Quote:
Originally Posted by Skytrooper
I learned the hard way about personal downsizing. My brother, who has MS, wound up in the hospital. It was determined that he needed to be in a care facility. He needed me to come out to Idaho and liquidate his belongings. There were very few treasures that he wanted as he had virtually no place for “stuff” in the facility. He had kept virtually everything since he left our parents home in 1969. He had a massive accumulation of stuff. It not only filled his apartment, but also 2 units in a storage facility. The big one being 10x30 and an 8x10, both of them filled to the rafters.
It was a painstaking process going through all of it, but I had a mission and I wasn’t going to let him down.
Going through all his “momentos of life” was sobering. Throwing away his life was my job. I laughed and I cried, but I learned a valuable lesson. We don’t need a lot of things. I have spent my time since getting rid of everything that only means something to me. Why make my survivors go through the task. Honestly, I think I am much happier being unburdened of all the flotsam and jetsam. I missed some of the stuff at first, but that feeling quickly passed.
I did complete my mission in Idaho. My brother is well taken care of, and happy. I am going to see him next week !
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My parents house was much like that. Dad was an Air Force pilot, and we moved a lot. When he retired mom and dad moved back home to within a few miles of where they grew up. They inherited all of my dad's parents stuff, and my mom's parents stuff. Along with mom's sister's stuff. When cleaning out the garage I found canceled checks from my grandmother's account from the 1960s. I did not even shred those, as she had been dead for 20+ years.
I finally hired an estate broker. My brother and I both looked through to house and found anything we wanted, and I signed the contract with the estate broker. At that moment he owned 40% of the stuff, except any family photos or documents he might find. He went through the house from the attic, to the rafters in the detached garage. He labeled and priced everything, put it on tables, and filed the permit, and ran ads for the sale. He then hired my wife, myself and some good friends to work the sale, and he paid us in cash every day. He had total paperwork and every receipt. He filed the sales taxes due, and handed me a check for the 60% of everything. He worked HARD, to get it done for a full week before the sale. He did invite some fellow estate people to get a first look and buy before the general public. What little was left, we donated to Goodwill.
It is really amazing what some people will buy. Open boxes of laundry soap, to full furniture sets and the "good" dishes.