Am I a bad person for wanting to throw out my friend's old stuff?

My (31F) best friend (29F) has a lot of stuff that they really love, mostly stuffed animals, collectible dolls, and figurines. They're really obsessive about them and keeps them all out in her home in glass showcases (the kind that look like they belong in an antique store), have them arranged in elaborate displays, and goes through great effort to clean them and ensure that they're well-maintained. I've been friends with them since we were kids and I've known them to love these things from a very young age.<br><br>I moved away for college and for a while after graduation, and when I moved back we weren't as close for a while. We reconnected as friends about a year ago, and since we reconnected they've invited me over to their place a number of times. I've noticed that they have a lot less stuff overall than they did when I was over all the time all those years ago, but they were very adamant that they had not gotten rid of any of their stuff and that they must have just forgotten that I had seen certain items in the past. I was skeptical, but didn't want to push the issue.<br><br>They were going out of town for a while and asked me to go over to their place and water their plants. I happily agreed and they gave me very detailed and specific instructions about how to enter their place, how to check the plants, and what to do if I found any issues with the plants. I did this for several days withoutissue.<br><br>However, on the last day that I went, I decided to snoop around a little bit. I knew that it was wrong and I felt bad, but I couldn't get over my suspicion that they might have thrown out some of their old stuff. When I was in their bedroom, I opened a nightstand drawer and found a piece of paper with a note written on it in their handwriting. It said something to the effect of "It's okay to let go. I am not defined by the stuff from my past. I will only surround myself with things that bring me joy."<br><br>I felt a pang of sadness, knowing that they must have looked back on the memories associated with their stuff and determined that they didn't bring them joy and got rid of them. I closed the drawer and left the house, but the whole thing stuck in my head.<br><br>I know that they have to do what makes them happy, but it felt like they were erasing our past. I know that I don't have any right to the stuff that they own, and I certainly don't think that they owe it to me to keep it, but it still made me feel bad.<br><br>The whole thing made me think back on my relationship with my friend. I realized that it's been a long time since I've been able to relate to them or felt like we had very much in common. I still care for them deeply, but I've come to realize that maybe we aren't as good of friends as I thought we were. I've decided to slowly start backing away from the friendship, not in a hostile or abrupt way, but by slowly becoming less available to hang out, etc.<br><br>The thing is, they are moving in with me at the end of the month. Their lease is up and they asked if they could move in with me temporarily while they look for a new place. I agreed without realizing that they had thrown out so much of their stuff, and I'm worried that they might want to get rid of more of it now that they're moving in with someone else. I know that I really want to keep a lot of those items, and I don't know if I should talk to them about it or not.<br><br>A lot of the items that they had were things that they gave to me as gifts in the past, and they're all I have left from our time as friends. I know it's weird, but all of those stuffed animals that they gave me are all I have left of our friendship. I sometimes think back on it fondly, but I'm trying to let go of those feelings and move on. I even thought about asking if I could keep the items that they still have, but I don't know if I want to put them through the pain of having to think about all that again.<br><br>If they do bring out some of their old stuff and I see it, I know I won't be able to stop myself from asking for it. I know that's pretty selfish of me to want, but it's literally all I have left from our friendship, and they don't seem to care about it anymore.<br><br>Edit: Thank you so much for all the responses so far. I don't have time to respond to everyone, so I'm going to respond here instead. I think it's clear that the majority of you think this is a little insane, lmao. I completely understand that perspective, and I can totally see how this would look from the outside. I probably shouldn't have come here with this question, because it seems like most people here don't really understand where I'm coming from.<br><br>All of these items were gifts that were given to me, and they're all I have left from our childhood. I would probably trade all of my possessions if I could go back to being their friend again. I'm not some stranger trying to get their stuff; I love this person and I thought these items would help me to feel closer to them again.<br><br>I know it was wrong of me to look through their stuff, but I honestly didn't think that they would notice or care. Like I said, they go to great lengths to have these items displayed, maintained, and appreciated. If they were going to throw things out, I figured that they would tell me about it, or at least leave them out for me to see before they did it.<br><br>I don't know if this changes anything for anyone who commented, but they're not moving in with me permanently; it will be a short period of time until they find another place. I also only mentioned "stuff" in my original post, but really, it's mostly just those dolls. They have a lot of them and I think they're all beautiful. There are a few in particular that I would really love to have back because they were my favorite ones.<br><br>I really didn't think that this was that weird until I posted it. I now have some serious reevaluation to do.<br><br>Edit2: Sorry again, I don't have time to respond to everyone. It's super clear that however I feel about it, my friend doesn't want me to have these items and they're not mine. It's completely illogical for me to feel this way and I have a lot to think about obviously. I'll probably get offline for a while and give it some thought.<br><br>To answer a couple of questions; I'm not doing this out of malice (I don't want to hurt my friend, I just want the items), and I'm not insane (I think, lol). I just really loved these items and my friend and I lost touch for a while. I didn't even know they still existed until I saw them when we reconnected.<br><br>I'll probably reach out to my friend and ask if they'd be comfortable with me continuing to house-sit for them when they're out of town. I'll tell them that I've been reflecting on our friendship and I don't think that I feel comfortable with them moving in with me. It sucks because we've already signed a month-to-month lease and I was going to let them stay there month-to-month until they found another place. Oh well, maybe it's for the better.<br><br>Thanks again, everyone, for your responses and for holding me accountable.