What do I do with all the stuff my kids don’t want?
This is a question that a Senior Move Manager hears frequently. Whether you are downsizing, helping a parent move, or handling an estate, getting rid of excess furniture and household contents can be a significant challenge. Beyond the economic significance of what furniture and household contents will sell for in today’s marketplace, there’s the emotional struggle that comes with letting go of decades worth of memory laden stuff. It is important to remember that household contents are not just things. They often hold memories and are part of the fabric of one’s life.
Unloading household contents is proving harder than most people anticipate. Indeed, it’s hard to know where to start. A Senior Move Manager can provide the resources to assist older adults and their family with dispersal of household contents. An experienced Senior Move Manager will recommend several strategies to assist with unloading excess household contents for older adults who are contemplating a later life move. Two strategies will be described in this article: family gifts and estate sales.
When downsizing and contemplating a later life move, the optimal time to gift to family is now. A discussion with all family member is important to learn what each would be delighted to receive from your home. Family members may provide an unexpected surprise with the items that they actually do want. It may be a disappointment to discover that grandchildren do not want the china, crystal or silverware that you had planned to pass along as a piece of family history. Children may have their own china pattern and this generation of grandchildren simply do not want to polish the family silver or hand wash crystal wine glasses. Many simply want things that are easy to maintain.
Conversely, it may be a delightful surprise to learn that a granddaughter wants the piles of family photos stashed in the closet or simply covets the cookie jar that sits on the kitchen countertop because it is a memory of visits to grandma’s house. Gifting to family members, sooner rather than later, allows you to experience the pleasure that a family member receives from your thoughtful generosity.
A Senior Move Manager may recommend an estate sale for excess furniture and household contents. For many older adults, an estate sale is an optimal solution because they can simply focus on what is most important to them to move to a downsized home and leave the rest for an estate sale company to sell. An estate sale company sells the contents of a home onsite when the homeowner is no longer in residence. Most estate sale companies require ten days or longer to set up a house for an estate sale. Services typically include inventory and pricing of household items, advertising a sale, setting the home up for traffic flow of buyers, and selling all household contents.
An estate sale company will sell almost anything —-lawn and garden equipment, tools, pantry items, even half-used bottles of cleaning supplies. There is a buyer out there for almost everything! Keep in mind an estate sale company only earns revenue when they sell so they are motivated to sell it all. Most estate sale companies in northeast Florida charge 30-35% fee to sell the remaining contents of a home and leave it broom clean for a new homeowner. An estate sale is appropriate for older adults who are downsizing and have a minimum of $5,000 of furniture and household contents to sell. The sale of furniture and household items is based simply on what it will sell for in today’s marketplace. Be ready to let go of preconceived ideas of value. With advance planning and the expert resources of a Senior Move Manager, downsizing the family home and dispersal of household contents can be achieved.
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