You asked...

It may help to consider:

A gift is connected a specific moment to show appreciation. The giver appreciates you and demonstrates that with a physical item. Your job as the receiver is to appreciate that someone in your life wants to give you a gift, if not the actual gift itself. Your mom was right, it is the thought that counts. 

When the gift is no longer needed or wanted, having it sit around as a clutter, actually tarnishes the moment. The giver never intended for the gift to be a burden. In fact, while you may have enjoyed the gift at one point, they may not even have put as much thought into its selection as you may think. 

You cannot go through life hanging on to every gift you are given. Curate your own home and your own life to match your vision. If it makes you feel better, take your friend out for lunch or send her a nice card letting her know how much you value your relationship. Then donate or discard the item.

If I were with you in your space, I would suggest that while it's possible that you might use this item in the future, what you actually need and deserve right now is a calm, organized, and decluttered space. 

That gadget, fabric, piece of wood, etc. that you are saving "just in case" is holding you back. How long have you been saving these items? That is how long you have had to use it and didn't. That's okay, you prioritized other things. This might tell you that the project you could make using this item it not as important as you once thought.

I would also point out that you are not the same person now as the person you were when you first decided to save that piece of...whatever it is, and you aren't as invested now as you once were. but are hanging onto it out of habit. It is hanging over your head and another "to do". What if you didn't have those just-in-case pieces? Would your life be any different for not having created or made use of them? Nope. 

I recommend that you do some research on the value of the set. China is not usually as valuable as people expect, but it's good to know what you are dealing with. 

If it is valuable, sell it. If it is not valuable, donate it. 

Assuming there is not a market for the set and you are fine with not saving it, offer it up to family members or donate it. If you are feeling sentimental, save a serving piece or tea cup to use as a planter or to use for dinner on your parents anniversary or holidays and release the rest. 

There is no point it struggling to find a space for it when, forgive me, eventually someone will be making decisions about what to do with your stuff. Keeping it a box in the basement for years until then does nothing to honour your parents. and will do nothing to assuage any guilty feelings, it is only delaying the inevitable. 

Congratulations! You can't put a price on health, so don't think of letting some of the clothes go as wasting money.

If you truly love the pieces and they are high quality, see if any of your key items can be altered. If anything still has tags or has only been worn once, they aren't your favourites and you can let them go. Donate them or try a consignment shop if you must. Do it soon while everything is still in style, otherwise it is not useful to anyone

Storing clothing can be difficult, it just doesn't keep that well. It can attract pests and pick up strange smells. It doesn't make sense to keep a closet full of clothes you can't wear or to store it elsewhere in your home. 

Focus on your new wardrobe for your new size. What colours and cuts look good on you? How many ways can you use each piece (AKA Capsule Wardrobe)?

I won't lie, this has the potential to be a big job. It doesn't have to be stressful though. Most of it you can do while watching TV or doing other things. Here is a basic starter plan to expand upon once you get going. 

For physical photos, start with the boxes, loose piles, and envelopes, leaving the photos that are in an album for last. 

Don't try to sort the photos out by year, but rather by person, holiday, vacation, or other events. While you are sorting, toss the doubles, the blurry, the photos with people you don't know. The photo of that beautiful, perfect wave on the beach can go, too. You don't need to save the pictures that are similar to another one in your pile. And, I give you permission to toss the photos that make you cringe. 

Keep going, piles will present themselves before long. Once you have worked through all the loose photos, keep them together in an archival box by whichever categories you are using. At some point you can cull the albums in the same way. Once your photos are down to a reasonable number you can decide how best to store them. 

The photos on your phone? You can make albums on your phone in the same fashion; by person, holidays, events, and so on. It is so easy to get carried away and take more pics on your phone than necessary. Use the same criteria to discard the pictures you don't need.

The decision to digitize the printed photos or print the digital pictures is another conversation. Like I said, this is a basic place to start. it's a marathon not a sprint.