- As you go through rooms, closets, attics, basements and garages you must ask yourself this one question – do I want or use this enough to move it to my next house? If the answer is no – then it will be part of your cleanout.
- The next step is to see if family members will want any of the things you are not keeping. Let them take what they want and give them a deadline to take those items. If it is an estate sale and there is squabbling, then have valuable things appraised. For items that have mainly sentimental value, take turns picking mementos.
- The next thing to decide is whether the item has monetary value.
- If it does have value – do you want to sell it yourself or consign it with someone who will sell for you?
- If it has minimal value, can it be donated to charity or does it need to be thrown out?
- How complicated will it be to dispose of unwanted items? Some items will require a good bit of advance planning.
- Do not assume that the buyers of the house will want anything such as paint, fertilizers, extra tile, etc. Many buyers come to the closing table asking for money to be held back because the seller left old radiators, doors, etc. in the house. EVERYTHING not attached to the house must be cleared from a house for sale unless you have checked with the buyer and they have given you the ok to leave it.
- For estate sales, search every nook and cranny – Sometimes people stash cash in the strangest places such as taped to the bottom of drawers, inside coat pockets, inside books, inside jars and under the mattress. Don’t dispose of anything without checking it first.
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