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We've reached the time

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mikephillips

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My brothers and I have reached one of those milestones in life. With the passing of our mother this last February we're in the process of preparing the family home for sale. The parents built it back in 64 so we all grew up there, brought prom dates for photos, had friends over when young, home for college summers and eventually on to homes of our, returning with spouses and grandkids. So we've cleaned out, getting some light repair and painting done to be on the market in another couple weeks. They tell us we'll benefit from the tight housing market and probably get more than a small town usually would.

In my head I know everyone goes through it sooner or later, but it is kind of sad to see the place move on to someone else. Sigh.....
 
Unfortunately been there done that.
When we cleaned out my mother-in-laws house none of the kids or grandkids wanted any furniture or beautiful monogrammed dishes and silverware. We donated as much as we could but it brought me to tears taking a couple of trailer loads to the recycle center and dumping it. I saw lots of memories being tossed away.
 
I remember when we had to go through selling our parent's house in Colorado. Mom was still alive but suffering from pretty serious physical and mental health problems so we had to move her into assisted care facility. It was sad to see the home I spent my high school years growing up go to someone else. I feel your sadness.
 
Fortunately most of the family stuff has been divided among my brothers and I, I've done the loin's share of figuring out who is in photos, making copied of documents and so on. The family bits of furniture, old silver sets and china have also been saved, so we're pretty good there. A local guy I knew through my school years runs an auction company and is taking all the rest plus cabinets and tools and just stuff and will be doing an auction. My folks were one of those "center' of the community type families so he's giving whatever money he makes to us and we're donating it to the local community center that was renamed for my father 20 some years ago when he passed. One last way for them to contribute to the town.
 
Just helped with the same process of going through the home of one of My wife's family members. She had been flooded out of the house in 1994 so everything in the house had accumulated in that time.
There was so much stuff that we had no idea where it had come from and if it had segmental value. The home owner was suffering from dementor/Alzheimer's so she was of little help. Found a big box of assorted cast iron pots and frying pans all carefully wrapped in newspaper. China sets none of us had seen before. The house was always tidy and was not that big but we hauled truck loads to the dump and loads to the donation center.
I felt like a vulture picking through the bones. It was very sad and got me to thinking perhaps I should label some of my stuff so those who have to go through it will have an idea what it is.

David
 
Not pleasant duty, for certain. BTDT as well.
 
Just watching a friend do it with his (still living but moved into care) parents and at the same time my 88 year old aunt is moving to be closer to her daughter - she has been in that house her whole married life. Both families were packrats - we are determined not to do this to our kids and I bless my mother for voluntarily downsizing and clearing out. One thing too in the case of the friend's parent (and not at all unusual) is finding assets no one knew about including (accidently) a bank account with 600k in it that no one knew about least of all the parent with dementia. yikes!
 
“One thing too in the case of the friend's parent (and not at all unusual) is finding assets no one knew about including (accidently) a bank account with 600k in it that no one knew about least of all the parent with dementia. yikes!”........

When we cleaned out my MIL’s house I found a life insurance policy for my FIL that had already passed away. My MIL didn’t (or couldn’t) remember getting it.
 
Fortunately we knew all the financial stuff as we had to figure it out while my mom spend her last couple years in nursing care. The house itself was deeded to my brothers and I back when dad passed on in the late 90s. So mom was effectively indigent when she passed. But there has been a lot of old social security, bank and other information we've found and destroyed since they could be used to create a fake identity even though there's no money to be found directly tied to them.
 
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