Note to self: don’t buy anything that would be hard to part with later in life. 
We donated a family Baldwin Grand piano to a nursing home chapel. They love it. I’ve attended concerts there when choirs volunteer their time, and love to hear it played. Win-Win.
I decided to part with my Kawai upright baby grand just this year. I knew that no one would buy the piano because anyone learning piano nowadays usually has the electric keyboards, which are much more portable and easy to store. So, I posted it free on Nextdoor and a military family with young children took it. She had to pay for the mover and one guy showed up. Poor guy had to try to get it to fit through the back door!!
The piano mover (who was also a piano tuner) tuned it after it got to their home. He said it was probably worth about $1,000 but would take forever to sell.
They were so grateful, it was a beautiful piano. She brought her kids over to look at the piano and I gave the young girl all of my sheet music. They have already sent 2 thank you notes, so it was worth it to have it go to a good home.
Agree with comments above about generic pianos. Big name grand pianos are a different thing - but the basic upright in everyone’s living room - No.
No, churches and schools specifically don’t want pianos. They have to pay to transport them, and regular tuning is expensive. You would be hard pressed to find anyone/anywhere to take a lower grade upright.
Agree that most schools today get an electric keyboard - portable and cost efficient.
You need a mindset that what you owned you used and got your money’s worth of pleasure from but things do not own you- you can part with them. Useful when downsizing. We had room for some stuff we don’t use that is no longer available but I can see the next move (when we are elderly and not just old) will exclude them. PacMan anyone?
We were able to give our piano to a local school after finding out there would be no market for it. I had wanted one since we could never afford one when I was a child- son took lessons one whole year before switching to a school orchestra instrument (still owned and with him but unplayed since HS), I tried but never could get into piano playing, gave my school band instrument to a musician niece. A keyboard would have been better- ahh, hindsight.
OP- that $1500 is money they are ahead of the game with. Better than no money. An attitude adjustment needed as you know. Parents can be worse than teens.
Our kids both took piano lessons for at least 10 years on our piano. I play it a little too. We have gotten our moneys worth. Ours also happens to be a very pretty piece of furniture in our living room.
When we don’t want it anymore, one kid might want it…or so he says now.
thinking about how to transport PacMan across the country
Ug, pianos and pinball machines. I was super lucky to have a young client who played and said something in passing about how he wished he could afford a piano. At $0, he could! He had taught himself, sat down, and played it beautifully. Completely a win-win. He brought 2 young friends and off it went.
Pinball–H is still whining and crying about selling it. There is a market for those. Sent it with the auction man and it brought about $3,500.
We upgraded our piano and were lucky that the company we bought the new piano from took the old one out. They were going to use it for their apprentices to take apart and rebuild.
OP here. Talked to my mom briefly today. She has a friend who is going to buy the rest of her “stuff” for $400. Except her pottery. (It is worth $400 by itself, she says–except nobody wants it.) Mom is mad because dad won’t let her rent a storage unit. OMG. I can’t believe she is having such a hard time parting with her junk. And it IS mostly junk.
The piano is a Wurlitzer mahogany upright that mom got for her 16th birthday, almost 67 years ago. She hasn’t touched it in years. I have a 1904 Starr upright that needs some work, but it is a beautiful piece of furniture.
Ours was a full upright from the turn of the last century. Also a gorgeous, hand carved piece of furniture. We still couldn’t find anyone to take it even for free. Sad 
When my FIL passed away he was living in a home of ours, so we were left to clean it out. After the families went through and picked what they wanted, we picked a day to go clear the rest out. DH was still a little paralyzed by the decisions and emotional attachments, even though anything of value had been taken already. My sister and her husband and my parents showed up with trucks and trailers to help. When DH seemed indecisive, one or the other would chirp in and say “So and so was just saying they needed a new table - I can take it to them right now”. He felt better that his parents things were going to be reused and the house was cleared in a day. To be honest -most of the stuff was just taken directly to the dump by my sister and parents, rightly so, but it certainly made the chore emotionally easier for my husband. Anything of potential use was taken to my parents and stored for a year and if no one needed it, off it went too. This was a tremendous conspiracy of kindness - I plan on paying it forward if I ever can.
@threebeans - Happykid and a bunch of high school pals helped one of their former teachers clear out his house before a move. Everything he asked her if she’d like to take, she said “Sure!” and brought it home with her. Some items were moved on to new homes, some to GoodWill, some to the dump, and a few she did keep. But it all was out of that gentleman’s house, and he could feel good about where it went.
When we were sitting shiva after MIL passed away, the geriatric care counselor learned that the giant baroque framed mirror covering one wall in the dining room had belonged to DH’s grandmother. “You have to take it!” She exclaimed. I explained that it really didn’t fit in with our decor. “But it was Grandma’s,” she replied. ( This woman had bonded closely with MIL and I’m sure they spent many happy hours discussing what a disappointing DIL I was.). I said we had nowhere to put it. It wasn’t until DH mumbling agreed with me that she let it drop.
This is the same DH that rented a large SUV three times and drove from Chicago to the east coat and brought it back full each time. I was along the third time when we went for the unveiling (it took a year for the house to sell). The only thing I regret leaving behind were the Malibu lights, but at the time we didn’t know that we’d be moving to southern CA. Well, DH didn’t know, anyway. We had to pay for all of that stuff to be moved to San Diego, where luckily we have a big garage with lots of storage.
I spent part of that year researching all the old books (worthless), “collectible” china (worthless), silverplate (worthless), etc. DH was very grateful that I suggested taking a few things. He really hated leaving anything.
After that experience, I had a much more realistic view when my mom passed away right after our move. We hired a company that called themselves “Two More Sisters” who were very helpful in figuring out which items might be worth keeping. I stayed at the condo twice for a week each time and went through everything (ran into a few pleasant surprises), and brother and I sat down and figured out what we each wanted to keep. There were a few tense moments but it all worked out. He lived just a few blocks away so decided to take a number of items because he had room to store them. We also let our kids pick out what they wanted. I took what could fit into suitcases and a couple of big boxes to be mailed. And the mid century wood dining set - I paid much more to ship it than it was worth, but there was nothing like it in the market anymore and I love it.
The women we hired helped us decide a garage sale wasn’t worth the trouble. They arranged for much of the remaining contents (including some of the furniture) to be picked up by various charities. They sent us itemized lists and photos, which I used to figure out the value for us to use in itemized deductions, which turned out to be a decent amount. They arranged for the rest to be picked by a trash removal company. I went through all the papers and found a nearby shredding company. I found a company in the area that would buy gold and silver jewelry, silverware, etc since the value of the metal turned out to be worth more than the items themselves.
And I was very happy in the end that my parents had put their money into mutual funds (and cruising) instead of expensive furniture.
Let’s just say…my in-laws have moved 8 times in the last ten years…and parted with almost nothing each time they moved.
When my husband went to help, I sent him with whatever was the largest vehicle we had, with clear instructions to bring back anything his mother offered…and it could go off to our swap shack at the landfill. That was the ONLY way to get them to part with anything. Believe me, what they sent back with DH was very landfill suitable (e.g a 1960’s very rusty and in terrible condition one speed women’s bicycle that probably hadn’t been used in over 30 years, mismatched odd dinner plates and bowls…that sort of stuff).
The other siblings did the same.
She wouldn’t give anyone anything they really wanted! This was all just…junque.
I have been known to take stuff my dad offered to me from his house and drop it off at the recycling/dump on my way out of town. He grumbles when I recycle the aluminum cans and newspapers…
I have pretty much everything that is important to me from the house at this point, with the exception of a quilt that our GGGM made in the 30s that I want to restore for my sister in KY. He also gave me one of the antique clocks they bought in Germany in the 1970s. One of my brothers got the other. Dad built two similar clocks for my sisters, and gave my youngest brother a pocketwatch he bought at the PX in the early 80s. Brother and SIL have an old southern Victorian house with loads of antiques. “My” clock would fit in perfectly, so I think I’ll take it to them the next time I’m there. I just have to hope my dad doesn’t visit them and see it, or there will be &^%$ to pay!
As for the rest of the stuff, I am happy to let my sibs argue over it and ruthlessly cull the other cr*p.
I really thought their downsizing and getting rid of stuff now would be easier on me than waiting until they pass away to do it, but now I’m thinking it might not be. I have no problem donating or tossing stuff. My mom has a big problem with it.
Example–3 or 4 years ago, my cousin and his family came to visit and brought food for all. Included was an entire sack of plastic knives and forks. Mom said we know someone who entertains a lot that she would give them to. They sat at her house for these years until the recent sale. She gave them to me to take to the friend whom I don’t plan on seeing anytime soon. They went straight in my trash can. I’m sure she will have a fit if she finds out.
@musicmom1215, I helped my parents and my MIL downsize and they haven’t asked about any of the things I said I would keep. Getting settled in a new home is pretty overwhelming which probably helps distract them. I also make a point of making a fuss over anything that I did actually keep and that makes them happy!
Parents’ house is empty with new paint and new floors. The realtor put the sign in the yard today.
I had no idea my mom took so much of her “stuff” to the apartment. Every time I go over there I am hanging pictures and shelves and curtains. Every wall has pictures on it and she still has more stuff to hang.
It was hot as heck in there and Daddy was complaining that it was cold. He is getting so frail.
@musicmom1215 great that the house is empty and painted…and for sale.
How did you do it??