LOL re: the clothing dilemma! Hmmm... perhaps we should think in terms of three piles/sorting categories:
1 = I really do wear this a lot (keep!)
2 = oh, get serious - this is way too small/large/hideously unfashionable/worn out (trash or charity!)
3 = I know it's silly to keep this but I like it (box & put in storage!)
Lest I sound like little miss organizing expert, let me confess that I need to go through two closets this winter and make some harsh decisions about my own junk!
I think there have been a lot of really good suggestions, above, especially the one about not buying more stuff unless you truly need it.
About PrettyBird's elderly parents: Is there anything more frustrating than giving your all to someone, only to have them criticize your efforts? I totally sympathize with your frustration, although in my case it was just several days a month helping my husband's great-aunt; I think I would go insane if I had to live with that situation on a 24/7 basis & I give you truck-loads of credit for handling it as well as you have.
My husband's sister is in a situation similar to yours but it's just her mother (father passed away years ago). It seems to be an endless parade of criticism - nothing's ever quite good enough or done the way she would have done it, none of her medications ever really address her illnesses, and an attitude of "if you really cared about me, you'd stay home and be with me all the time!"
Somebody posted above that there are more and more "Caregiver Support Groups" nowadays. Maybe something like that would help you a little and perhaps also they might have ideas for setting boundaries with your parents -- what you will and will not tolerate, what demands are acceptable to you and which are not, etc.
