Mom’s hoarding tendencies are crowding daughter out

Dear Abby: I’ve been trying to declutter and get rid of things, but each time I do, my mother scolds me for getting rid of sentimental items and sends them back to my room. There are clothes that haven’t fit me for years, old trinkets, even gift boxes she won’t let me dispose of or donate. I would just take care of it myself, but she works from home and analyzes my every move.

Additionally, I’ve discovered that she has several dozen boxes filled with every childhood toy and article of clothing I ever had. She intends to pass them on to me when I give birth to kids “in the next four years.’’ I’m only 19! Even if I were older, the idea that I’ll be expected to take on all these possessions is a major deterrent to my ever having children. How do I tell her that enough is enough?

Cluttered College Student in Wyoming JEANNE PHILLIPS DEAR ABBY

week. We and one other couple are retired on a fixed income. The third couple is also retired, but have no money concerns. We like their company, but the wife is peculiar. She often hands strangers $50 bills when we’re at a restaurant, simply because she thinks they are “nice’’ or on a first date, etc.

The other night we all had dinner together. When the server asked what she would like to drink, she inquired about how much the iced tea cost, and then said, “I’ll just have water!’’ Then she asked the server to bring her a bunch of lemons, squeezed them into her water and added sugar! We were so embarrassed we wanted to crawl under the table. How should we handle this behavior in the future?

Frustrated in the Desert