Thank you so much for all the responses. I've realized that this is overwhelming partly because I feel like my mum has been preparing to die for the last five years. Every time I see her, she either gives me things or reiterates her desires regarding her passing, etc. Again, I am grateful that there is nothing in her attics and basement. The house will be easy to clear out.
My mum has complicated relationships with family; I cannot involve them. She also has a very complicated relationship with my sister (my only sibling), so I genuinely don't have any help with this. She is giving things to my sister, but most of the things my mum values go to me. I will keep some of them in case my sister wants them after mum passes. But my sister buys and sells antiques for a living, so my mum (rightfully) suspects that my sister primarily wants things to be able to sell them.
I will say that I take all the photos. I've sorted through boxes and boxes of them. I separate those that involve my sister to give to her at some point, and I album those with relatives, writing down who is in each and approximately when it was taken. I, too, have taken most of them out of frames and albumed them with non-acid paper and pages.
My dad was a woodscraftman and an artist, so it goes without question that I am keeping things he made, from drawing to sculptures to wooden keepsake chests. Most of the tools he used, thankfully, went to my sister or my mum gave away.
Ultimately, I think some of you are right that perhaps I need to give it time. I am 52, so I don't see myself changing a lot in terms of what matters to me, and while I will keep a few things to pass on, I don't want to burden my own children the way I feel burdened now. There were a total of fewer than five things that I wanted, and I have those. They reside in a safety deposit box. For example, my maternal grandfather worked on the railroad, so I have the (very worn and utilitarian) railroad pocket watches that were his. I also have the 18k gold pocket watch with sapphires in the movement that was my paternal grandfather's, as well as my parents' wedding rings. Those and the photographs matter to me, and not much else. She gave me boxes of things that were mine from school, and that, at least, helped clarify what to keep for my own children!
Regardless, it is an emotionally charged task. Perhaps I need a small storage unit just for some clarity right now, but I am strongly NOT a hoarder. I despise the idea of putting things into storage and have always thought that if you can live without them for years at a time, it is a waste to keep them at all. That doesn't make my opinion right for everyone; I just enjoy living a little more sparsely.
