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After a few years of widowhood, I met someone and prepared to sell my house and move into his small house.
I sold/donated probably 90% of what I owned. I had been moving this stuff (antiques, memorabilia, etc around for over 40 years and I was ready to be free of it.
What a great feeling to have that stuff off my back.
Good idea for distributing the things that are not typical assets but have other than purely monetary value. I have some things that the right people would love to keep, and my spouse would almost certainly sell them for a few bucks rather than find an appreciative recipient.
It would be better for me to find those people while I am still alive and alert than rely on wills or other post-death documents to distribute them.
I've done a near-total sell-off twice, once moving from California to Hawaii, then again when moving back to the mainland.
Then we had a temporary place in Minnesota, accumulated some stuff, but I refused to buy anything I loved because I knew I'd be leaving it behind.
Even so, the car was stuffed to the roof when we left, with an air bed, bedding, kitchen gear, but not much else.
Now we've bought another house, and get to fill it with things we love.
After much thought (and a near-death experience several months ago), I'm selling off most of my worldly possessions and moving to a new area. I hope to live in a small house (less than 1,000 square feet), so I'll be downsizing quite a bit.
I've already sold my car (bought something much more economical) and I've got the house for sale. Now I'm trying to sort out how much of my furniture I should sell.
I'm seriously thinking about selling/donating every single thing, and just starting fresh - wherever I may land. I've got a few family heirlooms (a couple dressers and two chairs), but none of the kids want them, and I don't feel like hauling them around one more time. My whole life has been hand-me-downs and yard-sale finds.
As an author and historian, I've already donated most of my historical materials to a local university.
So, I'm asking if anyone else has done an estate sale to wipe the slate clean - while they're still alive. And if so, how did you figure out what to keep and what NOT to keep. What questions did you ask yourself as you sorted through the mounds of STUFF?
I'd really like to travel light. I'm going to put everything in storage and travel around the country, until I find a landing place.
Thanks.
I'd actually recommend doing this - relocation or not. Not all of your assets and belongings. Most people won't have to worry about an inheritance tax, but Medicare's 5 year look-back is a
Look at what you've got with the thought that if a fire or tornado happened, what would you really miss?
Most things can be replaced if you need it.
I'm planning to move several states away. Considering moving costs, I'm looking at it as an opportunity to obtain some new household items when i get there – even if some of them are only new to me.
While I can certainly understand the need to lighten the load I don't understand the idea of selling everything. At some point you will need the basics, a bed, a couch, dresser etc and they are very expensive to replace. I'm a yard sale guy too but I'm not sleeping on a yard sale mattress. Ewwwwww.
It would be cheaper to sell what you have, and then buy new basic furniture for the new place. If you take it with you, you'd pay for movers to take it apart, wrap it, move it. Then you have to put it together or pay them to put it together. You can buy inexpensive furniture in your new location and pay for delivery and putting it together. You can also buy something that will fit well.
The exception may be antiques or sentimental large items you want to take.
I have an antique bed. I love it. But it's a guest bed. I will sell it, rather than pay to move it (it's solid wood and heavy, and has headboard, footboard, side railings, man's chest, bureau w/mirror). I won't get much for it so would have to take a big loss. But I have to disregard its value as an antique and think of it as a bed. Is it worth it to pay to take it apart, move it, pay to store it while I lease and househunt, then pay to move it to new house? That's not practical.
My loss is someone else's gain, I guess. Sometimes you have to get rid of things.
After much thought (and a near-death experience several months ago), I'm selling off most of my worldly possessions and moving to a new area. I hope to live in a small house (less than 1,000 square feet), so I'll be downsizing quite a bit.
I've already sold my car (bought something much more economical) and I've got the house for sale. Now I'm trying to sort out how much of my furniture I should sell.
I'm seriously thinking about selling/donating every single thing, and just starting fresh - wherever I may land. I've got a few family heirlooms (a couple dressers and two chairs), but none of the kids want them, and I don't feel like hauling them around one more time. My whole life has been hand-me-downs and yard-sale finds.
As an author and historian, I've already donated most of my historical materials to a local university.
So, I'm asking if anyone else has done an estate sale to wipe the slate clean - while they're still alive. And if so, how did you figure out what to keep and what NOT to keep. What questions did you ask yourself as you sorted through the mounds of STUFF?
I'd really like to travel light. I'm going to put everything in storage and travel around the country, until I find a landing place.
Thanks.
I tried this when I was 35. I was moving and didn't want to pack all my junk around again. Conveniently, there was a very impoverished single mother and 5 children next door, who had very little furniture and household items. Their father didn't seem to contribute to their support. So I gave them all my furniture and most everything else, which they appreciated. I kept my tools and things I'd made with them, just enough cooking equipment to get by and my personal papers and clothes.
The follow-up was important. I swore-off ever going to garage sales again and mostly, I've stuck with that policy.
I like my stuff. I enjoy stuff. Lots of stuff. I wouldn't be happy without stuff.
However, little by little we have been going through the stuff that had been in storage, back of closets, attics etc and getting rid of the majority of that stuff. The stuff behind the scenes so to speak. Basically if it isn't out in the house, as a measure of beauty or function, THOSE OTHER things - are gone or going.
But we still have a lot of stuff with no intention of getting rid of what we love to be surrounded by - lifetimes of things collected.
If one of the kiddies loves something and wants it - as they get themselves established - they can have it while we are still alive and that's all good.
Also, we are trying NOT to buy new stuff or more stuff and just enjoy what we've already acquired.
Maybe one day, if we move and do a major downsizing, we will have to get rid of a lot of what we now own but today - we just enjoy it.
I have been getting rid of a lot of "stuff". It is all just "stuff".
And isnt it amazing how much stuff we accumulate as we build lives?
I had an electrical house fire years ago, i vowed i would never accumulate again.
Then, when i was homeless, i vowed id never accumulate again.
Here, 19 years later i sit in a house full of stuff . A basement full, a garage full, the attic would be full if it wasnt just a square cover to a square hole over the back door landing. If it had a pull down or steps, itd be full too.
How does it happen?
It all comes in a little at a time.
Thats how.
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