I do remember my Love doing this. And, after he passed, I had to go through EVERYTHING. I found box after box that was never used and not even sure he opened them. Now I am either going to have a garage sale or give the stuff away. Either way, I loose. He bought a lot of things before I met him. So this is not just an elderly thing. I did exactly that same thing when I could get away with it. I would put the paper somewhere and forget about it. WE HAVE everything any human being could want. I now live in a home with so much STUFF. He came into our relationship with lots of antiques. Do you know how hard it is today to sell an antique for what it is really worth? These are beautiful things, but to me, they are a burden. I could not even think about putting the house on the market until I get rid of all the "STUFF" first. So some of my friends might be the recipent of some very nice gifts. So, Yes, it is a problem.

I was recently visiting my mother, who lives out of state. Her living space was stacked with magazines. I began to ask some questions, and found out she pays a magazine "invoice" each time she gets one in the mail. She has at least 28 subscriptions to various magazines that I could determine, and so many have subscriptions she has paid up for five or more years. I contacted the mags I could and they will no longer send her any "invoices" or renewals in her mail. However, of course, they could not control the advertisements that are stuck inside their magazines. Hopefully, she will ignore those. She also is bored and she said likes going to her mailbox and pulling out 4 or 5 magazines.

Gosh, this was a timely blog re-post. My Mom is the queen of catalogs. The blogger is right. Some elderly are so immoble and bored day after day watching TV, they can't wait for the mailman to come to bring them more goodies (catalogs). My 86-year old Mom orders all sorts of crap from catalogs like Miles Kimble, Walter Drake, etc. etc. Then it arrives and just piles up. Her house is stuffed to the gills with this junk. It will take me MONTHS to clean out her house after she passes. I am at a loss. I feel so bad for her.

My thoughts as an elder. I would like to meet people in my age, who are totally disappointed with the way things have turned out. I can't believe my age. Have two adult grown sons who constantly build my hopes, then pull the rug out from under me time after time. I can't count on either one of them. Where are the people that I can vent too; who understand and won't tell me I should write a gratitute list, and that I'm too negative. The facts are the facts. Should I just laugh at the fears and disappointments. "oh, funny thing happened, my son promised this or that and never came through. He forgot." Okay how funny. Tried to get a job for some extra money.....impossible..how funny! Everything I finally got out of storage, things that I cherished were stolen....how funny. So I have dismissed everyone; just sit here isolating watch the upper one percent surrounded by their families, laughing and confident in their paycheck and insurance. I took practically my last cent to add on a supplement in case I need cancer treatments. Can't get food stamps or medicaid. I'm over about fifty dollars for everything. Worked all my life, let my dreams go by. from the country club to a one bedroom. Anonymous too embarassed!

"...LUCKILY it's books…"????

Don't mention books to me. The complete librettos of Gilbert & Sullivan. Three full-sized atlases. The entire output of Dick Francis, Lord love us and save us. "The Tiger Who Came To Tea" - large print hardback edition complete with audio CD, ready for the great-grandchildren there's no sign of yet. We're already stuffed to the rafters with books, I haven't even unpacked mine yet (sad to say I am my mother's daughter… there are at least five packing cases) and we've been here four and a half years. No no no. When it came to books, they were the first thing that made me ditch "respect for autonomy" as a caregiver's virtue and get very totalitarian indeed with my poor mother. She can work her way through her lifetime's library first before I let another one set dustjacket inside the house.

Don't let Charlie on Amazon, I have the one click ordering activated and give in to impulse too often myself. Luckily... it's books that I am tempted by and not more expensive stuff.