Well done Dottie!
I totally understand the reluctance to clear things out, as I am convinced that as soon as you get rid of something, it will turn out to be needed after all.
Catie Curtis wrote a really good song about that called "My Dad's yard" in which she said
Beneath the dust and grime
He can see potential
Where the rest of us are blind
That was totally my Dad, but clearing all of his stuff after he passed away was such a big job, that now I declutter like crazy.
Well done for grasping the bull by the horns.
Lucy xx