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One of the hottest TV trends these days are the rags to riches shows about ordinary people who discover hidden treasures at auctions, or estate sales, or by picking through piles of junk in storage units or barns.
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66 Comments on The true cost of “collecting.”
What amazing stories so now I realize it was a blessing that we downsized - it forced us to get rid of stuff. We were moving right after major flooding in the area and it was easy to give away furniture. When people came, I told them the rules - everything had to be gone by the evening before the movers arrived ... and if they wanted the bed, the matching dressers went with it plus the bedding, towels, everything coordinated as fewer bedrooms (5 down to 2) and fewer bathrooms meant I didn't need the stuff and they did.
So true, Richard. My sellers recently paid over $10,000 to move 40 years worth of stuff--very little of which will ever be used or enjoyed again.
The most haunting image was a year or so ago when friends of a seller were over, helping pack and discard things; a woman came with about 10-12 pairs of unused chopsticks from Chinese restaurants and asked if she could through them away--the answer was no, pack them!
Great advice Richard. I wish all agents shared this with their sellers. Thanks.
I have a future listing that is filled to the brim with "mementos". I feel bad for the kids who will be hauling it out to the street.
AHHH but it is the thrill of the finding that treasure that makes it so much fun! I love spending the afternoon strolling through flea markets and antique stores. Thank goodness I move often so the treasures get thinned out each time.
Richard - When I moved out of a farmhouse 14 years ago, I filled 2 twenty cubic yard trash dumpsters. Unbelievable! Now? I could pack up everything I own into a medium sized UHaul truck. I have definitely learned to live with less! If you don't need it or can't sell it, get rid of it! Couldn't agree more...
Thanks for bringing up this topic, Richard. One of my clients inherited a property where the deceased left behind 30 years' accumulation of treasures and stuff. I lost count of the number of dumpsters he had to fill before we could put the property on the market.
Which brings to mind a plea - please make provisions for your pets in your will.
Richard, you tackled a touchy topic with this one. And you did it with finesse. Congratulations on your feature.
Having just moved from a 760 sq foot home, I realized long ago to not have too many collections of things that I don't need and would have to dust anyways. Now that our home is almost 2000 sq feet, the stuff we did have has spread out and I realize there are particular things that I would want more of(kitchen gadgets, pictures of my family) and things that i would not(nicknacks)....
Its amazing how much stuff one collects, getting rid of everything is such a liberating expression of freedom
Richard:
I totally agree with you. I represent heirs in the sale of their parents home's frequently. Many times there is so much to clear out. Most things may have had value for the owner, but no one else valued the items. Most is not even worth recycling. What a pity.
Having been raised in the Midwest with depression era parents, it almost hurts me to throw things away. Like people above said - you just may need it someday. This past weekend I spent time cleaning out my adult daughter's old bedroom. She had postcard collections, every pair of ballet point shoes (12), old riding boots, tennis rackets, Seventeen Magazines, track shoes and on and on and on - she never seemed to throw anything away The room is now fairly neat and only post cards and one pair of ballet shoes retained.
Great advice Richard, I think that we could all learn from this and some need to be reminded daily.
The problem is...when you're getting rid of "stuff," you're getting rid of parts of your life. In our materialistic society, we are unfortunately judged by the things we have - the more expensive, the better. It's one thing to throw away a cheap knick-knack that you got as a gift from someone whose name you no longer remember. It's another to discard an old appliance that you got from your beloved aunt as a wedding present, or had to save up your own money to buy over the course of several months. A baseball card from a no-longer-remembered player from the 1980s may have more "sentimental" value for the owner than an early 50's Mickey Mantle.
I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who had to help her mother sell "stuff" from her own home, move other "stuff" into storage lockers, and move herself into a nursing home on doctor's orders. Over the course of nearly 7(!) years we weeded through the chaff in order to save the wheat. Now that mother's gone I still have boxes of old bowling trophies and church-committee photographs that are either worthless or priceless. I hope I have many long years ahead in which to figure out which is which.
Richard,
This is sad but so true! Well said.
My grandmother raised 7 children during the depression. The tales of her hoarding are endless. I could and may post my own blogs on them. A lot of it is based on Fear and for other greed. Grandma would give away stuff if people needed it. But she could not stand waste.
and it seems that every day we here a story about people that hoard....they should read your blog post!!
Hi Richard, so true and there usually is a bit of a packrat in all of us!
Excellent post. It is a good time to get rid of all of the stuff around the house.
Have a great day and an outstanding weekend.
I you have a chance, read George Carlin's routine called "Stuff". It will make you look at things a bit differently.
Margaret