I recently had the challenge of helping an elderly lady downsize and move after the death of her husband. She was going from a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath house with family room, large formal dining room and living room, 2-car garage home with large attic, down to a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in another state. It took us quite a while to go thru her stuff, and many trips to the dump, Goodwill, and Habitat for Humanity. We sold some things outright (kitchen appliances), and a large amount was picked up by a consignment store, which has been selling those things. She also gave away a lot to family and friends. It was a major, full-time task.
Because of that experience, I've decided to start downsizing my stuff now. We have only one daughter, and she can't use all our stuff, so it will just have to go. I don't want her stuck with sorting thru all our things when we die.
We will probably be faced with clearing out my mother-in-law's things in the near future. Her health is not good. She's been hoarding for a while now, on top of never getting rid of any furnishings that she's had for decades. TCS and his sister have decided that, except for jewelry and photographs, they'll probably rent a dumpster and just get rid of everything. Then, they'll try to sell the house. The problem is, the house is in Lansing, MI, where no one is buying houses.
We really wish that she could get rid of some stuff now so that she could enjoy the space of her house more comfortably, and so that people could visit her. It's really sad that she wants to live that way.