Consignment shops?
There are a couple that I know of that might be appropriate for some of it. The good thing is that if it doesn’t sell, they will donate it for you.
I have not read all the replies - apologies if a duplicate suggestion.
We did this a couple of years ago. We went from around 3,500 sq ft to slightly more than 900 sq ft. I asked what of our things our ds wanted. Only the Christmas ornaments. I pulled the things I wanted to keep for us. We hired an auction company. They came in and packed up everything! Took it to their auction site and held a living estate sale about a month later. I think they charged us around 22% of proceeds. Would have been less if we had it at our home - maybe 18-19%? I wasn’t going to do that to our neighbors, and we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac. Just not workable. I sold our piano separately.
It was somewhat depressing to see how low some things went for, but we had gotten much use and enjoyment out of our belongings and didn’t have a ton of new items anyway. I had held onto far too many decorative items of my mother’s for far too long - nearly 30 years since she had passed. Bought all new furniture at our Florida condo as what I had was too formal for what I wanted here.
We initially had to have off-site storage because we had a lot of ds’s things (he claims to have purged, but he didn’t). He was still in college when we moved, and we had him go through his stuff at the storage unit again on his first visit to see us. “Why did I keep this?” was asked by him about many things. So more went. Eventually we were able to get out of off-site storage after I shipped some other things to him. We still have a few of his belongings. However, everything that we are holding onto that is his or has some sentimental value to us is neatly stored and labeled in our on-site storage unit - which is only about 3 feet by 4 feet.
The estate auction was the easiest thing ever. This guy had been doing it for 40 years. Did it all on a handshake. No issues at all.
Be sure to ask. Consignment shops in my area said owner would be required to take back possession if items had not sold after a certain period of time.
Not all of life’s tasks are fun. Remember homework and studying for tests? You have to just do it. Now, not later. Do not save furniture your kids may want in the future. Let them be unburdened by your stuff- spouses will appreciate that. I know people whose kids are established- they have their own stuff, chosen by both H and W and don’t want the stuff one grew up with.
Think- ancestor immigrants usually did not have much more than a suitcase as mentioned above.
Think about a fresh start. We need to discard so much to have room for the person we are now instead of the person we were when being the child and the parent. You may have inherited stuff but that doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
We culled a lot of books when we moved and will need to do so again. We are living in our present, not our past. Well, generally- some stuff we have because I couldn’t find things I liked better, such as the bedroom set we chose to bring with us.
Consider not making any money from possessions. Is the time it takes worth it? Downsizing- therfore you don’t need the money to replace things generally. Don’t worry about how much you spent on stuff- think of the years of use (or ownership) as getting your money’s worth.
Never use a pd or storage unit. That’s throwing away money. If it isn’t in your home it doesn’t exist in your life.
Could keep going on and on. Imagine if no one ever discarded most stuff- mountains of the past generations we are stuck with…
OP, it sounds like your H might have a very hard time getting rid of things. If so, why don’t you give him a designated place where he can put things he wants to keep as you are cleaning out rooms?
For example, he can have half of one garage bay, period. So you clean out the basement first. He can keep anything he wants from there, as long as he now keeps it in that half bay. Then you move onto the den. Anything he wants from it, he can keep in his half bay. Then you move onto another room and same thing. If he starts to overflow his half bay, then he can rearrange his half bay and decide on what needs to be gotten rid of in order to accommodate new stuff.
After you’ve gone through all the rooms of the house, then your H can get a temporary storage bin for the stuff in the half-garage space. That way the garage will be clear for when you market your house. Once you move to your new place he can move the stuff from the storage bin to the new house, since half a garage worth of stuff is pretty manageable.
While you’re doing this work, keep thinking about what a gift it is to your kids that you’ve done this.
Oh, I dread this eventuality. We moved across the country 10 years ago, but my husband was already at the new location, I had 2 young children, and the company was paying for the move. What should they pack? “Pack it all!”
We have silver my parents insisted on giving as a wedding gift, we’ve used it twice. We have grandparents’ silver. We have my husband’s toys from childhood - he thought he would use them with our sons, he never got them out. A beautiful crib we chose - I’m sure when my kids have kids, it won’t meet whatever the current safety standards are. All of my father-in-law’s tools from his days as a contractor. Etc, etc…
We will not talk about all the books I own. Will I reread most? No. But literally looking at them brings fond memories.
Of course, there are the exceptions to the “you will never need it again” rule. I had 2 large boxes of S19’s old tee shirts - for Christmas, I made him a tee shirt quilt that he loves. And I am patting myself on the back for saving our old pots and pans and cutlery - he moves into a campus apartment next year and it will go there.
@momofsenior1 I like your “school stuff” organization plan. I have yearly binders for my kids - I think I could cull it down to just three binders each with enough resolve.
One thing I find so interesting is how, in the moment, when I’m trying to decide whether to keep, donate, or trash some item how strong those “keep” feelings can be.
Then! if I do get it out of the house, it is not missed.
Our oldest moved across the country & told us if she left anything behind, it must not be important. So, she gave us the green light to donate or trash anything we ran across. She is a minimalist & not particularly sentimental. Or, rather, a pic of a thing can be good enough. Does she need her 4H ribbons or will those pics do?
Her attitude inspires me to keep at it.
For those with pianos: We donated our family piano to a chapel. They were thrilled. I’ve attended a few services there, and was also thrilled to hear it played much better than I ever could. Also check retirement communities. Many have community rooms that could potentially enjoy a piano.
We advertised our piano in the neighborhood on line Nextdoor. Free to anyone taking it away. In less than an hour we had 3 requests. It went with the first one who wanted one for their children to learn to play. They lived around the corner.
Check for local charities to get rid of old furniture. We donated a sleeper sofa to a local organization who sets up apartments for veterans. It was in great condition and they came and took it away. I found out about them from our local facebook group.
I’ve used one in the past that does donate for you. They will even come and pick up your stuff. But they don’t take pianos, sigh.
One quick suggestion for pianos is to check local music schools that offer piano lessons to kids. Some parents may appreciate the savings with a used piano - or even free. I dithered over selling our electric upright before moving and was told by one such school that I could put an ad in their newsletter. In the end I kept it because, you know, I’m a cultured person ;).
You can also do it by categories. For example, today I am going to get rid of books. Tomorrow I am going to get rid of kitchen appliances. Might be easier for someone who is overwhelmed.
Also don’t know if it has been mentioned but there are professional organizers out there who do this for a living. They will charge you so much per hour, You’ll get motivated quick. It’s very expensive.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful replies.
You’ve given me courage!