|
|
Post by shanniebananie on Dec 27, 2020 19:30:00 GMT
My brother just bought an investment house and my parents have decided to rent it from them. This means downsizing an approx 3000sq ft house down to 1500. My parents will be moving back to my hometown which is about 1800 miles from where they currently live. They will be packing and moving without the help of movers.
They have lived in their current house for 20 years and have A LOT of stuff. I am going out to help them for a week and really want to make good use of my time there. My parents are definitely not able to do much on their own so I am going to be their "legs" and also help them make hard decisions of what to bring and what to leave.
For those who have been through this, do you have any tips? What to concentrate on and ways to best go about this? My mom is already spinning and I have to focus her and keep her on task. What I don't want is starting a bunch of tasks and not completing them and having a huge mess. I don't want to waste a lot of time making decisions.
Where would you start?
|
|
|
|
Post by redshoes on Dec 27, 2020 19:35:43 GMT
Identify the necessities to take/move, whether it is furniture, clothes, kitchen supplies, etc asking along the way, what is used regularly.
Get rid of anything they know they won’t need or use in the new space...ie extra bedroom furniture or old clothes, small appliances, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by houstonsandy on Dec 27, 2020 19:50:05 GMT
I would start out by deciding and packing/setting aside (ie get it out of the house) the stuff that definitely will go with them. Clothes, furniture, personal items, kitchen essentials, family heirlooms, ect. Go through one room at a time, perhaps that will make it less overwhelming. Just remove the stuff that will definitely go first, leave the rest for stage two. Get one of those pods...and when it is full, that is it! That way you have a set amount of space to put the "take" things and won't just keep on "keeping" things that there won't be room for at the new place.
Then everything that is left...make the hard choice of keep/give away/sell. (and perhaps a "just throw this away" pile). Move the "keep" stuff out of the house. Put the "give away" stuff out as well but in a separate place. This should be a small amount of stuff...things that other family members or friends would actually want. Now all you have left is the "sell" stuff. The easiest way to sell everything would be to get one of those estate sellers. They will take care of everything...much easier than trying to do it yourself if there is a house full of stuff. You will probably make more money than you would selling it yourself even after they take their cut and it will be done and gone in a matter of two or three days instead of weeks or months of dealing with it. |
|
|
|
Post by elaine on Dec 27, 2020 19:52:38 GMT
My brother just bought an investment house and my parents have decided to rent it from them. This means downsizing an approx 3000sq ft house down to 1500. My parents will be moving back to my hometown which is about 1800 miles from where they currently live. They will be packing and moving without the help of movers. They have lived in their current house for 20 years and have A LOT of stuff. I am going out to help them for a week and really want to make good use of my time there. My parents are definitely not able to do much on their own so I am going to be their "legs" and also help them make hard decisions of what to bring and what to leave. For those who have been through this, do you have any tips? What to concentrate on and ways to best go about this? My mom is already spinning and I have to focus her and keep her on task. What I don't want is starting a bunch of tasks and not completing them and having a huge mess. I don't want to waste a lot of time making decisions. Where would you start?I would set aside finances to cover the cost of movers. Seriously. At their ages, having professional movers load and move and unload all the boxes and furniture will reduce the amount of stress your parents will experience more than anything else you can do. I speak from experience. You will not be able to downsize and pack everything in one week’s time. In terms of downsizing before the move, I would concentrate on downsizing the furniture. Get the exact rooms with their measurements from your brother and then have your parents choose the furniture that will go and fit in each room. What is leftover is sold or donated. |
|
|
|
Post by malibou on Dec 27, 2020 19:58:57 GMT
I would start with room dimensions for the new house so they can figure out what furniture will fit. From there they can figure out what decor and such should move.
Also get a POD and start putting the things that absolutely must be moved into it.
Remember the final days will be the hardest for them. That is when they will discover all manner of things they have to have. Someone will likely need to help them be ruthless.
|
|
|
|
Post by katlady on Dec 27, 2020 20:27:21 GMT
I would definitely consider hiring movers since you said they can’t do much on their own.
After that, I would get rid of furniture for rooms they will not have at the new house. I assume they will have fewer bedrooms, so those extra beds can go. And as other have said, get measurements for the new house. Then, they have the harder part of getting rid of personal items. Hopefully it all goes smoothly!
|
|
gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,078
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
|
Post by gsquaredmom on Dec 27, 2020 20:30:54 GMT
Great suggestions so far.
Help them pick out what they want. Make sure you check treasure cubbies and books for cash.
Put keepers in a Pod. Have the pod picked up.
Move them. Buy some new items for the new house.
Call one of those companies that buys the contents of a house and let them do the work.
Sell.
|
|
|
|
Post by candleangie on Dec 27, 2020 20:34:33 GMT
Start in the kitchen. It’s easy/clear cut/ doesn’t have as much emotional attachment for most people.
Narrow down to what they really use and have to keep, then drop off the donations right away. It can help to count cabinets at the new place, so they know “I need to reduce by 5 cabinets worth”
Repeat the process in each room, starting with the least emotional, moving to the most. “What furniture are we bringing, okay we need to reduce until it fits in that”
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Dec 27, 2020 20:38:06 GMT
I would start out by deciding and packing/setting aside (ie get it out of the house) the stuff that definitely will go with them. Clothes, furniture, personal items, kitchen essentials, family heirlooms, ect. Go through one room at a time, perhaps that will make it less overwhelming. Just remove the stuff that will definitely go first, leave the rest for stage two. Get one of those pods...and when it is full, that is it! That way you have a set amount of space to put the "take" things and won't just keep on "keeping" things that there won't be room for at the new place.
Then everything that is left...make the hard choice of keep/give away/sell. (and perhaps a "just throw this away" pile). Move the "keep" stuff out of the house. Put the "give away" stuff out as well but in a separate place. This should be a small amount of stuff...things that other family members or friends would actually want. Now all you have left is the "sell" stuff. The easiest way to sell everything would be to get one of those estate sellers. They will take care of everything...much easier than trying to do it yourself if there is a house full of stuff. You will probably make more money than you would selling it yourself even after they take their cut and it will be done and gone in a matter of two or three days instead of weeks or months of dealing with it. This would be my suggestion. It’s easiest to focus on what they need for the new house vs trying to do it all at once. We just moved my in-laws into care in August. SIL rented a motor home, drove out to get them, and drove back in 3 days. The in-laws took clothes and toiletries that they would need and made piles of what they wanted in their new apartment. Then SIL went back two weeks later and got what they wanted for the apartment. Another family member went out with a trailer and got the heirloom sort of items to be distributed to the family. Still another family member went through the house, emptying it out. A lot went to the church for families in need and a LOT went to the dump. |
|
Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309 
|
Post by Belle on Dec 27, 2020 20:46:04 GMT
#1 Hire movers.
#2 I believe that in many cases, buying new (or used) in the new location can be cheaper than moving already owned furniture/goods. When deciding what to keep, consider if it would be better to leave it behind and replace once in the new place.
#3 Join the local FB gifting/buy/sell and Marketplace groups in your parents area. You can offer up stuff on their either to donate or sell and you can have people pick up and that will save you time hauling stuff away.
|
|
|
|
Post by calgaryscrapper on Dec 27, 2020 20:47:21 GMT
If you dion’t have time to sell check out places to donate ahead of time and if they will pick up on short notice. If your parents want new furniture then donate the old furniture so they don’t have to pay to move it. When they decide to part with things donate within a couple of days so they don’t have second thoughts. Our local Drop Inn Centre has a warehouse that people transitioning from the streets can access clothing, furniture, housewares etc. Sleep Country donates re-furbishes mattresses and donates them there. Social organizations also refer people to the agency for furniture etc. Check out ahead of time where you can donate things too.
|
|
|
|
Post by kamper on Dec 27, 2020 22:15:53 GMT
What is your time frame? How old are they?
We downsized from a 4700 sq ft home to a 40' motorhome last year (plus a 5x5 storage unit). Based on our experience this is what I'd do.
1. Identify everything that is coming with them.
2. Get a quote for a POD (or similar) or a UHaul truck. We found it cheapest to rent a van round trip to our new storage location but, that was only 1200 miles RT. We didn't use them but, the estate sale company suggested the app Dolly for moving help.
3. Hire an estate sale company. The sale took 4 days. One to set-up and price and three days for the sale. Why spent the next two days getting rid of everything else but, the estate sale company will likely have a contact for haul off. They will want everything that is not for sale to be removed from the home or identified. Our contract stated that once their initial assessment was done we were not to sell anything ourselves.
4. Schedule the sale. The company we used was booking 6 weeks out.
5. Once they come for set-up they will need to stay someplace else.
|
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Dec 27, 2020 22:50:05 GMT
I can not recommend this book enough, “Let it Go” by Peter Walsh. For you and your parents to read. I have gotten a lot out of it, and I’m not even looking to downsize. It just really helps you think about your stuff and your relationship to it. His first book “It’s All Too Much” is still my go to when I am going through our belongings, and it’s the book that motivated my packrat DH to shift his mentality. |
|
msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
|
Post by msliz on Dec 28, 2020 0:26:30 GMT
Take photos of sentimental items so they can bring the memories with them even if they can't bring the objects.
|
|
|
|
Post by myboysnme on Dec 28, 2020 1:36:09 GMT
Move out everything they know they are taking. Move it into a UHaul or whatever.
When the stuff they know they are taking is out of the house you know exactly what you have to deal with getting rid of. You even know how much extra stuff you can possibly take in the truck.
If Mom or Dad is not sure if they want something, keep it aside. Put the possible keep stuff in a room by itself so it is not out in the stuff to get rid of.
Then you can see exactly what is not going. You can sort it into toss and donate sections. Also have a section for stuff family members want.
Use separate rooms if you can.
|
|
|
|
Post by melodyesch on Dec 28, 2020 1:53:48 GMT
We just went through that with my MIL. We set up staging areas for keep, trash, donate and undecided. It’s a huge undertaking and very overwhelming emotionally, as she literally had to look at every single thing she owned and cut it down 75%. The best thing we found was to pick an area, have her sit and us hold up each thing and let her make the decision. The most important thing is to try to touch each thing only once. Left to her own devices, MIL would move things around and waste a lot of time.
Also what helped was the undecided pile. She didn’t have to be overwhelmed on something she couldn’t decide on. After the fact, she did end up donating most of the stuff in undecided. But just that little bit of extra time helped her emotionally.
After everything was divided, we were able to quickly box things based on the room they would be in the new house.
|
|
|
|
Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Dec 28, 2020 6:46:56 GMT
Before your arrival, I would have them go through the drawers, cupboards, closets, etc... and get rid of stuff they no longer want or use, expired food, expired products, paperwork, opened and not used products-items-stuff. Downsize >> bed linens-throw blankets-bath towels-kitchen towels-clothes-gift wrap-junk drawer-books-dvd's-kitchen stuff(dishes, glasses, utensils, pans, serve ware, mugs!!, dishes, small appliances, etc...).
|
|
|
|
Post by peasapie on Dec 28, 2020 11:59:22 GMT
We just moved and downsized. You’ve gotten very good advice.
Find a guy who will haul junk to the dump or get a big dumpster and start filling it.
Sell anything that will go quickly (we sold a chainsaw, two kayaks and snow tires. Furniture is often hard to sell.)
If you have time, place ads on Facebook or next door for free giveaways of the big furniture.
Books are heavy and expensive to move. We brought 50% of ours to the dump to recycle.
|
|
