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This is the hardest thing for me. I had a relative pass away a few weeks ago and the task fell to me to clean out her house.
I feel your pain. I took on the task of selling my Mom's house of 50yrs and disposing of all it's contents. I would have liked to keep more than I did but her house was in NY and I live in Alaska. Anyway I got help through the Realtor, she recommended several estate sale people and I went with the one I liked. Some of the stuff was worth selling , they took a sizeable commission, but also cleaned the house from top to bottom, gave the rest to charity for me and then some to the dumpster.
This woman was definitely a collector, just shy of a hoarder and accumulated 85 years of items in a 1400 square foot space. I really don't want any of this stuff, save a few pieces of jewelry. None of my relatives want it either. So donate/dumpster is the option.
Unsentimental as I tend to be, it still always bothers me to throw out the collection of a lifetime. There is a lot of care that goes into what most people fill their houses with, and it just seems wrong to trash it. But as I have no room to store this stuff, nor use for it, that is the option in many cases. I know its just "stuff" but it meant something to someone I care about.
I felt the same with my Mom's stuff and her house but finally I thought it had given her and my Dad pleasure so it served it's purpose and hope fully through sale and donation some of it can be repurposed.
I guess the question is, is there anyone out there who feels this way too? What do you do about it? I have plans to start giving away my possessions as I get older, instead of getting more, so that someone doesn't have to come to this cross roads after I am gone.
Yup, I have completely lost all interest in collecting or having knicknacks in the house.
I have five generations of stuff -- not a huge amount but things like a blanket chest and a steamer trunk (filled with stuff) and some furniture that I use every day. If I use it I'm OK with it. My daughter wants none of it. She will have to go through it so I'm adding a few labels in hidden spots.
My Dad died in 2001, my Mom in 2007. When my Mom died I flew in for 3 weeks (my sibs all worked, I was retired) to clear out her co-op. My sibs and I kept a few sentimental/valuable items and I sold everything else via estate sail and craigslist. By the time the 3 weeks were coming to an end I arranged for a charity to pick up the rest. The charity's truck broke down and didn't show up so I ran an ad on craigslist giving away what's left for free. People came and hauled it way. The night before I returned home, everything was gone. The proceeds from selling everything got us about $8000.
Depending on the type of neighborhood you could put a table out near the road with a sign that says "free" and in smaller letters "not the table." Put things out as you go through them. I also did this with vegetables when I picked a lot that day.
The mechanics of getting rid of things is very simple... simply cut a deal to have all contents removed.
Had a retired friend that made good income bidding on storage units and small estates... most of the time he paid very little but promised a 72 hour service.
He paid $225 for a storage unit and realized 9k...
More typically he would pay $1500 to $2500 for the contents of a modest home and figured a 4x return after expenses for his effort...
He had a large pole barn on his property and a cube van with a lift gate...
I agree with most here and just "let it go"..our children don't want the stuff, I know my daughter doesn't want my stuff. I've been filling bags for months and getting rid of stuff and there is still plenty left in my 700 sq ft apt and I'm not a collector anymore FOR SURE.
I have some good old SOLID cherry bedroom furniture and try not to think where it will end up..it's beautiful and over 50 yrs I've had it. But when I'm gone, all this is gone.
I'm not dead, or dying, or even sick, but I am doing a major move, and getting rid of all this stuff is a real challenge.
Lots is being donated to rummage sales, goodwill, the reuse center at the dump.
Smallish items of value are going on ebay.
Larger items of value go on Craigslist.
Part of the problem is that it has emotional as well as monetary value to ME. I just agreed to ship a bunch of zippers and thread to a total stranger in Arizona for a charitable project. I'll lose money on the deal, since I'm paying shipping as well as giving the stuff away free, but I get the satisfaction of knowing my treasures will be used and valued. Of course, if you were my kids (I don't have any of those), you wouldn't have an attachment to my 3000+ buttons, and could just give them away. That would make it a lot easier.
I am in the process of trying to make sure my children don't have to go through junk. It is called downsizing. We have friends that sell estate items and know how to target what might be valuable. My husband is a collector on the scale of almost being a hoarder. If he goes first, I will be having yard sales and donating. Until then, I am doing the best I can at downsizing without causing him to have a stroke.
All my close relatives died. Parents, grands, and last my H. I ended up with everyone's stuff. It took me 5 years to be able to park a car in my garage and I still have stuff to get rid of. If you really care about your heirs, get rid of all the stuff! I know my relatives would all be unhappy if they knew that almost a decade later I am still getting rid of their stuff!
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