I just went through a long moving and renovation process and it really made me evaluate what I had and what I wanted to keep going forward.

I starting thinking about the questions I ask my clients and how they apply to me personally. I ask the following questions of my clients (not every question for every client, I use the most applicable)

If you were moving, would you pay someone to move this item?

Do you love it?

Do you use it?

When you think about the items in your home, what you do think about as being important? (Make a list with them without looking around the home, this is very telling.)

If you had to store your possessions, would this be worth paying to store?

What questions do you ask?

Sometimes I ask, "If this were to be destroyed by a natural disaster, through no fault of your own, would you be disappointed or relieved?"

This question really gets to the heart of whether someone is keeping something because they love it and/or enjoy using it or if they're keeping it out of feelings of guilt or obligation.

Moving is a great time to re-evaluate what to keep. Love the questions you all pose to clients. I often use the storage line and ask if they realize to store the stuff it would probably cost a lot depending on how much of the stuff they want to keep.

Caroline, Love that. It goes with the question I always ask, what's the worst thing that would happen if you didn't have this item anymore?

When discussing storage in particular, I always ask them to compare a year's worth (and most likely, several years' worth) of storage fees to the replacement cost for the items. Almost always it's far cheaper to just buy new when/if you need the items again in the future.

To everyone -- I love the questions that you ask clients. I have been looking for the right wording for awhile when working with clients. I like the idea of moving or storage as it tends to resonate more with someone versus asking if they love it or use it. I get tons of excuses when I ask the general "Do you love it?" "Do you use it?".

I am always amazed at how much stuff people keep and hold on to -- especially items that have been passed down. My favorite excuse from clients is when they say they dont use an item but they want to give it to a relative (usually a very young child) who would love to play with the 1920 dirty Snoopy doll or with great grandmaws dirty salt and pepper shakers. The perception is skewed.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

Different questions work for different people. Keep experimenting until you find the questions that resonate for the particular client.

For those sentimental items, I like to acknowledge and appreciate the person's strong sense of family and their desire to pass things on to their loved ones. It's really a very sweet sentiment! I might ask about the types of relationships they'd like to build with family members, and ask if the particular item is the best way to go about building that relationship. Or I might ask how much space in their home they want to devote to items they are saving to pass on, and then our challenge is to find that amount of space and create a safe, secure place where we can store these treasured items. By creating a safe place for the items, you are demonstrating that you honor and respect what the items mean to the individual, and it allows them to start being a bit more selective about which items really deserve the real estate they are occupying.

I will often talk about what they do have from that family member. So we take a mental inventory of the things in the house that came from or remind them. Often when they see the nice things they have, they can let go of other things.

I encourage clients to box up whatever items they want to hand down to relatives or friends and tell them that they need to give them to the person now.

There is no point in worrying if the recipient wants the item or not, it is up to them whether they dispose of it or keep it but at least it is not taking up space waiting for the client to pass on.

I can see that point of view... but I suggest people just ask family members what they want. Ask "Is there some treasure at my house that you'd like to have after I'm gone?"

Why not ask and give folks what they truly want to remember you by?