A professional declutterer charges $125 an hour to help her boomer clients downsize. She says their kids often don’t want their junk.

Such fears are often baseless. “Most adult children want their parents to move on with their lives,” she said. “I tell my clients, ‘It’s better for you to show them you’re looking forward to your time with them in the future and that you’re not trying to hold them in their past.'”

Applebaum advised people to take photos of items that can’t easily be passed along. “A picture can be enough of a precious memory,” she added.

Meanwhile, she said it was important for people to be honest about the psychological effects of dealing with unwanted hand-me-downs.

A couple felt obligated to keep their loved one’s possessions

She cited the case of a client who’d inherited a slew of antiques from her husband’s parents. “Unfortunately, the style didn’t fit their modern home decor,” she said.

The grieving couple installed the outdated possessions in a large room in their house. They’d leave the door open but rarely went in. “Every time they walked past, it felt more oppressive,” Applebaum said.

She asked why they’d kept the furniture. They admitted they had never really discussed it. The wife assumed her husband couldn’t part with the junk for sentimental reasons, but he thought it was she who didn’t want to let go.

“All it took was a proper conversation,” Applebaum, who helped the pair sell the items for thousands of dollars, said.

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