<p>Both Mom3togo and I are pack rats so we have way too much stuff. In particular we have … 1) a lot of old papers … kid’s school work or art … as well as old financial records … 2) extra furnature and household stuff (mostly holding for other family members). One particular issue we have is that neither our basement or attic are particularly good places to store stuff … the basement is damp … and the attic is not isulated so it gets very hot/cold … so I do not like storing things in either environment because I’m afraid things will deteriate long-term. Does anyone have any tips for storing things safely in a damp basement or very hot attic? Thanks!</p>
<p>PS - I love the “1 in - 2 out” rule … now if only everyone in the house lived by it!</p>
<p>A few words on Craigslist- I live in a major city, so I am particularly wary of the potential for crime. </p>
<p>I used Craigslist successfully when helping my mom clear out her house. She was NOT living there any longer, and most of the house was empty. Any item we could not easily move to the garage, we left in place. Most of the items were placed in the garage, however, so that folks did not need to enter the house to see the item. </p>
<p>I did not put address on the Craig’s ad- I would give it only by phone as someone was driving or setting out to drive to the area of town. I would also, NEVER, meet anyone alone. I set the appt times for when my husband- a big man- could be with us, or several neighbors of my mom. There is safety in numbers. I also wouldn’t make any appt after 7 PM. ( In Houston, that’s reasonable, since traffic is so bad at rush hour, but it is usually still light outside). </p>
<p>For the few people we let into the house to see the really big items, it was clear that there wasn’t much left to come back and steal. All the valuable, hand carryable items had been removed. We sold everything, at listed price, within 24 hours of placing each ad. Since the garage had more stuff in it than just the listed items, we also sold a lot of that because folks saw it and asked about it when they came. </p>
<p>I found that most buyers were cautious too- husband and wife came together, or two women, or two men. </p>
<p>Just food for thought. Your life, your health, your peace of mind isn’t worth the $100 you might get for an armoire.</p>
<p>pipmom, excellent post. I would add - never mention jewelry in your garage or Craigslist ads. A tragedy happened in my state not so long ago - a couple was selling a diamond ring, but they were outnumbered by thugs who responded to the ad. If it is valuable, sell it to a jeweler instead. It is better to be safe than sorry, because to some criminals human life is less valuable than a $100 gold trinket.</p>
<p>Thanks, BB. I am also very wary of garage sales at my home. That’s why I only do them once every two years or so, with nothing particularly valuable. I make sure to have them when I know most of my neighbors will be home (not so I can annoy them, but in case one needs to run for cover). </p>
<p>I never let anyone into the house, no matter how hard they may plead a bathroom need. I direct to the closest Mc Donald’s. I have the cell phone out at all times and carry the money in a fanny pack close to my body. And I have at least three people with me at all times. I empty the money bag frequently into my freezer and I won’t accept checks or any bill over $20.00. </p>
<p>I have found that most people are just fine and want a bargain for whatever their reasons. But, it only takes one psycho for life to change in a moment. </p>
<p>If someone really needs to sell a small, expensive item, through Craig’s- find a location (like a Starbucks, Borders coffee shop, etc) where you can meet up, rather than at one’s home. This allows a public place- and some options for getting away that don’t set oneself up. (ie- have the other person get the car and pick you up, watch so you are not followed, etc.) Always go with someone.</p>
<p>We need to do some of this again, but we did a MAJOR purge five years ago. We moved. Three things were big motivators. It was the first local move in three moves, the previous two had been paid for by employers which is toxic for collecting things over long periods of time. Boxes from moves that never get opened. I was doing the packing this time so everything was opened, gone through and repacked. I spent a good six months doing this. I also got the house ready for market at the same time. You could have had dinner in my garage and turned cartwheels in my storage by the time I was done. I don’t live like this on a daily basis, but that’s the way my house showed. It was 10ys old in a market saturated by new construction. Lastly I had just seen my in-laws go through a move where they refused to get rid of decades worth of ‘stuff’ during a move, lost tens of thousands on resale during the bubble because they wouldn’t de-clutter, and they ended up buying a 4bdrm home so they could fit all of their stuff. Another move later and they still have a 4bdrm home. I swore I wouldn’t be like that…bogged down by old dishes, paperwork, paperbacks, clothes, and crafts. That was the biggest motivator of all.</p>
<p>Five years later we really need to do some cleaning out to make sure we never get to that stage again. For me it’s just emotionally overwhelming. I don’t think I’d have the energy to do that kind of overhaul again. I pray that my in-laws will go through their things before the task falls to my SIL and myself!</p>
<p>blueiguana- I know what you mean. My parents had refused to get rid of anything before my dad died. I think a lot of it was a “Depression-era mentality” combined with total sentimentality. As they were aging and hurting through various illnesses, going through the stuff was just too emotionally painful. When I suggested doing some of it while they were both still alive, my dad took great offense. He even went so far as to write little notes to me saying- “Keep Out- no Snooping” and sticking them into boxes of “his stuff”. </p>
<p>After he died and it was imperative for my mom to move in with us, we had to go through it all. She was a wreck- emotionally and weak physically because of her own illnesses, so I did the work. (I am the only surviving child- and had to do the declutter when my brother died). I got a great kick out of the no snooping notes dad left me. It took me 6 months of daily work to get the house decluttered enough and to do the DIY paintjob in order to sell. </p>
<p>I never really figured out why my dad kept the Polish magazines from the 1960’s. Although we are of Polish heritage, these babies were in Polish, and my dad could not read Polish- he was born here. They didn’t belong to his parents either. Unfortunately, although probably valuable, they were bug ridden, so no possibility for sale. </p>
<p>After this experience, I vowed that I would never do this to my daughter, an only child. I am doing the big declutter now. I have the time, and the economic need to raise cash, so I am trying to sell all that has value.</p>
<p>A tip on garage sales: talk to your neighbors, they might be interested in having a street sale! We had several successful street yard sales in the past. DD organized the date, made signs and posted them the night before. One neighbor placed an ad in the local paper. You will get tons more buyers, because an ad that screams “five houses in a row!” means a better chance for them to find something useful.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone for your tips & warnings. S has had good luck with Craigslist but has been very careful. I have suggested D have a male (like her brother) sell anything she wants to on Craigslist rather than her doing so.</p>
<p>Awful to hear about the violence that can occur, but better to be safe. We let S sell on eBay whatever he helps us declutter & keep whatever profits he makes. It works well for all of us & keeps him pretty happy. He doesn’t care how much (if any) money he makes, is happy to get it out of the house. He prefers eBay so he doesn’t have to meet anyone to sell things.</p>
<p>My brother has had a $400 powerwasher stolen from his home when their kids’ sports team was having a large garage sale at his home. He is no longer a fan of them because of that bad experience. :(</p>
<p>For those who don’t want to go to the trouble of selling the stuff, but wouldn’t mind seeing a little financial benefit, you can always take a tax deduction. Goodwill and similar will give you a dated receipt; you list the items and value them, and save the receipts until next April.</p>
<p>I am an only child & my dad died 18 years ago. My mom still lives in the 3BR ranch they bought 53 years ago. While the first floor is OK, the basement is a nightmare. I call my mom Scarlett (as in O’Hara - “I will think about it tomorrow”), because the basement is still filled with my dad’s bowling trophies, Knights of Columbus stuff (he was a state deputy), and half completed projects. I tell her I dread the day she dies, as I will need a dumpster to clean out the basements and she doesn’t deny it! </p>
<p>She has a 40 yr old upright freezer in the basement that I’ve been telling her for 5+ years to get rid of because it was sucking up far more electricity than she could possibly offset with savings of buying stuff on sale. One positive of last summer’s week long blackout in the DC area was that she had to use everything in the freezer and did unplug it. She now admits her electric bill is $10-15/month lower!</p>
<p>For the past 75 years our church has a massive 'Turnover Sale" every July. It’s a huge garage sale that raises $50,000+ for the mission work of the church. It’s a great place to get rid of stuff, plus everything that does not sell goes to charity.</p>
<p>I just went through all of our 2yo daughter’s toys and threw out everything that is non-functional, ie puzzles with half the pieces missing and toy trucks with missing wheels. Things she no longer plays with but has drawn all over with crayon so that nobody else would want it. That sort of thing. It all ended up filling up a whole (small) garbage bag, and it didn’t even make a dent in her toys to be honest. One entire wall of our dining room and a corner of our living room are taken up by toys. My mother loves to buy DD over-sized things – a 12 foot long stuffed caterpillar, a massive toy tiger, etc. We can’t get rid of them because once DD sees them she falls in love and likes to snuggle up with them all the time.</p>
<p>I cleaned out 2 closets today! One was the coat closet, not much to throw out, just re-organize. The other closet is a walk-in which I use a a sort of miscellaneous closet (seasonal stuff, gift wrap, etc.). I threw out 2 big bags of garbage and put several things in the give away pile.H painted the inside of both closets so the remaining items will go back in (organized) tomorrow. It feels really good. Next weekend we plan to tackle the master bedroom closet.</p>
<p>“My mother loves to buy DD over-sized things – a 12 foot long stuffed caterpillar, a massive toy tiger, etc” - Try pleading with your mom, explaining that you only have so much room in your house.</p>
<p>This problem was solved at our house–and also the problem of the toys that had a gazillion small pieces that would get strung out all over the house–when one day one of those toys told me that it wanted to live at Grandma’s house and keep her company, and that it would play with D when D came to visit.</p>
<p>I’m feeling pretty virtuous - a huge load of things dropped off at Goodwill, and I gave a beautiful crib I’d been saving to a nice young couple via Freecycle. I hope that makes up for the fact that I kept the heirloom quality toys and took them to the storage room. As I consolidated things, it was all I could do to keep from setting up all those cool Playmobil sets Boy, did my kids have a great childhood! </p>
<p>Fallgirl - I bet your closets are going to be really satisfying every time you look in them! BB - keep at it! And Physicsmom - you’re truly an overachiever if you can get rid of toys while she’s still little!</p>
<p>Thanks every for the encouraging posts. They motivated me to get going (finally!) I have cleaned drawers and drawers and made progress in the basement–my personal enemy. S1 is still home on break and has been helping me down there, clearing out a huge corner so we can have shelves built to store neatly what we decide to keep.</p>
<p>As for the toys you keep, well, he found 4 double-length Rubbermaid containers of all his childhood 1/16 and 1/64th scale Ertl tractors. He was so excited; it was like Christmas all over again. He tried to take some to his room to rebuild his dream farm scene. Alas, no room and they are back in the basement until he leaves home :)</p>
Boy, did my kids have a great childhood! </p>