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That is a great article. I am going to try to make it less stressful when I turn 80 by getting rid of this stuff at 60. It is a great idea for a company or a franchise. I am sure it would provide a good living to many and a service to those in desperate need. I can see the emotional attachment of "STUFF" in my own 5 bedroom home where the basement which should be a man cave is now a storage room and a family room in the upstairs a catch all for mix and match furniture and stuff.
We're almost 70 and though in good health, my mobility has been compromised again. Yesterday we went to see a small house on the market, in our grandkids' neighborhood in another town. It was perfect except for really tiny bedrooms, so small you couldn't fit more than a bed, not even a queen. The rest of the house was nice as was a lovely small yard, and in a great location. No room to expand in any direction. The property butted up to the one next door. We felt we had to turn it down. The good thing in seeing it was imagining what we would have to let go of in possessions if we had sprung for it. Coming back home I realized we don't use a good third or more of what we have. The hardest thing in downsizing yourself is imagining how useful these things could be..."some day." Some of us have embedded in us the attitude of parents and grandparents who lived through the Great Depression and other eras when goods were scarce. Hiring somebody sounds like a grand idea.
That is a great article. I am going to try to make it less stressful when I turn 80 by getting rid of this stuff at 60. It is a great idea for a company or a franchise. I am sure it would provide a good living to many and a service to those in desperate need. I can see the emotional attachment of "STUFF" in my own 5 bedroom home where the basement which should be a man cave is now a storage room and a family room in the upstairs a catch all for mix and match furniture and stuff.
Storage rooms are a killer to downsizing. I'm so glad we don't have an attic and I've insisted on a basement cleanout. (The garage is another story.)
We have friends who moved from a 10-room colonial into a small four-room condo and although they got rid of a lot, they have a lot in storage in the condo complex. They are getting closer to age 80 and not mobile. I doubt they'll ever be able to find anything in their packed unit much less retrieve it. The throwing out will fall to their kids someday. Our generation largely absorbed some of our parents belongings; today's younger adults generally don't want our massive furniture and "priceless" artwork and knicknacks, photos, and books.
Yes, in theory, it's a great idea, but I can see so much potential for things going wrong. Just to give one example, a different person might have pocketed the money from the "rare" book.
Having said that, I hired a young woman who had a messenger/odd job business to help me with my move across state. I left early on the morning the movers were expected so that I could be at my new home when they arrived. I knew I didn't have the stamina to supervise the move at my old place, drive to the new place, and then oversee the unloading there.
I couldn't have done it without her. She was there to meet the movers and left my old place broom clean. I was excited instead of exhausted when the truck arrived at my new place and able to direct the movers where to place my furniture.
Some of you may remember from earlier posts that long drives are not my favorite thing.
My place sold much quicker than I thought it would and I had to downsize in 30 days. I advertised and sold things at a good price to the buyer and usually managed to sell or give away several additional pieces to everyone who came out. I hired a man to take three truck loads (I'm ashamed to say) to the landfill. I conferred with the young man who bought my place and left him anything he was interested in. I took things to Goodwill every time I went to town and left something up by the end of the drive every night with a "Free" sign. It was always gone by morning.
I was exhausted when it was over. I moved on the same day we closed. I let my lawyer handle the closing so I could be on the road early. Well worth the small fee he charged.
You do need help, but as I said in the beginning, I can see the potential for people a little older and less able than myself (like some of the people pictured in the article) to get scammed if they don't have reliable help on their side.
I'm in my 50s and from reading all these posts and hearing my older siblings talk, I am going to be done with all this downsizing business by next year!
'Senior transitions' is a very good, helpful, and profitable business.
I supervised the move for a single man once while I was still energetic and would take on any job. He left for work that morning and came home to the new house that night with his bed made and his clothes in the closet. I helped him organize over the next few days. It paid well and I thought about marketing that as one of my services, but I had too many irons in the fire at the time.
That experience helped me to model my deal with the young woman I hired for my own move.
We have businesses in my area that are doing this. I also noticed realtors are starting to advertise more about providing these services.
Newcomputer is right. You do have to be very careful. I wouldn't hire someone through Craigslist for example. Not that everyone is a scam artist but it is too risky. I would be comfortable hiring one of these companies though. I wish that I was capable of doing more because I would love to work for a business like that. I think it would be interesting and in the end rewarding to help someone in this way.
I have been considering calling someone like this. I'm not really interested in having someone actually do the work. My problem is figuring out what to do with the stuff and making sure that I'm not giving away something that is worth a decent amount of money. They can tell you what is worth trying to sell and the best way to sell it, what is junk, what should be donated, etc. I just need some guidance on how and where to get rid of it.
It can really be a valuable service to some people. I just wish I would have thought of the idea when I was younger and could have started my own business.
We have businesses in my area that are doing this. I also noticed realtors are starting to advertise more about providing these services.
Newcomputer is right. You do have to be very careful. I wouldn't hire someone through Craigslist for example. Not that everyone is a scam artist but it is too risky. I would be comfortable hiring one of these companies though. I wish that I was capable of doing more because I would love to work for a business like that. I think it would be interesting and in the end rewarding to help someone in this way.
I have been considering calling someone like this. I'm not really interested in having someone actually do the work. My problem is figuring out what to do with the stuff and making sure that I'm not giving away something that is worth a decent amount of money. They can tell you what is worth trying to sell and the best way to sell it, what is junk, what should be donated, etc. I just need some guidance on how and where to get rid of it.
It can really be a valuable service to some people. I just wish I would have thought of the idea when I was younger and could have started my own business.
I know a realtor who is also starting to work on the dead also. They not only hold a monopoly on real estate sales. but now want you to use their services to help push probate along. I can't recall what term they use for it but they now have "certifications" to assist people out of their estate. I'm not sure anyone from Craig's list would be any worse.
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