I've had a lot of conversations lately about how to go about sorting through, cleaning out, and disseminating a loved one's life accumulations. Because I'm in the business of selling vintage items, I'm constantly helping families decide what to do with it all, and it can be very overwhelming!
If there's just too much stuff for you to deal with, there are reputable estate sale and auction companies that can handle selling off the entire house-full. They will want to make sure it is worth their time, and will charge a commission of the entire sale. It is a lot of work to go into every cupboard, wipe pieces off, price them, and display them to sell. And then there's the 3 day sale where they need to employ people in almost every room to write up receipts.
But, before you have a company come out, make sure family members have a chance to take what they would like. Everyone has different tastes, is in a different stage of life, and is sentimental about different items. Once the family has taken what they like, then the estate/auction company can be called.
If you decide to wade through the home yourself, I will give you some of the strategies I use. A few people could do this process together, and then have family members come choose items when they can visually see all that's available. If family is out of town, you could also be tech-saavy and take pic's of groups of items and share on a photo-sharing site.
First off, grab a garbage bag ready to get rid of anything that's just not usable any more. Fuzzy toilet seat covers, crusty rugs, random pieces of paper, items that no one would ever want (in their right mind). You could also start a recycling bag of old newspapers and magazines.
Also designate a "give away" pile of items that aren't necessarily special, but may still be able to be sold at a thrift store. Regular glass vases, non-vintage jars, old clothes that aren't desirable for halloween costumes, and everyday items.
Next, group like items in different areas, and within each area group the similar items together. In the kitchen/dining area group dish sets together, large serving pieces together, utensils, and flatware. In a bedroom, gather all the vintage clothes into one closet, and have the shoes and accessories together.
Put the furniture in one area, and the medium pieces in another area. If certain pieces were made by a family member, make sure to note that so future generations can have that knowledge.
There will always be random tzchokas that can be grouped. Partyware can contain paper napkins, candles, decor, etc. And another grouping could be figurines and other small decor items.
If the person was into certain hobbies, there can be areas designated for that also: sewing, reading, woodworking, etc.
Special family heirlooms should have a place also. Accessories and photos that contain the family heritage should be set aside and decided as to who can keep them safe and how.
There may be some items that have monetary value that could be sold on Ebay or Craig's list, if no family members are interested. It would need to be decided if the funds would go to the estate, and how it would be handled.
Inevitably, there will be seas of papers to deal with. Assign someone who is patient to take them home and sort through. I have found financial papers in drawers on the side of the road, and black and white family photos, because someone obviously got fed up with the sorting process! If greeting cards and letters are found, it might be fun for the original writer to receive them back and have a flashback of their life!
Have any of you recently had to wade through a loved one's life accumulation? What problems and issued did you have? Any tips and good ideas for the rest of us? We'd love to hear!
Awww, it's fun seeing some of those things :)
Posted by: krista | Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 06:03 PM
Then make a plan to stop in this weekend & bring some of it home=< !! Hope you girls have more interest than me; I'm maxed out on "stuff".
Posted by: Lora Bloomquist | Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 09:54 PM
Thanks for the great tips! Such a big job...
Posted by: Kristi Pohl | Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 01:49 PM
It is, Kristi, but luckily...I like old stuff;)
Posted by: Lora Bloomquist | Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 07:40 PM