Liz, at least one thing you may find if you have to get a new scanner (try reinstalling it first, though) is that they have gotten a lot better for the price, and in many instances, you can get one much cheaper than a few years ago and they work faster and quieter.

MAG, every time someone comes to the house I do this "through someone else's eyes" glance around and realize I still have a lot of work to do. The fact that I am pacing myself and gradually donating stuff during the year and taking it off of my taxes has given me moments of concern (versus clearing everything out in one fell swoop). Will the IRS really believe that with my modest income I am actually donating this much in material goods? I've thought about the explanation I would give, how to make it clear:

I have reached an age where both of my parents (two separate households) have died, and I inherited my ample share of their stuff. They had inherited stuff from other relatives, and were packrats. I have inherited other stuff from elderly relatives who skipped my parent's generation, and I've been a packrat.

I'm trying to divest myself of this stuff in a methodical manner. One approach is to sell some of it on eBay. When I finally understand how much work is involved for the financial return on this particular type of item, then I decide if I want to keep selling, or if I want to donate it locally and claim the price that I expect to get at eBay. It keeps items of value here in the community and it means that local thrift stores will be able to sell the item for that generally modest price and keeps the items affordable for non-ebayers who don't want to pay shipping costs, who prefer to shop locally.

I wonder if my pal (in print) Don Aslett has given thought to this kind of clutter turnover?

SRS