The old adage: Someone’s trash is another’s treasure is easy to say but difficult to embrace when it is you who must filter through a lifetime of “stuff” that needs to be downsized. Coupled with escalating anxiety once the overwhelming accumulation of things is rediscovered from years of storage in the attic, the garage, the spare bedroom closets, and the storage shed outback - it can all be just too much to handle when family lets you know they are not interested in having any of it. It is disheartening to say the least.
Do you wish that great grandmother’s china might be passed down to a great grandchild? Yes. Do you hope the Persian rugs your children once crawled on find their way into their homes? Of course.
Friends may suggest donating to a charity, but the pandemic put a halt on accepting any donations for quite a long time and some charities are still not accepting donations. Tight deadlines of closing on the sale of your home and moving into your new one often leave you with few options.
The good news is that selling your unneeded possessions can be the solution you need and is surprisingly satisfying prior to a move.
Maybe your kids do not want your stuff, but I’m here to tell you that other people do. Lots of people, many of whom need and value your stuff more than you – or your kids. From one mother who found your china matched her pattern and now she has the number of place settings needed to have the entire family over for Thanksgiving dinner to the newlyweds who are delighted to have the mid-century dinette set and matching end tables to fill their starter home. Or the divorced mechanic who was thrilled to have his own set of tools in hopes of starting his own business to the daughter who helped transfer your large chest to her newly divorced mother’s apartment.
The central story becomes of those people who inherit your stuff as second acts rather than about you or your emotions. It is also something more: disposing of your belongings in this way offers a chance to reconsider your community you have lived in for 30 years and a way of giving back. People are willing to ignore the scratches on that dinette set or forgive the fact that the china set was missing one cup.
Do some experience regret awaiting their auctions to begin? Sure, many do. Reminding yourselves that limited storage space in your new home does not afford that option helps to keep your focus on the goal. You may not get rich from dispersing your belongings this way, but the unexpected rewards are that you will likely earn enough to cover hiring the help to prepare it and other needed services as well as the satisfaction that your stuff now has a second act.