Adult kids won't let me throw anything away

My kids are 18 and 21 but still want to keep every childhood item—and I’m the one stuck storing it all in my too-small home.

I’m in my 50s, divorced for about five years now, and live alone. My kids are amazing—loving, close to me, and we’ve shared a lot, especially since the divorce. The oldest moved out a while ago, and the youngest is still finishing high school and living at home. The issue? They both want to hold on to everything. Childhood toys, clothes, old school projects, random trinkets—they’ve saved it all, and most of it is still here with me.

I get the nostalgia, I really do. These things represent memories and stability during a time that was hard on all of us. But I’ve downsized. I don’t live in the big house we had as a family anymore, and there’s just not room for boxes of stuff no one uses or even looks at.

What’s getting to me is the guilt. Anytime I bring it up, I’m met with, “But Mom, we used to love that lunchbox!” or “That’s from when we went to the mountains with Dad!” I’ve tried asking them to come pick out what they really want to keep, but they either avoid it or get hurt when I mention tossing anything. It’s like they expect me to keep everything forever, but I’m tired of feeling like a storage unit.

I want to be respectful of their feelings, but I also want a home that feels like my space, not just a museum of their childhood. I’ve held onto this stuff for years now. I don’t want to throw it all away behind their backs, but I also can’t keep living in clutter because they don’t want to let go.

Has anyone dealt with this after your kids moved out? How do I draw the line in a way that’s fair to both them and myself?