Getting Rid of Everything...Almost

[ckelly78z]

My wife tends to keep things that she might use one day far in the future. This leaves the masterr bedrrom, and the attic piled up beyond belief. When I retire in a few years, I will systematically go through the house, and pitch, or sell what we haven't used in a few years.

I couldn't get down to one car load, too many guns, and tractors.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I could do it. Sold my two all time favorite cars this year to pay off my house. I miss them but would do it again. My wife and I have both transitioned from the typical American “live for stuff” mentality and are trying to focus more on what really matters and brings happiness. Because stuff doesn’t equal happiness. Once the kids are gone we’ve discussed on multiple occasions the desire to downsize in house, which will probably be hard for her.

Back to the OP, I think an estate sale would be a great avenue to make this happen quickly. What you’re describing is exactly what they do, and they will maximize the value of stuff like that expensive table.

[Danimal16]

Curt, thanks for sharing your insights. Others as well.

[1990C4S]

I can't do an estate sale, I would much rather sell what I can on CL and give the rest away to friends an family. The remainder will be donated.

I don't see it as a difficult chore per se, but it is difficult to part with a couple of items I am attached to.

I will get over it.

And I am not selling my cars. Yet.

Thanks for the suggestions above. I am dumping 90% of my clothes this weekend. That's the easy part.

[Seahawk]

I should have mentioned we just did the purge with my wife's mother.

We moved her to a local care facility as signs of dementia gathered unmistakably.

Standard story: 3,000 sq ft house packed to the gills with "stuff", a good deal of it valuable, some sentimental and lots of ordinary debris. Her 2nd husband was a tool guy so there was also a large garage full of even more "stuff".

It takes A LOT more effort than you first estimate.

My wife set up her Mom's apartment first. Beautiful one bedroom place. We hired packers and movers.

Then the real work got underway. After a month of working weekends we had barely made a dent. My daughter, happily, had accepted a job in NYC and came home early from Scottsdale to help. We had her for six weeks and she worked full time.

She was the difference maker: Set up the garage sales, packers, movers, worked with Habitat and Thrift Stores, dump runs, all the interest from relatives, etc., etc.

Every closet was full of her clothes, many never worn, hundred of shoes, dozens of hats and other accessories: The Thrift Store and the "Vintage Values" store were delighted. Instead of taking books to the local used book store - a great place, he came to us and picked up what he wanted.

We ended up not liquidating a lot of what were once very valuable china sets, formal wear, serving sets, etc., that have fallen out of style. We rent a climate controlled storage room for those type of things.

The punch list goes on my friends.

We experienced all of the same cautionary tales described by others.

[tevake]

Lots of good tips above. You shouldn't have to just give away nice valuable things like the dining room set. Correct marketing will be rewarded.

But on another level you haven't filled in much details of the circumstances of your move. It may turn out that in time momentos of past times in your life will become important to you. Look carefully at some of your treasures before you throw them out.
They may carry irreplaceable memories.

Shipping is not all that expensive and you may find that you end up with enough room to house and enjoy nice things that are full of good memories

Cheers Richard

[quicksix]

Originally Posted by tevake

Lots of good tips above. You shouldn't have to just give away nice valuable things like the dining room set. Correct marketing will be rewarded.

But on another level you haven't filled in much details of the circumstances of your move. It may turn out that in time momentos of past times in your life will become important to you. Look carefully at some of your treasures before you throw them out.
They may carry irreplaceable memories.

Shipping is not all that expensive and you may find that you end up with enough room to house and enjoy nice things that are full of good memories

Cheers Richard

This^
I spent Superbowl Sunday going through my pictures with my daughter, we are keeping an album or two of the ones she likes. She also wanted the wedding china set and some old spoons I have lying around.

[LeeH]

Tools, kitchen stuff, stereo, my home gym. That's all I'd miss if I started over from scratch. Over the years I've "fine tuned" my collection of the above to stuff I like and use.

I've bought at garage sales/thrift stores and sold on eBay/Craigslist for many years. It's getting much harder to sell stuff for a reasonable price. Many people are downsizing and selling their own things now, where they used to donate. The result is that prices have gone down on used goods.

I used to regularly buy bikes from Goodwill for $20, tune them up, clean them up, and flip them for $100-$150 the next day. Now Goodwill wants $80 for the same bike, but the used retail price is now $80 because so many people have their own listed now. I miss those days.

[KFC911]

Who wants my Carrera....seriously?

It won't be free

I am absolutely serious....some of you know me, some of you know my car

One of you birds already has dibs.....

[911 Rod]

What's the point of getting rid of everything if you are going to replace it?

[GH85Carrera]

When my dad died, we had to sell the his house. My parents had been married for over 50 years, and when their parents died, the stuff went to my parents house. They had "stuff" packed in every possible location. The house looked normal, not a horder situation, but every closet and cubby hole was full.

We started throwing away lots of crap, like bank statements and canceled checks from the 1980s, from my grandmother who had been dead for 20 years. Income tax records from the 1960 to date were stacked in there.

The family went through the house and grabbed anything we felt we had to have. The rest was left for an estate sale. We hired a guy to come in, sort everything, price it, and get the permits, and advertise it and do the sale. He got 50% of the sale price, and he earned his half as it was a ton of work.

We all went home and started getting rid of crap we do not need. I have thinned my stuff, but I still have lots to chunk.

My tools are off limits. Just last month I used a tool I have had for 25 years, that I bought for one tack. If I did not have it, I would have had to stop, clean up, and go to the store to buy a 18mm crow foot line wrench. Instead, i just plucked it from its place in the tool box, used it and put it back in place.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by KC911

Who wants my Carrera....seriously?

It won't be free

I am absolutely serious....some of you know me, some of you know my car

One of you birds already has dibs.....

I want it! Might not be able to afford it, but I want it!. I’ve been dying to get another Porsche.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

What's the point of getting rid of everything if you are going to replace it?

If that question is for me, I won't be replacing much.

Originally Posted by tevake

But on another level you haven't filled in much details of the circumstances of your move.

Cheers Richard

I am going to live somewhere else with someone who that has everything. And does not need more...

Too cryptic? Think of getting married and your new wife has a nice place....

[mepstein]

I back up my family photos to 3 different places. Other than the pics, everything else is replaceable. With this mindset, it's a lot easier to get rid of stuff.

One of my employees kept a storage locker for his stuff for 26 years. Motorcycles, bikes, ect. It started at $150 and by the end, was $500. He could have purchased a house with what it cost or just gotten rid of the stuff and been $100K ahead.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

If that question is for me, I won't be replacing much.



I am going to live somewhere else with someone who that has everything. And does not need more...

Too cryptic? Think of getting married and your new wife has a nice place....

Witness protection?

[javadog]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Too cryptic? Think of getting married and your new wife has a nice place....

She have an attractive sister in similar circumstances?

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by javadog

She have an attractive sister in similar circumstances?

No, but she does have a single brother.

In Sweden it is a cultural tradition for elderly people to get rid of all of their stuff in advance of death: it's actually called "Swedish Death Cleaning." It's considered part of your obligation to your survivors. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/what-swedish-death-cleaning-should-you-be-doing-it-ncna816511

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I want it! Might not be able to afford it, but I want it!. I’ve been dying to get another Porsche.

I wuz thinkin' mebbe 20K....but ya gotta keep her more than six months....sorry Matt....next !

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by Kraftwerk

I am looking forward to read each and every post here, but first I would like to say it's a philosophy to purposefully get rid of stuff.

This is the key. Like dieting, or working out, or saving money, you have to change your mindset 180 deg. or it won't work. You need to desire not to want 'stuff' anymore and see 'stuff' - whether it be a cool vintage car or real estate, or a business to keep the hamster wheel spinning - as a burden (not saying that is a good, bad, right, or wrong mindset, BTW). For me, I sort of woke up one day and said 'I don't want ANY of this stuff anymore!' And now it's gone