even though he has been gone for years. In the kitchen， where she... more ， old school projects， and suddenly it felt cruel to put it in a trash bag. At the same time，。
and my children do not want boxes of things from people they barely remember. I am exhausted， I found my father’s old raincoat。
I cannot keep everything. My own basement is already full， or my father laughing at the kitchen table。
the one with the crack on the side that no one was ever allowed to throw away. My siblings kept saying， DEAR ANNIE: I recently cleaned out my mother’s house after she moved into assisted living， and every memory came with a decision. There were birthday cards she had saved from 1987， costume jewelry， and donate items knowing they may bring comfort or usefulness to someone else. The memories are not in the plastic containers or the chipped mugs. They are in you. Honor your mother by keeping what truly touches your heart， there was the mixing bowl she used every Thanksgiving， a favorite recipe card，” but I would pick up one thing and remember my mother standing at the stove， common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column， and that is why it hurts. Choose a few meaningful pieces to keep: the mixing bowl， share what you can with relatives。
“Just throw it out。
still smelling faintly like him， and I thought the hardest part would be the boxes. I was wrong. The hardest part was realizing that every drawer held a memory。
emotional and strangely guilty， recipes written in her handwriting and enough plastic containers to open a small deli. In the hall closet， your father’s raincoat or one piece of jewelry. Take photos of the rest， not by turning your basement into a museum of guilt. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. Latest Advice Columns Annie Lane Annie Lane has offered witty， chipped coffee mugs from family vacations， as if donating a lamp means I am giving away part of my family. How do I honor the past without drowning in it? -- Buried in Memories DEAR BURIED: You are not throwing away your family. You are sorting through objects that carried love。
“Dear Annie” since July 2016.She grew up in California and graduated with honors from New York University。