What to do with my parents things???

[Anonymous]

My parents both recently passed and I’m an only child. I am listing their home in the next month but I’m not sure what to do with the items in the house.

There are are few things I am taking but there are also a lot of items that are antiques that I just don’t have room for and are not my style. I have no idea what value they may have but I don’t want to just donate these items.

What does one do in this situation? Have someone come out and see if anything is of value? There is specifically a large bedroom set from the mid 1800’s that is beautiful and very well maintained with marble tops but it is not my style! I’d say there are probably 10 very nice pieces in the house and the rest is just generic items. I don’t want everything to go to goodwill but no idea where to start!?

[Anonymous]

Call a local estate sale place and they will come out and let you know value and what stuff they will take for how much.

Be prepared however, when my cousin did this 8 years ago after her mother died she was dismayed to learn that much of the stuff her mom had collected and told her for decades was her inheritance ended up being largely worthless. It's lovely old furniture, but that is not most people's style these days as younger people are more into Ikea type stuff and there just isn't the market there used to be for antique furniture, glassware, china etc.

[Anonymous]

Our neighbors used an online estate sales firm. (one was retiring, downsizing and selling a lot; the other was a family of a recently deceased widow). There was everything from large expensive furniture to glasses and bowls. Everything was photographed by the firm, photos and prices placed on line to bid/sell, and then the buyers come to the home on a specific day/time slot to pick up pre-purchased goods.

Sorry I do not recall the name of firm, I am guessing there are many.

[Anonymous]

There are many estate sale companies that can take care of this for you, OP. Understand that all of their stuff will probably be worth 10% of what you think it's worth!

There's one that's quite active in my area called Caring Transitions.

[Anonymous]

You can also have some charities to come in and do a cleanout and possibly get a tax deduction for the estate.

[Anonymous]

Also did estate sale. Be prepared to feel weird about it. But it was necessary. I’m sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call a local estate sale place and they will come out and let you know value and what stuff they will take for how much.

Be prepared however, when my cousin did this 8 years ago after her mother died she was dismayed to learn that much of the stuff her mom had collected and told her for decades was her inheritance ended up being largely worthless. It's lovely old furniture, but that is not most people's style these days as younger people are more into Ikea type stuff and there just isn't the market there used to be for antique furniture, glassware, china etc.

Yes, we found the same thing as this person's cousin. You can see if thrift shops want stuff and then just get junk haul.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry. When my parents passed away we used Four Sales. They went through everything and had the sale in my parents home (gut punch) except for some speciality items that were sold at auction. What didn’t sell was donated. It was very straightforward. You probably won’t make a ton of cash but the house will definitely get cleaned out.

[Anonymous]

OP, don't be shocked: if you don't want it, it's quite likely others your age won't want it either.

Go with an Estate Sale Firm, and believe them, even if they seem to be lowballing you.

[Anonymous]

I love stuff like that and look for it at estate sales and local auction houses. If it’s really very few nice pieces an auction house might work better.

[Anonymous]

My parents downsized and as others have said we used an estate sale firm. They gave us a percentage of the proceeds and as part of the agreement they clear the house of everything else. It wasn't a ton of money (a few thousand total) but got things sold and cleared out/donated without my parents having to deal with it. It included a lot of old furniture. Apparently some of the things that sold best were things like glassware (but not "collectibles" just nice glasses)

[Anonymous]

Have an estate sale.

Contact maddytheb on instagram and ask her to advertise it.

Contact habitat for humanity after to see if they want anything.

Then call Hunks hauling junk.

[Anonymous]

If you don't want to deal with any of the hassle, you can call a Caring Transitions franchise, there are a few in the area. Like a PP said, they will come in and take all of the photos, do an estate sale (assuming they see value), bring stuff to good will, and do a clean out for what can't be donated. But they will be pricier than doing it all yourself.

[Anonymous]

Your real estate agent should also be able to make recommendations.

[Anonymous]

The bottom has fallen out of the antiques trade.

My MIL is a dealer and her house is full of stuff that she refuses to part with for “much less than it is worth.” Of course no one has the space or taste for this stuff now so when she passes it will all just be given away. A lot of it is really ugly.