I am 69 years old, widowed, retired, and live on a small acreage on the bank of a major river in Oregon.  The river is very beautiful, but can be dangerous due to flooding in winter; I live in the flood plain, and 15 steps up from ground level as does everyone else in this neighborhood of married retired couples.

Right now I'm discouraged because I probably need to move away from RiverHome (my home) as it's too much work one person (me) to take care of, and there's so much 'stuff' here (five household's worth) my deceased husband, Steve's, his father, Frank's, his mother, Lois', my mother, Ruth's, and my own things, furniture, equipment, etc.  I am, and we all were, packrats; but I need to get all these things sorted out, and find homes, sell, or otherwise dispose of this mountain of 'stuff'. It's overwhelming, and I feel buried in it all!

Steve's two children as well as my own two, all live at least several hours away from here, as do my brothers.  All the rest ofboth our familes are deceased.  So, there's not much help available. Nor do any of them want anything I have here. 

I was raised to 'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without' and it's very hard for me to just take perfectly good things to the dump.