After raising four sports-minded sons, we have accumulated more sports equipment than we ever needed. Some of the smaller sizes we saved for families with smaller children when they visited.

So, needless to say, since our sons no longer live at home, it was past time to clear it out.

Daniel, our oldest, seemed to be the most attached to it, so when he wanted to declutter it on his visit this summer, I was more than ready to assist him. I found that he still has sentimental attachments to some of it, and we saved what gets used when they visit, but we also parted with much of what we never use. I have always gone by the rule that if it belongs to one of them, they get to decide what to do with it, so that is why it was still waiting for them. (He still wants to find a player that wants his bucket full of baseballs. “They were great to practice with!”)

Another project was a box of toys each of them saved many years ago and we stashed away. I wanted to know if they still even wanted to save them. Here’s where every son was different.

My oldest, the sentimental one, put almost everything back but said kids could play with all of it. He admitted that he’d never want to take any of it back to his home.

Our second son pared his down to one shoebox size of toys. He saved a sampling of what he played with. What he saved meant something to him and he let the rest of it go. What he kept, interestingly, were some home-built toys that he remembers well.

Our third son lives in Houston and when he last went through his box he didn’t want to take any of it back to Houston for his two sons. His response was, “Keep it in Michigan and let them play with it here.” That’s not the response I was hoping for as I thought when he had children, he would take the box of toys for them.

Our youngest son went through his box with his wife. He shared many of his memories and although his wife gave him funny looks because some of it was not in the best of shape, he put it all back in the box because he remembered all the fun he had with it.

This was a good lesson in how people value stuff.

Some look at it and don’t want to part with the memories.

Some look at it and realize they had fun with it but are ready to let things go.

I think the son in Houston just didn’t want to take the time to deal with it so it went back in the “save” category of the basement.

So those of you who have stuff at your parent’s house, when is the right time to take it to your living space? Or do you ever plan to take it with you? Is it OK that your parents keep it for you? Or is it time to let it go?

Parents, is it OK to save your children’s stuff? I hear often that parents save their kid’s childhood stuff only to find out that they don’t ever want it. Maybe we as parents are the ones that can’t part with it.

I enjoyed my time with each of the sons reminiscing and at the same time decluttering our house. I guess I’m one of the parents who thinks keeping some stuff for each child is OK. I think if we ever moved, that stuff would definitely not go with us but for now it sits undisturbed on the basement shelves where it will occasionally be gone through and appreciated.