Since my Dad died last year, we've been slowly working with mom to clean the house out and go through all the things in it. It's really hard for her (I get it, it's hard for me too, I can't count the number of times I've come across something of Dad's and just start bawling and have to stop) but she's working through it pretty well. She knows it needs done and that our lives will be easier if she does it and kinda keeps my aunts (Dad's sisters) out of the mix so they never have an opportunity to fight over stuff.

My parents were never hoarders, but 106 years of continuous occupation of that house by our family going back to 1920 (great grandparents built it) has resulted in a lot of stuff, and the time has finally come give a lot of it out, and it's better to do it now while all of us are still young enough to handle it. There's certain things we all want, and we all sat around the table with our cousins and talked it out and wrote it down and signed off on that list. It's all our generation, none of my Dad's siblings or cousins have anything to say about it, he put that in the will and mom enforced it.

Death, it comes for all of us in time and it's usually welcome, but you have to talk about it. None of us knew Dad was sick until it was far too late, but he talked to Mom and all of us about it and how he wanted things handled for quite a few years before. His forethought and our planning is making the process easier for everyone (even if my Aunt Gretchen is still bitching).