What is the nature of stuff?

I have a two-piece sectional sofa that my grandfather made before I was born. The sofa first sat in my grandparents' home where it was protected by a clear plastic cover. I have a photo of myself as an infant sitting on this sofa. I remember sticking to the sofa with my bare legs when I was a young child. Eventually, my mother ended up with this sofa. She reupholstered it with a turquoise-colored vinyl that looked like a textured fabric. Her justification for this decision was that it was easy to clean, a necessity for furniture in a house with four children. Then came the day when I inherited the sofa. I chose to have it reupholstered with a tapestry fabric with a deep green jungle print. It looked like a scene from a Rousseu painting. More recently, I had it reupholstered again with a tan tapestry fabric, but because I have pets, I had a cover made for it out of canvas that can be machine washed.

The thing about this sofa is that it was made in the late 1950s or very early 1960s. It has interesting lines. The two halves have a curved back, the arms are also curved and require a circular end table. The style is very much a mid-century tailored style. It is none too comfortable. Everyone complains about it. But I love it because my grandfather made it.

As I get ready for a move to a small house already filled with stuff from another house also filled with stuff, I come to a crossroads. Do I keep this furniture that has a great deal of meaning for me, or do I shed it? Do I make everyone else happy by having a comfortable sofa, that is probably poorly made and will not last? Or do I keep this well-made, but fairly uncomfortable piece of furniture?

To accommodate this extra furniture, and to make the house more comfortable, I plan to add a room on the old house. It may take a while for this to happen. Once I move in, I will have to put things in order. I will have to make decisions and cull items that are duplicates, unneeded, or broken. I have already begun to get rid of things at the old house, but my husband was a hoarder, and there is lots more to go. The question becomes how do I store these things until I have room for it? Is this stuff worth spending hundreds of dollars each month to store? Do I have a shed built in my back yard to hold these items until I can properly place them in the house? Do I let it go and get new furniture once the room has been built? Or do I get rid of the furniture currently at the old house which has no meaning for me but is more comfortable?

This is the nature of stuff. While some have no problem letting possessions go, others like me, attribute much weight to this stuff. When I die, I am certain my daughter will have no issue with chucking the sofa in the trash or donating it to charity. To me, there is lifetime of memories in that sofa. There is the pride of knowing the maker of this sofa and knowing that it was lovingly handmade by my grandfather. But the price of this nostalgia, this imbuing items with emotional connection is a heavy burden. This is the nature of stuff.