants.
I have come up with a theory. When a couple decides to marry, they should be tested for the “packrat” gene. If both of them have it, they should not be allowed to marry.
My husband and I live in a four bedroom house. It is full. We have no children. Granted, a lot of the “stuff” we own is inherited - my mom, my grandparents, his parents and grandparents…but it is a lot of “stuff”
I bet his sister’s kids have one hell of a yard sale when we’re gone.
Oh man, I am good at decluttering! I am drooling to come to your house and throw things away! Or give them away, possibly to myself.
Like to take a vacation in Central Florida, Dung Beetle? 
I’m borrowing a pickup truck. Be there in about two hours. 
HA! I was born with the opposite of the packrat gene - I call it the “purge” gene. I have a compulsive need to go through my shit and get rid of stuff. My mother has shed tears over things I have thrown out - poetry books I wrote in elementary school, antiques she gave me as gifts, old recipes from my grandmother. (Admittedly I do have a few regrets on that front - my grandmother’s traditional portuguese Bacalhau recipe! What was I thinking?) But on the other hand, my husband and I are the only people in our neighborhood who can fit both of our cars in our garage. If it wasn’t for my books and our CDs and DVDs, and my fairly impressive amount of cookware, we could (almost) comfortably live in a single room.
Try moving to the other side of the globe - you soon figure out what you won’t pay to have shipped.
Of course, we now have an additional 6 years worth of crap in the attic/garage. My wife is talking about moving back :smack:
Si
Me too! My ex-husband was a hoarder. shudder
My current husband is very neat, but when in doubt, he’s more apt to keep something than throw it away, “just in case”. Silly man.
I can’t recall that I’ve ever missed anything I’ve thrown out. When I’m old, I’ll probably sit around wishing I had some of the kids’ old schoolwork to look at.
I figured out the solution to “I might need that!” for piddly stuff - let the store store it for you. It’s right there in the name - it’s called a “store.”
I have to agree that the solution is a bigger house. Then accumulate more stuff till you need a bigger house yet.
Then you can start your children on the path you yourself have so enjoyed.
Regarding the OP: I suppose I’m jealous. I’m clearly playing the same game as I have about 2000 square feet of stuff that I’m storing. But I’m nowhere near to winning or even placing. Where as you have accumulated “360 degress worth of heirlooms, memories, collectables, hobby supplies. . .” mines all junk. It should be easy to throw out some junk —but I don’t want to come in dead last, ya know.
The point was: You have no mental qualms throwing out a Futon, on a broken frame, with a cat pee stain on it…
I’ve since gotten rid if everything I can get rid of without angst.
Well my point was you really DID win. Somehow I got the impression the rule was that I was supposed to fill the space. Apparently I didn’t read the fine print that you have to fill the space with things of value. Hence I have a milk crate filled with happy meal toys. —What? Now, I can’t count that towards the game??
Don’t be dissing my broken Futon either. I’m saving it for that upcoming production at the community theater where I’m not a member. But I might become a member some day. 
Ugh. I so hear you on the parents moving thing. My in-laws got divorced last fall, and MIL moved from a 3000 square foot house to one of just over 1000. Suffice it to say that there was nowhere near enough room for everything, and even after yard sales there was still quite a bit left. So she started trying to pawn stuff off on us. Which was fine at first, since we needed furniture. But even if we’re in a 3-bed 2-bath apartment (with a bedroom we never use) we only have so much space to put stuff. We’ve taken what was useful or sentimental, but we definitely have the feeling that she wishes we’d take more.
We got to go through that again just this month, when she moved into a smaller apartment and both SILs finally got their own places. Fortunately, we were prepared–we just bought a Prius, and so we drove that instead of the pickup truck, for more reasons than just the gas mileage