My husband and I are splitting up after 40 years of marriage, 32 of which have been spent in the home we are about to sell. Obviously, we need to clear the clutter before putting it on the market. I didn't think either of us were "hoarders." But now that the debris box has arrived and we have only three days to clean out the house I realize we've been keeping much more than we should have. We'll sell some valuable items on ebay or Craigs List. We'll gather the rest of the usable items in the garage and invite friends and relatives over to take anything they want. Anything that's left will be donated to charity or tossed in the debris box and recycled.

Do yourselves a favor and schedule a time to donate, sell or toss unwanted household items every year. Search online for "donate unwanted items (name of your city or town)" to find organizations that accept donations.