I have some serious decluttering to do. I’m having to face the fact that I am not physically up to the task; my chronic back pain flares up quickly and goes into debilitating spasms.

So if I use help, as I realize I must, how do I do it? I don’t even know the answer to the basic question: should I give direction—or take direction? or both, or neither? I don’t even know what direction I would give.

So much of what’s here I have to review myself because real stuff is thoroughly mixed with disposables. I can’t just say “Take everything.” Nor can I succumb to the urge to save everything, which is how I got here—that plus a lot of procrastination and distraction.

So should I—

•   Hire a decluttering expert for ~$90/hour to manage the process (so, necessarily, it would have to be brief)
•   Hire a document-sifting expert to identify what’s important among all the papers
•   Bring a sympathetic relative to town (from far away) and avert my eyes while she uses her best judgment
•   Pull out a few treasures and some basics, plus important papers, and let a salvage outfit just haul the rest away
•   Hire a crew from a local nonprofit for the developmentally disabled, who will supply the physical power but need close supervision and direction
•   Allow a friend or two to come in and work under my direction
•   Other?

Whether I move back east or not, I have to do this part.

If you’ve been here and dealt with it, what worked?

Topics: stuff, clutter, excavation, decluttering, domestic archaeology