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We moved at retirement and took everything with us. I had bought I big house, though even so there was not room for everything so here we are 3 years later and much of our stuff is still in boxes and with what is out it is hard to move around the house.
I think the discovery that we have too much stuff is pretty common in this society -- especially at retirement time, when we're looking at downsizing or relocating. What do you do with yours (how do you get rid of it), and why did you choose that method?
Now that our 'guest' is finally gone (long story, outlined in another thread), we are back into downsizing to continue getting ready to sell our current house and relocate. We tried Craigslist and yard sales, finally discovered it just takes too long to sell with all the hassles involved- now we are just going to Goodwill. Last week we took two cargo-trailer loads of both antique and relatively new furniture there; newer armoire, antique oak display cabinets and chairs, antique writing desks, an early Singer pedal-powered sewing machine, and a lot of new dishes and cooking supplies. Frankly, we loved the stuff, and some of it was really hard to get rid of...but we hope it generates good revenue for Goodwill and helps others.
Edit: Thanks to the other posters; it gives me hope that we can part with our 'treasures'! LOL!
Interesting. Seems everyone I know holds yard sales or sells stuff online -- often for just a couple of dollars. I'm about the only one I know who would rather give away even good things -- as long as I can be relatively sure it's going to a good cause -- rather than bother with the hassle of selling items piecemeal. When I emptied our old family home, we used an auctioneer, but even then I had to go through and box up everything and, in the end, we got pennies on the dollar for even valuable antiques. Some seem to make a lot of money reselling items (they even harvest them specifically to resell) but, as I say, it's not worth my time and energy.
A family that lived next door was moving so the wife tried yard sales with little success. Then she put a lot of the larger items on the curb next to her mailbox. The stuff disappeared pretty quickly as our street is near an elementary school with parents dropping off and picking up. Giving the stuff away makes the job quicker and easier.
Now that I live alone, I find that minimalism is the answer to not having junk. No impulse buying and staying off online shopping sites.
This happened to me big time. From my in laws and my extended family, not just parents! I hated to see family items disposed of and word got out I would take them. Stupid move on my part.
Now I have a few sets of sterling. 3 12 piece China sets, old photos, family letters dating back to the 1870s, vases, crystal. Coin collections, stamp collection. Most difficult to part with are all the handmade tablecloths, lace doilies, lingerie, dresses, doll clothing...dating from 1880s. I have stacks of it. I just can’t part with handmade items. I’m a sucker. Oh, also a massive collection of old 78 records. 2 boxes of antique fire marks.
Original artwork...some exquisite, most of it just average. I could go on and on.
Haha! You've got OUR disease!! Sucks, huh! Can't dispose of records. We have 860 vinyl albums, 100 of em single-sided 78s from the early years...and a Victrola to play them on! We need to start a 'Suckers' thread...
I have a friend age 65, who in emptying out his parents' home of 60 years, is moving a lot of the belongings into his own personal home! Cannot dispense with a lot of it for the usual reasons.
We had two houses while snowbirding and had duplicates that had to go when we sold our northern home. We lived there for 34 years and had a basement and attic. Those spaces had become repositories for things we should have let go, but didn’t. That space allowed us to not make any decisions about stuff. Trips to Goodwill and Craigslist ads got rid of a lot and 1-800-JUNK took the rest.
We are in FL now with no basement and an attic that isn’t useable for storage with the summer heat. I’ve kept up with relegating things to being recycled, reused or tossed. I routinely go through the house getting rid of things that get stuffed into drawers and closets that we don’t know what to do with, but don’t want to let go of yet. It’s much easier to realize things are piling up when they get seen rather than being out of sight and out of mind.
I think the discovery that we have too much stuff is pretty common in this society -- especially at retirement time, when we're looking at downsizing or relocating. What do you do with yours (how do you get rid of it), and why did you choose that method?
That will be our children's and grandchildren's problem
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