I am still in the process of going through the contents of my mother's house. She passed away Nov 25th. My uncle strongly suggested I rent a dumpster and just throw everything away and completely empty the house. That seems so wasteful. My mom had a houseful of furniture, framed art, glassware, china, clothes, knick-knacks, bedding (sheet sets, blankets & quilts), lovely drapes, curtains and other window dressings and so much miscellaneous. Whatever a 10-room Victorian house can hold. I an overwhelmed by the quantity. I've already taken almost forty 30-gallon bags of clothing to the local charities and kept what I though might be sellable. I have also been putting out "feelers" with local antique dealers for the furniture and placing ads for the items in the local trades for the jewelry, clothes and other items. I have not received ONE CALL! It seems these items would have some value to someone. Is everyone so strapped after the holidays they don't have any money? I'm beginning to think my uncle is correct. What am I doing wrong?

If you're wanting to make money, check to see if there is a craigslist in your area, and just list that the whole house contents are for sale, and all offers will be considered. If you're NOT caring about money, but just want the stuff to go to a good home, or to get it gone, check for a local freecycle site (freecycle.org) and post the same. I promise that you'll have the house cleared in no time. There are charities who will come and pick up dontations as well... the Kidney Foundation is one, if there is one in your area. Are there no other family members who would want some of your mom's stuff for sentimental value? That would be my first try, then go from there... (*"*)

Try Estate Dealers/Sellers - they liquidate the contents through an estate sale. Everything in the house is priced tagged and then you have a sale for a period of time until contents are sold off. You get a % of the sale. Because they want to make money, they'll be able to tell you if the contents are good enough to have one. If you could find a person that used a particular seller and were happy with the outcome, all the better. When you hear of people taking about buying things from estate sales that's what it is.

My FIL passed away last summer and my MIL is doing the same thing. FIL kept everything from his mothers house, an aunt and uncles house and his prev. wifes. Plus all of his own accumulation. There are really nice things, and a lot of junk. She has burned some, thrown some, sought advice on the rest. She was advised not to go the estate sale route because the stuff that is really worth something won't bring the $. We have been trying to sell some of it on ebay, but the stuff we THINK should sell doesn't, and the stuff we put on for the heck of it goes for good money. Its almost comical. We'll have a garage sale next spring, but for now we'll keep trying. My only beef is that she isn't asking the kids (DH is not her son, but a step) about stuff before she sells, and the stuff her antique friend told her would be worth something has magically disappeared. By rights, I guess its all hers, but the kids should be given the option of looking it over.
So, my advise would be to make sure everyone has the chance to take what they would like. Don't forget any close nephews and nieces. (We had some ask for a memento.) Then depending on how fast the estate needed to be sold, take care of it accordingly.

My Mother passed away Aug.31 and I am still going through her house. It really bothers me, so I do a little along. She passed away at home and I was her care giver. Even with Hospice I still adminstered all the meds etc. We have alot of estate auctions in our area as well as an auction house that has a sale every Sat. I know that they told me to wait until after the holidays to get the best price for the merchandise. I, however, am in no hurry to complete the task and know that by March all the followers of the site held estate sales will feel the effect of the winter shut in. Usually prices are higher in March and April than in the height of auction season. Have you thought about having a tag sale? Hope all turns out and I empatize with you.

Do you have a consignment business for used furniture and home decorating items in your town or a nearby larger town? Larger casegoods like dining room sets, living room sets etc could be sold in this setting and you split the profits with the owner of the store.

Another option, especially for smaller items is a "peddlers mall" which you can rent booth space on a monthly basis. Local malls near me charge $125/month but they get tons of foot traffic, place is inside and monitered etc. Things like dish sets, housewares, linens, kick-knacks, purses, lamps, holiday decorations, etc sell well in this setting.

I'll be facing similar situation soon with ill relatives and this is the route I plan to go, especially if dealing with winter months. I can rent a booth... sell items and replace with new items while I bulldoze my way thru decades of "stuff" and bide time to set up for one huge yardsale in warmer months.

Best of luck to you. I know this has been an especially hard holiday season for you and prayers are with you.

~~~Belle~~~

Oh, I am sorry to hear of your situation. Your uncle probably is looking out for your best interest - so you won't have the emotional drain.

I love some of the suggestions here.. let family go through and get meaningful items.. then I would do as Countrybug suggested. Going through every bit of the items and selling it all may take such an emotional toll on you - it may not be worth the $ $ $.

All the best and please keep us posted from time to time.

This is really another wake up call for me to declutter... :I I have actually already listed stuff to sale cheap and to give away.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NJTomboy,

I have to disagree with the criticism of an estate sale. My sisters and I used such an option for my aunt's estate and were well pleased. The person we used agreed to the sale based on a percentage of the total proceeds so he was very motivated to get the most for the money. He also had tremendous experience with this sort of thing and was able to identify what would sell, what wouldn't (and looking at the results of his decision, I firmly agreed.) Ultimately, we were very happy with the results and the proceeds of the sale.

One thing I noticed when I helped someone else go through this process is that emotions can get in the way. An object that holds tremendous sentimental value to a family member may have little, if any, monetary value to the general public. The 70 year old upright piano that Grandma received new as a gift from her parents and that she played all of her life, entertaining her children and grandchildren, may just be an old piano beyond any useful purpose to someone outside the family. Great Aunt Lithonia's large locket may have been a favorite teething toy for every baby born into the family for 75 years, but it may still just be a piece of costume jewelry with little value to an outsider.

An estate expert will be able to look at each object from a practical standpoint and tell you whether it would sell at an estate sale and then properly handle the sale for you. Anything that doesn't seem to be sellable could be donated, like Countrybug said, to appropriate charitable organizations for their use or simply thrown or given away, unless a family member would like it.

When Dad passed away, several years ago, my siter, brother and I hadda take care of dealing with his small house. Brother took little. Sister and I had several items we wanted and rented a u-haul and nearly killed ourselves moving stuff!! We had a "sale". I love going to yard sale and HATE having them. Was just amazed at stuff people passed up on and what they bought!?! A never used set of 6 glasses for a buck... didn't sell... but exteremely used glasses from his kitchen were snatched up for $ .10 each?? Everyday dishes, missing ONE bowl, didn't sell?? Thought would be great for first apartment for $5. He had 2 REAL oriental rugs that got offers of $5-10... cost about $4000 total!?! ANything we didn't want was given to charity.

I think everyone has good ideas- I have liquidated several estates, and its a lot of work, physically and emotionally. Depending on the area of the US you are in, summer is a much better time to move stuff- if you are in a time crunch and can't wait until then, go through the house, choose the things you wish to keep and then invite family members for a one day "take it now, no storage" event. This will keep the complaints to a minimum, because if they don't take it, it will go- and you would be surprised what family will take!!! Anyway, best wishes- wish I could help, I am in the northeast, email if you are close! Queenie

Hi:
I am sorry about your situation, but applaud that you have gotten this far.
I have not been able to go to my mom's house and she passed away Sep 23rd.

I think it's best that an experienced person go through the home , inventory and put the items up for sale.

Good Luck.

consider an estate auction, you can pull out what you think may be really worth $..use ebay as a reference. auctioneers take a percentage, but everthing goes in one day and you are done ! you can also put a reserve on certain items just incase they go for too little. there are many of us out there who love the little treasures we find at auctions that the homeowners would just toss out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: junxtaposition,

Do NOT throw this stuff away!!!!!
I agree with junxtaposition - Your mother's house sounds like an absolute treasure, and it seems to me the auctioneers do all the work -- they'll even sell a box of half-used cleaning supplies for you. Some of the things may not bring the price they deserve, but that's what draws the antiques dealers, hoping to get a steal. Just don't take the prices personally -- so many circumstances go into it that you never can tell, but at least it's taken care of.

i have been reading all the comments and it sounds like you probably have a little fortune in that house---those things that you think are junk are probably worth a fortune and all you have to do is put a search word in E_BAY and check out the completed listings and you will see....i sold some old paper quilt patterns of my grandmothers this summer and they went for over $600...these were tiny card like patterns...i don't know why i kept them but glad i did...and old children's play dishes and old jewelry...just check it out...might be worth putting in a storage place and then getting rid of it...wish i were there to help...you know there are e-bay people who will take your stuff for you and sell it...good luck...nancy

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Originally posted by debodun:
I am still in the process of going through the contents of my mother's house...I'm beginning to think my uncle is correct. What am I doing wrong?

I don't know what area you live inm but a thought for you...did you think about having an estate sale...very similar to a garage sale (higher price). You can do it yourself (you will need several people to help you out though) There are also companies that will come in and organize and work the sale for you (check your local paper for listings under antiques), they take a percentage of the total sales...the sale is done right in the house...I have got some of my best finds at estate sales. Good luck, don't give up.