Reducing Inventory:

Cherished personal possessions symbolize and represent our identity to ourselves and to others. Providing for the future of these objects is a concern that surfaces as we age. Indepth interviews and observations of nine women over the age of seventy revealed themes related to personal possessions and divestiture behaviors. Divestiture behaviors are focused toward planning for and distribution of personal possessions. These themes-and behaviors interact as demonstrated by a proposed model of divestiture.