Spring Cleaning, A little late

I cannot believe the amount of stuff we have collected over the years. When I think of all the times that we have moved and just carted some of this stuff with us it makes my head spin. I moved from my parents house to a dorm room to hubs house to our first apartment to our second apartment to our house. Wow remembering all that didn't really help the spinning head :) And of course each move included more space adding to more acquired stuff, I'm seeing a pattern here. It's not like we need a Hoarders intervention or anything so dramatic. Just 10 years worth of life stuff. We've also apparently reached the age where our parents are giving us stuff, family heirlooms, all kinds of things from our childhoods. How do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of? Of course we take all of it, there could be some little piece of our history in there. My kids will want old birthday cards, the random art projects and school stuff that our Moms have decided we couldn't live without, stuff from high school that hold fond memories. Right?? Right? How the hell do I know.
A few years ago my Grandpa was considering selling his house and moving to a condo. My Mom and I went over to clean stuff out and keep the things from her childhood, things that were my Grandma's, from the garage sale pile. I came home with letters my Gram wrote right after they were first married and they were posted in NY. Both sets of my grams china, I took both sets because at the time hell was going to freeze over before my brothers girlfriends were getting anywhere near it. LOL Now I have 1 set we display with our wedding china and the other packed away for my little sister. Some other odds and ends from Moms childhood. Those are the things that are important to keep. How do I decide what people will want to remember hubs and I with?
Back to the Spring Cleaning.......
With all of the changes we are making and the few new things we are buying, some of the old stuff needs to go. The big things we are replacing are easy to figure out. My brother and a friend are getting an apartment together, they need everything. So pay it forward, when we first started we needed stuff, now we get to return the favor. It's all the other stuff that is giving me problems. I guarantee there are boxes packed upstairs, that we haven't touched in the 5 years of being here. There are probably a few boxes packed from the apt.
Clothes. Knick-Nacks. Kitchen things. BOOKS.(There a ton of those) Christmas Decorations. Stuff.
With all of the changes going on in my life, with the house and myself, I am finding it easier to "clean" stuff out. Things we no longer need or want. Habits that are bad for me or destructive in some other way. People who bring me down or don't have my best interests at heart. Out with the old and in with the new. Like our stuff, that means living better, loving better, new friends. Like our house, I'm getting there!