What do we do with 40 years of belongings nobody has room for?
Answered by Chris Deutsch, Founder & Editor
Licensed Minnesota Realtor #20382264 ·
The short answer
Four piles, one rule. The piles: comes along, goes to family, gets sold, gets given. The rule: the person whose life it was decides what lands in pile one — everyone else's job is making the other three piles easy.
On stage The 60-second answer
Captions on · Transcript below
The stage is set.
Chris's video answer is on its way. Until then, the short answer above says the same thing.
The transcript posts with the video.
The longer answer
Practical things that work: start in the rooms nobody lives in (the basement is practice; the bedroom is the final exam). Photograph things that carry memory but won't make the move — the memory survives the donation. Set a family pickup deadline so "I might want that" doesn't stall everything. And bring in help for the volume: estate-sale people, donation pickups, movers who do this gently. The sorting is the hardest part of this entire transition — harder than the sale. Treat it with that respect, and give it the weeks it needs.
I keep a list of the gentle ones — the sorters, sellers, and haulers who do this with dignity. Call me and it's yours.
The next department over
What people in this spot usually ask next.
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- Inheritance & probateHow do we even start clearing out 50 years of our parents' lives?Read the answer
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From the editor's desk
“As Founder and Editor, I review, correct, and stand behind every answer.”
Is your situation more specific than the market? That's the one worth talking through.