Recently I spoke with a client who was moving out of their old house and into a new one. The only things left to move were an old clothes dryer and a curio cabinet she didn’t use anymore.
“Why don’t you put them out to the road?” I asked. “Someone will pick them up.”
“Oh no,” she replied. “They’re valuable. I just need to rent a storage locker and a U-Haul to pick them up.”
The truth is that they are worth $200, the same amount she’ll pay for storage and the truck.
One of the biggest mistakes I see homeowners make is storing items they don’t use anymore. They confuse the emotional value and the actual value.
What is emotional value?
Emotional value = imagined value + actual cash value. It includes things like:
- “It’s an antique.”
- “It’s a collectible.”
- “My kids will use it.”
- “It belonged to Grandma.”
On the other hand, the actual value of an item is what a stranger will give you today in cold, hard cash.
Since the actual cash value rarely equals the emotional value, people tend to keep their stuff instead of selling it, throwing it out or giving it away. Eventually, they end up with years of accumulated items that fill basements and garages and storage rental units. They store items they will never use again. But they still have to move it. And that’s where the trouble comes in.
Recently I helped a client move his parents into an assisted living facility. He told them, “Take anything you want. Everything else gets left behind.” The elderly parents picked their two favorite chairs, a coffee table and a bed. Their old possessions didn’t matter anymore. It was easy for them to move.
Why wait until you are old to get rid of things you don’t use anymore?
What about garage sales?
My second suggestion is to give up on the idea of a garage sale. They cost more in time and effort than what you make. Instead, stack everything you don’t need in your garage and hire a company to haul it away. I recommend www.collegehunks.com.
If you are thinking about moving, start to purge the items you do not use on a weekly bases one year in advance of putting your house on the market. Call your kids and tell them they have to come pick whatever they want first. This will make your move easy, save you time and money, and most importantly eliminate the emotional tug-o-war you’ll feel sorting through your possessions after your house is sold.
If you need help
Once you reach the end of middle age it’s time to get rid of all the stuff you’ve accumulated that you don’t need anymore — so that no one else has to do it for you after you pass. If this seems too hard to do, check out Margareta Magnusson’s book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Make Your Loved Ones’ Lives Easier and Your Life More Pleasant.”
No, it’s not as morbid as it sounds. Ms. Magnusson takes the reader through her journey of simplifying her life.
“Life will become more pleasant and comfortable if we get rid of some of the abundance,” Magnusson writes. “Mess is an unnecessary source of irritation.”
Finally, if you just cannot do it on your own, consider hiring a professional home organizer. Having someone to help you get started may be just what you need.
Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash