Ever notice your junk is stuff and their stuff is junk?
November 16, 2011 8:07 AM Subscribe
How do you quickly and efficiently dispose of 60 years of household items while maximizing return? I am looking for tips, tricks and suggestions for dealing with a fair-sized estate.
My parents have moved into a retirement home and sold the family house. It is packed with 50 years worth of stuff and I mean packed. Not hoarder level but a ton of stuff.
What do you do with everything? Antiques, photos, and the sentimental things are obvious. I know what to do with those. It's all the other stuff: a chest freezer of frozen food, stacks of books and magazines, curios and bric-a-brac, old tools, scrap wood, booze, area rugs, art, frames, pots and pans, cooking equipment, not cheap but not antique furniture.
It has value. It seems wrong to just throw it all out. It would be nice to maximize the amount of money my parents get from their things. But we have 6 weeks until closing and not a lot of person-power. I am the only family in town and my house is full of our own stuff. We are a small family so there are no relatives to take things. It is not yard sale season anymore and there is too much for one of those anyway. Who would want all this stuff?
Anybody been through this process? Advice and suggestions would be greatly apppreciated. Thanks.
My parents have moved into a retirement home and sold the family house. It is packed with 50 years worth of stuff and I mean packed. Not hoarder level but a ton of stuff.
What do you do with everything? Antiques, photos, and the sentimental things are obvious. I know what to do with those. It's all the other stuff: a chest freezer of frozen food, stacks of books and magazines, curios and bric-a-brac, old tools, scrap wood, booze, area rugs, art, frames, pots and pans, cooking equipment, not cheap but not antique furniture.
It has value. It seems wrong to just throw it all out. It would be nice to maximize the amount of money my parents get from their things. But we have 6 weeks until closing and not a lot of person-power. I am the only family in town and my house is full of our own stuff. We are a small family so there are no relatives to take things. It is not yard sale season anymore and there is too much for one of those anyway. Who would want all this stuff?
Anybody been through this process? Advice and suggestions would be greatly apppreciated. Thanks.
Estate sale companies can do this, although I'm not sure what kind of lead-up time they need. They can stage the stuff in the house so people can walk through, and they'll often bring other similar items from past sales to combine and add interest.
If you're in the kind of area where Freecycle or Craigslist has reach, put stuff up there. People will come over and pick it up; you'd be surprised what they will take. It might not net you money, but the time for that has passed. They will get value out of it, however, so take that when you can get it.
And I would still encourage you to throw away absolutely everything you can bear to throw.
posted by Madamina at 8:13 AM on November 16, 2011
If you're in the kind of area where Freecycle or Craigslist has reach, put stuff up there. People will come over and pick it up; you'd be surprised what they will take. It might not net you money, but the time for that has passed. They will get value out of it, however, so take that when you can get it.
And I would still encourage you to throw away absolutely everything you can bear to throw.
posted by Madamina at 8:13 AM on November 16, 2011
My grandmother was in this situation a few years ago, and she ended up selling an amazing amount of stuff on ebay. Her sister helped her because it got the point where they had a bunch of things listed/selling and she couldn't keep up with it herself.
And I don't think you're going to get much for the freezer full of food. Eat it yourself or give it to friends if you really don't want it to go to waste.
posted by pintapicasso at 8:13 AM on November 16, 2011
And I don't think you're going to get much for the freezer full of food. Eat it yourself or give it to friends if you really don't want it to go to waste.
posted by pintapicasso at 8:13 AM on November 16, 2011
Estate auction. It'll cost you a percentage of the take, but your situation is exactly what the auction firms are made for.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:14 AM on November 16, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 8:14 AM on November 16, 2011 [5 favorites]
As a rule of thumb when selling things, there's an inverse relationship between the amount of effort you put into it and the amount of money you get out of it. If you first decide how much time and energy you want to put into this process, it might be easier to decide how to proceed from there.
In my part of the world, there are a lot of for-profit businesses that run estate sales. 'Estate' isn't quite the right word in this case, of course, but that might be a good thing to look into. If you go that route, after the sale is over you can donate some of the remaining stuff to nonprofits (especially if there are tax advantages to doing so).
posted by box at 8:14 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
In my part of the world, there are a lot of for-profit businesses that run estate sales. 'Estate' isn't quite the right word in this case, of course, but that might be a good thing to look into. If you go that route, after the sale is over you can donate some of the remaining stuff to nonprofits (especially if there are tax advantages to doing so).
posted by box at 8:14 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Don't people usually get house-clearers and appraisers in to deal with this kind of thing?
If you're certain it's of low value, there are still probably house-clearers who will cart it off for a price. Books, magazines, ornaments, area rugs, art, frames, cooking equipment, furniture? That's the kind of thing I buy at thrift shops. Goodwill would love it, I'm sure. Some of the charity shops in my hometown will collect, you might want to look into that kind of thing local to you.
posted by tel3path at 8:15 AM on November 16, 2011
If you're certain it's of low value, there are still probably house-clearers who will cart it off for a price. Books, magazines, ornaments, area rugs, art, frames, cooking equipment, furniture? That's the kind of thing I buy at thrift shops. Goodwill would love it, I'm sure. Some of the charity shops in my hometown will collect, you might want to look into that kind of thing local to you.
posted by tel3path at 8:15 AM on November 16, 2011
This is a sensitive subject for me. When I was in the same position I wanted to move slowly and go through Everything carefully. My brother, not so much. He made a mountain in the garage and called that 800 # blue truck to come get it. This is not the way you want to do this. Lord only knows what valuable items he disposed of!
There are Estate Sale companies that will hold the sale, once you've determined what it is you want to sell. I imagine they take a cut of whatever proceeds come in.
If you can, take pictures of individual items and post ads on Craigslist. People will take and buy just about anything off there. Give away (via CL) or donate items with little to no value. Don't try to make a buck on every single item you have.
Lastly, don't get caught up in getting rid of everything. You'd be surprised at what has value, be it financial or sentimental. If I could be there to help you, I would.
Good luck!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:15 AM on November 16, 2011
There are Estate Sale companies that will hold the sale, once you've determined what it is you want to sell. I imagine they take a cut of whatever proceeds come in.
If you can, take pictures of individual items and post ads on Craigslist. People will take and buy just about anything off there. Give away (via CL) or donate items with little to no value. Don't try to make a buck on every single item you have.
Lastly, don't get caught up in getting rid of everything. You'd be surprised at what has value, be it financial or sentimental. If I could be there to help you, I would.
Good luck!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:15 AM on November 16, 2011
Also, here's a tip for putting things on Craigslist or Freecycle: put everything you're willing to get rid of in the same place. When people come over to pick stuff up, they'll see other things and get ideas. We had people come over for a lamp and end up taking a stereo and a giant antique refrigerator.
posted by Madamina at 8:22 AM on November 16, 2011
posted by Madamina at 8:22 AM on November 16, 2011
Because I'm lazy, I'll direct you to my previous answer about how to choose someone to run your estate sale.
I'll add: take the time to go through ALL the stuff. In cleaning out my grandparents' home we found old letters, photos, and money (!) tucked away in all sorts of oddball places. There is nothing -- NOTHING -- worse than being at your estate sale and seeing something come up and having that "oh god, I wanted to keep that" feeling.
posted by anastasiav at 8:24 AM on November 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'll add: take the time to go through ALL the stuff. In cleaning out my grandparents' home we found old letters, photos, and money (!) tucked away in all sorts of oddball places. There is nothing -- NOTHING -- worse than being at your estate sale and seeing something come up and having that "oh god, I wanted to keep that" feeling.
posted by anastasiav at 8:24 AM on November 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
We are in the midst of doing this after the passing of my dear aunt.
First - Get rid of the trash. This includes opened toiletries, magazines, food items. If it breaks your heart to throw it away, then call friends and neighbors to take items. Take opened items to the homeless shelter. This step is absolutely mandatory to maintaining your sanity. It gives you room to work in the house.
Second - Call an estate sale company. If you need a referral, then call the lawyer who wrote your will. Estate lawyers deal with this all the time; they will have some suggestions. We went with an estate broker because we needed the convenience. My aunt lived 800 miles away from the nearest relative.
Third - Decide what you'll sell individually. The estate seller told us to sell my aunt's car without him because it would be in our best interest to do so.
Fourth - Estate sale day. Don't be there. It's too much stress.
Fifth - Decide how you'll dispose of remaining items. The estate sales company may offer you a lump sum for the unsold items. The alternate is they may haul the away and sell them on consignment.
posted by 26.2 at 8:54 AM on November 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
First - Get rid of the trash. This includes opened toiletries, magazines, food items. If it breaks your heart to throw it away, then call friends and neighbors to take items. Take opened items to the homeless shelter. This step is absolutely mandatory to maintaining your sanity. It gives you room to work in the house.
Second - Call an estate sale company. If you need a referral, then call the lawyer who wrote your will. Estate lawyers deal with this all the time; they will have some suggestions. We went with an estate broker because we needed the convenience. My aunt lived 800 miles away from the nearest relative.
Third - Decide what you'll sell individually. The estate seller told us to sell my aunt's car without him because it would be in our best interest to do so.
Fourth - Estate sale day. Don't be there. It's too much stress.
Fifth - Decide how you'll dispose of remaining items. The estate sales company may offer you a lump sum for the unsold items. The alternate is they may haul the away and sell them on consignment.
posted by 26.2 at 8:54 AM on November 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
The two ways to take care of selling an estate all at once are estate auctions and estate sales.
The estate sale is like a garage sale; I've helped run these before. Everything gets prices by the sale runner, and then they put an ad in the paper and open the doors. Usually the sale is multiple-days, and there's a deeper discount each day until on the last day pretty much anything left gets sold at any offer. They are also prepared for large crowds, and have the staff to watch for shoplifters and the like. The sale company gets a cut of the final profit; be careful of irreputable sale companies, because I've heard takes of sneaky ones pocketing cash and so forth. You have more control over the rules and pricing, since you'll be more involved at that stage.
The estate auction is a straight-up auction -- if there's a lot of low-value things, the auctioneer is likely to sell boxloads of things for one money. Prices also tend to be lower, because people go to auctions for deals, not retail prices. The advantage of an auction is this is fast and simpler than a sale, plus auctioneers are more regulated than estate sale runners. Not that you can't find an unscrupulous auctioneer, or an auctioneer who runs their auction poorly (we recently left an auction early, run by the state MN auctioneering champion for 2009, because it took wayyyyyyyy too long. Sell all the mops for $1 and move on; it's clear nobody wants to buy individual used mops for crying out loud.)
Either way, you're going to need to do some cleaning up front. All the food in cupboards and freezers needs to be thrown out; genuine trash-trash too. Family heirlooms need to be sorted out first; that was the more annoying thing about the estate sale I worked, is because we kept finding personal papers and other no-no things (guns, boxes of ammunition) that we couldn't sell. Beside that, we also found half-drunk whiskey flasks hidden everywhere throughout that house too, so be prepared if any skeletons come out of the closet in the process, and prefer that you find it rather than it appearing during the auction. We're constantly amused by a common "swingers" how-to book that came out in the 1960s or 70s that appears frequently at estate sales and auctions, complete with bookmarks and bent corners at the good parts. You learn a lot about grandma by digging through her stuff.
I digress, and I sympathize with how hard this is going to be -- but there are professionals that can help, so definitely put your work into hiring a top-notch professional auctioneer or sale-runner to help, and that'll take a lot of work off your shoulders later.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:09 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
The estate sale is like a garage sale; I've helped run these before. Everything gets prices by the sale runner, and then they put an ad in the paper and open the doors. Usually the sale is multiple-days, and there's a deeper discount each day until on the last day pretty much anything left gets sold at any offer. They are also prepared for large crowds, and have the staff to watch for shoplifters and the like. The sale company gets a cut of the final profit; be careful of irreputable sale companies, because I've heard takes of sneaky ones pocketing cash and so forth. You have more control over the rules and pricing, since you'll be more involved at that stage.
The estate auction is a straight-up auction -- if there's a lot of low-value things, the auctioneer is likely to sell boxloads of things for one money. Prices also tend to be lower, because people go to auctions for deals, not retail prices. The advantage of an auction is this is fast and simpler than a sale, plus auctioneers are more regulated than estate sale runners. Not that you can't find an unscrupulous auctioneer, or an auctioneer who runs their auction poorly (we recently left an auction early, run by the state MN auctioneering champion for 2009, because it took wayyyyyyyy too long. Sell all the mops for $1 and move on; it's clear nobody wants to buy individual used mops for crying out loud.)
Either way, you're going to need to do some cleaning up front. All the food in cupboards and freezers needs to be thrown out; genuine trash-trash too. Family heirlooms need to be sorted out first; that was the more annoying thing about the estate sale I worked, is because we kept finding personal papers and other no-no things (guns, boxes of ammunition) that we couldn't sell. Beside that, we also found half-drunk whiskey flasks hidden everywhere throughout that house too, so be prepared if any skeletons come out of the closet in the process, and prefer that you find it rather than it appearing during the auction. We're constantly amused by a common "swingers" how-to book that came out in the 1960s or 70s that appears frequently at estate sales and auctions, complete with bookmarks and bent corners at the good parts. You learn a lot about grandma by digging through her stuff.
I digress, and I sympathize with how hard this is going to be -- but there are professionals that can help, so definitely put your work into hiring a top-notch professional auctioneer or sale-runner to help, and that'll take a lot of work off your shoulders later.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:09 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ask in your community for auction-house recommendations. The one "everybody" uses may not be the best and most knowledgeable! Really!
You want someone who is above all respectful, as well as compassionate and understanding but still businesslike and able to keep things moving along.
posted by jgirl at 9:18 AM on November 16, 2011
You want someone who is above all respectful, as well as compassionate and understanding but still businesslike and able to keep things moving along.
posted by jgirl at 9:18 AM on November 16, 2011
Also install alarm systems, including fire alarm -- I speak from experience.
Consider a copy of Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? by Marlene S. Stum
posted by jgirl at 9:24 AM on November 16, 2011
Consider a copy of Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? by Marlene S. Stum
posted by jgirl at 9:24 AM on November 16, 2011
Even better than estate sales? Estate Auctions. Here in Denver there are a handful of companies that will come and get your stuff, take it to their warehouse and schedule a sale where people will have the opportunity to view the items, do their own research, etc. then come back on the day of the auction ready to bid to win.
You may be thinking... but yeah, lots of this stuff isn't worth much... That may be true, but they sell it all to the highest bidder. Essentially making it all go away at what the market will bear.
Finally, don't throw away everything you think is trash. There are LOTS of lots that are just ephemera (old magazines, papers, etc.) that wind up selling quite well. Random one off tea cups? yep - those too. I'm always impressed by the things that wind up selling.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:58 AM on November 16, 2011
You may be thinking... but yeah, lots of this stuff isn't worth much... That may be true, but they sell it all to the highest bidder. Essentially making it all go away at what the market will bear.
Finally, don't throw away everything you think is trash. There are LOTS of lots that are just ephemera (old magazines, papers, etc.) that wind up selling quite well. Random one off tea cups? yep - those too. I'm always impressed by the things that wind up selling.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:58 AM on November 16, 2011
Sorting stuff is something you can start doing right now. You don't have to get rid of things right away (though this is a great time to do so!), but it will be a huge help to you and any service you get to help. It can also help you gain a sense of control without making big decisions quite yet.
Specifically, putting "like" with "like" will help you measure how many of X item, or X category of item, you have, as well as let you compare better things with not-so-good things. You can see any duplicates and make decisions about which ones you want to keep or sell, as opposed to taking to Goodwill/St. Vinnie's.
Example: you're in the kitchen, and you've got bowls, bowls, bowls everywhere! Once you sort them out, you can see a hierarchy. Tupperware in ratty condition (toss), stuff that looks like Fiestaware but isn't (sell pieces together in a lot), stuff that really is Fiestaware (sell individually), the bowl that your mom picked up on a trip to Poland (keep yourself or within the family). But you don't have to make these designations now.
posted by Madamina at 9:58 AM on November 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
Specifically, putting "like" with "like" will help you measure how many of X item, or X category of item, you have, as well as let you compare better things with not-so-good things. You can see any duplicates and make decisions about which ones you want to keep or sell, as opposed to taking to Goodwill/St. Vinnie's.
Example: you're in the kitchen, and you've got bowls, bowls, bowls everywhere! Once you sort them out, you can see a hierarchy. Tupperware in ratty condition (toss), stuff that looks like Fiestaware but isn't (sell pieces together in a lot), stuff that really is Fiestaware (sell individually), the bowl that your mom picked up on a trip to Poland (keep yourself or within the family). But you don't have to make these designations now.
posted by Madamina at 9:58 AM on November 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
If you do something like an estate sale, keep your parents far away from the house on sale day if at all possible. The sadness of my grandfather watching as his possessions were sold for pennies on the dollar is burned in my memory.
posted by Esteemed Offendi at 10:06 AM on November 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Esteemed Offendi at 10:06 AM on November 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
If you are feeling really pressed for time, and want to do this in the way that maximises profits, you could always rent a storage unit, and move stuff to the unit to sell later. Then anything not in the storage unit can be junked, freecycled, donated or whatever is appropriate.
Also, what do your parents want? Are they mentally prepared for everything to be gone? Consider their feelings too. Esteemed Offendi's comment breaks my heart.
posted by Joh at 10:59 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, what do your parents want? Are they mentally prepared for everything to be gone? Consider their feelings too. Esteemed Offendi's comment breaks my heart.
posted by Joh at 10:59 AM on November 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Random one off tea cups? yep - those too. I'm always impressed by the things that wind up selling.
I just want to repeat this for emphasis. So much stuff you're tempted to toss out as junk has value (sometimes a lot of value) to someone. When we auctioned my grandparent's barn, a single pre-war canning jar sold for over $100. I would have tossed it, but because we dealt with a "we'll auction everything" type of place they were able to get value for it that I never could have.
posted by anastasiav at 11:32 AM on November 16, 2011
I just want to repeat this for emphasis. So much stuff you're tempted to toss out as junk has value (sometimes a lot of value) to someone. When we auctioned my grandparent's barn, a single pre-war canning jar sold for over $100. I would have tossed it, but because we dealt with a "we'll auction everything" type of place they were able to get value for it that I never could have.
posted by anastasiav at 11:32 AM on November 16, 2011
Last year I called in an estate person that offered 1000.00 for my uncles apartment full of antiques etc. I couldn't do it.
I spent the next 3 months researching and selling items on EBay / Craigslist instead. I posted flyers in the neighborhood and had an open house day every week.
In the end we got about 6000.00 but it took WORK!
You can put everything in storage and hire a EBay specialist in your area.
posted by AJoiB at 11:18 PM on November 16, 2011
I spent the next 3 months researching and selling items on EBay / Craigslist instead. I posted flyers in the neighborhood and had an open house day every week.
In the end we got about 6000.00 but it took WORK!
You can put everything in storage and hire a EBay specialist in your area.
posted by AJoiB at 11:18 PM on November 16, 2011
Repeating the Go Through EVERYTHING advice. You never know where you'll find something of value. Example - I found letters from my grandfather to my grandmother from before they started dating tucked in an old metal box. They were in the original envelopes that they'd been mailed in back in the late 1800s. Sadly, I never found my grandmother's replies. See my post above about the mountain my brother created. I'm sure they're in a landfill in the DC/MD area.
Also, please ask any and all family members if there is something they want before you dispose of anything. The simplest item could be someone's treasure they've been eying for years.
It's a huge task to undertake, but if done well you can move forward without guilt or regret.
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:21 AM on November 17, 2011
Also, please ask any and all family members if there is something they want before you dispose of anything. The simplest item could be someone's treasure they've been eying for years.
It's a huge task to undertake, but if done well you can move forward without guilt or regret.
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:21 AM on November 17, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:12 AM on November 16, 2011