There’s stuff and then there is stuff. Hoarders need their stuff to feel secure, it’s a sickness

Shes right

Keep whatever brings you joy while you're here, after you're gone you won't care what happened to it. Hard to accept that your cool stuff won't be around forever...but neither will you ❤

WTF is a Hummel? I play World of Tanks, to me a Hummel is a self- propelled gun. Do you mean chatchkis or knick-knack dust collectors?

I downsized twice. Once I moved from a 2000 square-foot house to a smaller house that was about 900+ square feet. Two people live there. Then I moved to a place similar in size, but where I would be living with three other family members. There isn’t room for stuff that we are not using. Of course we keep sentimental reminders. I still dream that we will have a house someday so my small collection of penguin statues is carefully packed away. I am ready for whatever the next move is. If you’re happy and you’re comfortable in your house then stay there. But stuff that you have piled up and don’t use for decades takes up room that could be used for stuff. You’re interested in now. I think that’s the idea.

😂

But...but... I love my stuff. Not the extra clothes that don't fit, books I've long since read, and so on. I mean my Treasures. I was planning on enjoying them in retirement.

Hummels for the silent generation,Precious Moments are the favorite of the Boomers

We downsized about six years ago and gave away pickup truck loads of nice things. We have things we USE and appreciate. Life is good and busy.

Hummel are cool

My mom’s 91 year old friend wants them. She still collects them. But mom and her friend are both ridiculous collectors.

If I had kept everything I was ever given over the last 36 years, which included 4 full households of deceased relatives cherished possessions, collectibles, quilts, toys, bird statues, antiques, linens I would truly be living as a hoarder today. My mother was an extreme hoarder, and large dump trucks hauled her entire house and storage sheds full of ruined crap away. My grandma lived through the great depression and kept everything, some of which I truly cherish and still keep. My uncle took hundreds and hundreds of photos. None of them disposed of anything. It's taken me 36 years of yard sales, craft fairs, making quilts and art projects, auctions, museum donations, antique dealers coming to my home, mailing surprise gifts to random stores, giving to the goodwill, throwing away some to get to finally a manageable amount of stuff. Were my relatives intending to be cruel and burden me with this task when they decided not to plan for their own death, loss of eyesight, frailty, and greatly deminished mental capabilities in old age... probably not, but they were. It's been said that our lives get smaller as we age, as we go from our home to a room to a bed to our grave. The things my family left behind for me to take care of with no thought of the tears, heartbreak, and financial drain they would cause I would not wish on my worst enemy.

I think most older people don't move because it's cheaper to stay where you are. The cost of real estate is ridiculous.

My mother lives in a very large Victorian/antique house…15 rooms, 3 floors, 4 garages…it is a fully furnished very well cared for house…she is 96…there must be over 100 antique Persian carpets, load of Chrystal chandeliers, a house full of very nice antique furniture…We are a Jewish family…that being said I think I have a plan for when the house becomes vacant

Who’s says we have to downsize? Who says we have to get rid of our stuff? The “experts”? I’ve worked hard for my stuff and I treasure them. When I’m dead, I promise I’ll downsize.

I loved you as Kitty on that 70s show.

It isn't true that no one wants your Hummels. Maybe I don't want them, but SOMEONE does. On eBay, I paid $40 for a 1969 Betty Crocker Cookbook because it was exactly like the one my mother used when I was growing up. I paid $152 dollars for a set of 1948 World Book Encyclopedias that were just like the old set my dad brought home when I was a little girl. I paid $10 for a lid to a Tupperware gelatin mold. (All prices paid included shipping.) I've ordered old books from the UK and shipped them to the US. My aunt paid $60 for a mug that was very similar to one she had for 40 years and recently broke. None of these purchases have been high dollar items but the sellers got some cash in their pockets because they had something that someone else wanted. With the internet, it's possible that someone anywhere in the world wants what you have. If someone is sentimental about an item, they will pay more for it.

Sorry but aren’t you that really funny mom on that 70’s show??

...as many people have found out on "Antiques Roadshow"! 😂😂😂

I love my stuff...just saying .....

"The truth, no one wants your Hummels"...........what a snarky condescending unhelpful statement. I do not care if any one wants what I collect, I collect things because IT'S WHAT I ENJOY DOING IN MY LIFE!!!

You know something. My house isn't cuttered. I enjoy living in it. I have a beautiful porch. I'm familiar and love everything around me.. My utilities are very low.I fool to move

You'll own nothing and be happy.

Sell there are a lot of people who collect or thrift stores would not be popular..

My “stuff” is mine to enjoy. It irritates me to no end when people say I must think of future generations and how they will deal with my things when I’m gone. 😡 That’s not my problem, and I’m NOT going to downsize things I enjoy NOW to cater to their preferences LATER. Not my problem if they don’t enjoy beauty and want to get rid of it because they have no imagination or class to appreciate something beyond their apparently boring lives.

I got rid of EVERYTHING in New York State 11 years ago and moved to Arizona on a motorcycle. I still have only a bike for wheels, yet I have a 28 foot trailer and two large sheds stuffed with STUFF. I’m 85 and the only way I can be STUFF FREE is to stop being me!

From the wikipedia article about Hummel figurines: "After the end of World War II, the popularity of Hummel figurines grew as American soldiers stationed in West Germany began sending the figurines home as gifts.[3] Nostalgia associated with the figurines and the U.S. soldiers buying them led to Hummel figurines becoming a popular collector's item. . . . As travel to Europe became more commonplace, the figurines, with their folkloric appearance, were often purchased as souvenirs.[4]." Although I realize that the video isn't just about Hummels, for some people, the figurines are not just about having some kind of knicknack or receiving a gift from someone special. It was tied in with the collective experience of a world-wide war with the concomitant losses of life and limb. It was also more special when travel to Europe was not as common and there was no Amazon global marketplace. The figurines are based on drawings done by a German nun aptly called Sister Maria Innocentia. I don't care for Hummel figurines personally but I'm not going to tchotchke-shame people who do.

What’s a hummel?

It's true that many people do not want Hummel's or other items that were owned by their relatives and the point has already been made below that the current owners want to enjoy their collections, etc. But this video is rude. While it's a good point to not be a prisoner of one's possessions, this approach to getting people to downsize is insensitive because it doesn't take into account that the person's home is where they may have happy memories and their "stuff" also has memories attached, among other reasons for wanting to remain in their homes (such as that ti's their home and they have control, and more). The stairs are a struggle? Someone below mentioned mid and high rise condos. You think one flight of stairs is a problem: wait until there's (heaven forbid) an emergency like a fire and elders or just anyone needs to use the stairs to evacuate. I don't want your Hummels is from the children's point of view, not the elder. The children need to understand the elder's perspective. The advice being given also flies in the face of the guidance for getting hoarders in general to get rid of their things.

Yes that’s right, the young don’t want your good, expensive junk, they are happy with their ikea crap. 😂

Your stuff is just that: STUFF. When the time comes, donate it, sell it, and by all means, give it to the people who want it BEFORE you go. Let yourself see them enjoying it.

My stuff is MY STUFF. I get to enjoy it as long as I like and can. When I am gone, then it becomes my beneficiaries’ stuff. Take what you like, and dispose of the rest. If you don’t want to do that, let me know and I will be happy to change my will and give my stuff AND MY HOUSE AND MONEY to someone else!

They gotta go somewhere 👍

Downsizing is difficult and time consuming, start when you’re still fit and clear minded. First figure out what you’re going to do, move or stay put. Make a list and concentrate on what’s important to you and what you haven’t touched in 7 years, like clothing. Old books, figurines, chinaware (never used), old tools, old furniture, old files, computers, desks, bookshelves…out with it! You’ll be amazed how exhilarating it feels to be free of clutter.

I have emptied 3 senior relatives homes over the past 10 years and it was arduous, time consuming and expensive. You could give some consideration to your kids, or whoever, when you're thinking about whether or not to start downsizing. Emptying these large crap filled houses sucks.

Agreed 😊

I am 66 years old and have over 300+ Hummels. I collected them when I was young inherited some from my mother, and I have some of the oldest Hummels made. I love them, and even though I’m no longer collecting them for at least the last 15 years I still enjoy looking at them. When I die my children who do not want them, can do whatever they want with them. ❤ I have downsized most of the other items in my home, but the things that give me joy I will hang onto, regardless of how many there are.

Know when to get out of collecting. I remember a story of an elder selling a beer can collection before the fad faded.

Good babe I should move I'm 74 I live in a upper flat for 50 years I own the home it's 22 steps to my back door on an average I probably go up and down five times so that's over a hundred steps a day most people don't get that in a month you got to go to the gym and go on the stair stepper and you got to pay I get healthy when I go up the stairs and I carry my groceries when I get to the top I often I puff and I don't have a heart attack so good it's good good exercise and about every two or three years I bring a dumpster and get rid of all my junk so you know I have a big place I have a lot of things but the things I have are valuable even a scrap as far as the Hummels go you're right nobody wants Hummels remember when those were the big deal oh my God you're going to be a millionaire

I’m 67. My stuff includes a 2000 BMW Z3, a 2017 Volvo, a motorboat, kayaks, gold coins, silver coins, a vacation home by a lake, and my main home near a lake. I own things with a purpose, not dust collectors.

I agree with gaypreator8547. I moved from a house with a nice yard and lots of "stuff" to a condo. It sucks in every way possible. I know no-one wants my stuff and I'm ok with that but I've found that just puttering around the house and doing yard work and even minor repairs kept me much more active. Also that activity gave me more energy and that lead to all sorts of other interests and activities. In a condo you have nothing to do and that leads to boredom, loss of energy, declining health and lack of motivation and even mild depression. The moral of the story - KEEP YOUR HOUSE AND YARD AND ALL YOUR "STUFF"!

I think Kathleen is Hot!!

What's a hummel

I want your Hummels! My parents house burned down, and all the reunification hummels that they collected from our time in Berlin were lost.

Hard to listen to you with the music

I inherited my parents house, and all their "stuff". I had my OWN "stuff"...now I feel like an oreo- "double-stuffed" 😂 Seriously, though? A 3,000 sf. 5 bedroom 2 living room, 2 kitchen, 1 mudroom, 1,000 sf wraparound deck and 2 car garage...filled with "stuff"....for a single guy is WAY too much! I would nuch prefer a 1,400 sf single car with storage shed. BUT? ...Even those are now going for $$$$$...so Ill stay here.

“-why should your stuff control your life?” This question seems pretty disingenuous in this materialistic society. When people’s status is measured by accumulation (or one’s potential to accumulate), it’s difficult to escape. For me, it comes down to the capacity to accept change, which unfortunately diminishes with age. We made a successful transition from a full-sized, detached house to a condo @8 years ago. When undergoing this process, we discovered: 1. A 17 yard dumpster will not be too large. 2. When encountering indecision, toss it. 3. Our kids really didn’t want the family credenza. QED.

I’ve got news for you: I don’t want to focus on my connections with people. My things have never once hurt or harmed me while every single person I’ve loved has. Try becoming disabled with a neurological disease and run out of money. See how many friends and family you have left after 28 years! “My stuff” keeps me company.

After 20 years in a house we had to pack everything up for a renovation. We were able to unload about half our junk. Now I just have to keep the little lady from re-accumulating new stuff.

Omg! My mother in law used to collect hummels.. I always hated them because I’ve collected 18th and 19th century antiques my entire life. When I married her son, she wanted to start me on Hummel collecting and I put a stop to that right quick. No hummels in my house.