How times change

[Wizzard]

I have lived in the same house for 40 years. In that 40 I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I also have 6 acres and a 20 x 40 pole barn full of toys and tools. House is 4k sq feet and since the kids are gone its just my wife and I. Way too much to take care of since I live in a woods and frankly I am tired of spending hours on end with yard work. I originally paid 40 k for this property in 1977. Yesterday I bought a 1900 sq foot ranch home new with 2 and 1/2 car garage in a maint. free community where they have a clubhouse and pool ect. Big downsize for me.
Problem is how do I get rid of all this STUFF. I have so much stuff to get rid of. 4 wheeler, unfinished 78 corvette with 20k miles on it and other MC that wife no longer rides and way more.
Has anyone else done this? Downsizing? Do I have an auction, or hire someone to market this stuff or do I do it myself. I am not retired and have no desire to be. I just want to spend more time riding and relaxing than working in the yard.
What are some thoughts?
NO I am not selling my valk. Now its valk related 

[98valk]

My thoughts, sell what u can yourself, craigslist, sell-it ads, message boards, this will put most cash in your pocket. then contact estate sales companies in your area such as this one http://dunnwrightestates.com/  for the rest and hard to find a buyer for sales.

God Bless.

[dragonslayer]

I sure hope you checked with the HOA about having a motorcycle.Some do not allow bikes.As for the other stuff there are estate sellers that will come in and do all the work,setup pricing and selling and get a percentage of the total.If you hang around while they do it don't tell them what to price stuff at as most know what stuff sells for,but if the prices are too low speak up.Remember that you want the stuff gone.Also the big ticket items you can put on craigslist before the sale.Good luck.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Randy, I have no good experience with this. I swear after our last move I said if I have to do it again, I was just going to burn everything. Now in the last couple years I've been worried about all my FIL's stuff. It is mind boggling the stuff we accumulate over time. Anyway to answer your question. I think you will be very disappointed with an auction or hiring a company to do it. There is a lot of that here with folks passing on and it's mostly sharks smelling blood that are buying. You might end up having to rent storage before you part with everything you are ready to get rid of. Good luck on the move.  

[hubcapsc]

Do I have an auction, or hire someone to market this stuff or do I do it myself.

If you have an amount of stuff of any significance I'd say to get an auction house
or estate sale company to do it for you.

There's a local historic house that's a B&B now, the current owners bought it
after the last lady who's family had lived there for years passed on. After she
passed, some family members did a couple of yard sales, some of the
stuff went, slowly,  at yard-sale prices. They enlisted the aid of some estate
sale people who made a big deal of it, people came on the appointed day
from all over and a bunch of money was made and the stuff was gone.

-Mike

[..]

Isn't one of the driving factors how much time you want to spend selling stuff?

With all the tire kickers and failed sales it can mount up to a lot.

[Jess from VA]

Decide what to keep.  Sell the big(ger) ticket items yourself (priced to sell).  Give stuff away, liberally.  Donate to charity and take a deduction (receipts!).  Hire a shipping container-big dumpster to be put near the shed and throw a shitload away (throwing it away is much easier than dickering with strangers over what it is worth; and it will piss you off less than taking a third of it's actual value).  The quicker you want to sell, the more you throw out.

I have been considering doing the same thing for years.  Having to go through all that is one of the reasons I'm still here.  

Triage of a lifetime of stuff.  I think the faster you go, the less painful it is.  Like tearing off a bandage.

Congratulations on the new home.    (and try to avoid filling it up with stuff again  )

Another idea is to take $3K less than the place is worth, on condition that you leave all that stuff and make the buyers deal with it)  

I lived at 357 Green Acres Drive, Valpo IN from '59-'62; never been back.  Guess how I remember the address?

[JimC]

I went through (stil going through) a similar situation about 5 years ago.
5br house, 72 foot machine shed, 90 foot dairy barn, etc. and moved into a 1200 sq ft. home in the city with a 24X42 foot garage.

I was lucky because I sold the property to my daughter and her family, the unlucky part is that I am still hauling things to my present home. I did sell a lot off Craigs list, filled a metal dumpster with junk headed to the recycler, and just plain gave a lot away.

Good luck,
Jim

[Gavin_Sons]

Congratulations on the down size. I know how much work having property can be. I grew up on 20 acres and we would mow about 8 of it. Since us 3 boys are now gone more of it has been turned into tillable ground so there is not as much mowing. I live in a small 1500 sq. Ft ranch now on a small lot and ittakes me 45minutes to mow my lawn. The wifereally wants a bigger house and every time we find something we like I end up backing out of it. I have done so much work to this house and know every inch of it. I guess I get too attatched.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Decide what to keep.  Sell the big(ger) ticket items yourself (priced to sell).  Give stuff away, liberally.  Donate to charity and take a deduction (receipts!).  Hire a shipping container-big dumpster to be put near the shed and throw a shitload away (throwing it away is much easier than dickering with strangers over what it is worth; and it will piss you off less than taking a third of it's actual value).  The quicker you want to sell, the more you throw out.

I have been considering doing the same thing for years.  Having to go through all that is one of the reasons I'm still here.  

Triage of a lifetime of stuff.  I think the faster you go, the less painful it is.  Like tearing off a bandage.

Congratulations on the new home.    (and try to avoid filling it up with stuff again  )

Another idea is to take $3K less than the place is worth, on condition that you leave all that stuff and make the buyers deal with it)  

I lived at 357 Green Acres Drive, Valpo IN from '59-'62; never been back.  Guess how I remember the address?

Zsa Zsa owned weapons ? How much alimony did you get in the divorce ? And do now live at 410 Park Ave. ? 

[cookiedough]

4K sq. feet house - WOW, a mansion for even 4-5 people to live in.  Even 1900 sq. feet is above normal size where I live.  Try living in a 1104 sq. ft. ranch home with family of 4 with unfinished basement - you guessed it there is where I have all my stuff stashed piled up way high ALL OVER in the basement hardly unable to walk around just few skinny paths on the outside after 23 years of collecting.  

I would sell the big ticket items yourself as soon as possible you do not want,  and hire an auctioneer to do the smaller less pricey stuff all done in one day.  NOT worth it for sure to wheel and deal for months to gain say 1000 bucks or so selling it all yourself taking 3-8 months or longer.

when my mom passes away,  it will either be all scrapped into 3-4 HUGE dumpsters or hiring auctioneer service done all in one day.   Here entire full upstairs is piled high with crap I have no interest in cannot even walk up the stairs to get up there have stuff piled 4-5 feet tall all over is UNREAL!     If you have seen HOARDING buried alive TV show,  this is what her upstairs looks like for sure.  

gotta admit, my basement is not much better though....  

[Wizzard]

Decide what to keep.  Sell the big(ger) ticket items yourself (priced to sell).  Give stuff away, liberally.  Donate to charity and take a deduction (receipts!).  Hire a shipping container-big dumpster to be put near the shed and throw a shitload away (throwing it away is much easier than dickering with strangers over what it is worth; and it will piss you off less than taking a third of it's actual value).  The quicker you want to sell, the more you throw out.

I have been considering doing the same thing for years.  Having to go through all that is one of the reasons I'm still here.  

Triage of a lifetime of stuff.  I think the faster you go, the less painful it is.  Like tearing off a bandage.

Congratulations on the new home.    (and try to avoid filling it up with stuff again  )

Another idea is to take $3K less than the place is worth, on condition that you leave all that stuff and make the buyers deal with it)  

I lived at 357 Green Acres Drive, Valpo IN from '59-'62; never been back.  Guess how I remember the address?

Lol,, I know where that is at. You would not recognize Valpo now.
As far as the HOA is, ,yes I checked and they have no problem with my Valk. Maybe with Harleys but not the Valk (just kidding)
Thanks for all the advice guys. You have given me some ideas.
Not going to be easy I know,, but it must be done as I do not want my kids to have to go through this stuff.

[Patrick]

I started down-sizing a while ago and still should do more. That big stuff [ cars,bikes,etc] I through the bigger companies/publications with good luck and some smaller stuff through local publications.

When it comes time to sell a home I'll try to sell with it the remaining stuff. A lot of it will go along with maintenance.

[Oss]

+1 on the craigslist ads we have both bought and sold, ebay also


Wounded warrior and other veterans groups can use a lot of what you have and will give you donation vouchers

there is also a website  freecycle

If there is any stuff you just want to go to folks who need it we have gotten rid of lots of stuff

And do check on if the new place is bike friendly

[gordonv]

Done it and still doing it. Have stuff in storage from 20 years ago never looked at, and new stuff still being bought. Pack rat and hoarder.

Very good suggestion already given. Try what you can.

Storage will cost you more than what the items stored are worth, as you don't need them anyways, other wise they would not be in storage or would already be being used.

Garage sales, are just scavengers. They want something you are already asking nothing for, for 1/4 of that, which makes it not worth the time you spend. Just post an add on CL locally, list at a throw away price, and mention the rest as a moving sale, more there. You might get some pickers coming through.

I place all those $5 - $20 I sell the items for, into an envelope, and keep a running total, currently over $1300 saved for a vacation. But it's been years now. Took 5 van loads to the local Thrift store to dispose of.

[old2soon]

Did NOT realize how Much "stuff" we-the ex wife unit and I-had gathered up over the years. After 2 big garage sales and pissin off my garbage man and donating to local charities IF it ever happens again-large amounts of "stuff" to be gotten rid of-I WILL find a better way. I actually enjoyed having the garage/yard sale BUT be flexible on your prices and cut the attachments-you WANT "it' gone so let it go. Pissin off the garbage man came about by having 3 Really Heavy cans out stead of one light weight can!   RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

I am slowly disposing of a 500lb concrete four tier fountain in my garbage.

About 20 lbs a week.

The 5-lb sledge work is already done.

[..]

I am slowly disposing of a 500lb concrete four tier fountain in my garbage.

About 20 lbs a week.

The 5-lb sledge work is already done.

Been there. Done that.

[JimmyG]

My daughter will sell it all for you, I mean she sells all my stuff, whether I want her to or not,LOL  She is a yard selling demonness.  I taught her the motto," let someone else haul off your junk, and pay you to do it".  It takes a little time, but man, she makes money on garbage and gets paid for it.  Like a couple have said already, sell the good stuff at your price,  put a cheap price on the rest of it and let it go.....  by the way, got an anvil? I need an anvil

[old2soon]

My daughter will sell it all for you, I mean she sells all my stuff, whether I want her to or not,LOL  She is a yard selling demonness.  I taught her the motto," let someone else haul off your junk, and pay you to do it".  It takes a little time, but man, she makes money on garbage and gets paid for it.  Like a couple have said already, sell the good stuff at your price,  put a cheap price on the rest of it and let it go.....  by the way, got an anvil? I need an anvil

             I'm thinkin here Anvil quit postin aways back.  RIDE SAFE.

[cookiedough]

the atv and corvette should sell easily on craigslist, and other big ticket items if post for reasonable price almost too good to be true.  I sold, for example,  an older 1990s pop up camper in very good shape,  clean it up and takes lots of good pics to post on craigslist.  I sold it for 1500 bucks pretty much what I paid for it 7 years prior and could have sold for 1800 easy enough.  What ticked me off is when I sold the camper at a very reasonable selling price getting dozens of calls first few days,  right after I sold it some 3-4 hours later,  my same exact pop up camper was re-posted on craigslist for 2K, the guy wanting to make a quick flip buck is all. 

He even had the nerve to call me back up next day being very rude to delete my old posting on craigslist since my camper was his camper mine 500 bucks cheaper.  I told the guy who bought it to F off on the phone do not tell me what to do and every single phone call I got to buy HONEST people,  I called them all back up to NOT buy my pop up camper listed on craigslist from other guy,  but if do,  offer 1500 bucks which is what I sold it to him for not giving him a dime.   

I say if the house furnishings not going to sold with house being sold,  big ticket stuff sell yourself for a very reasonable price it will sell.   The rest, auctioneer service done in ONE day.

[Gryphon Rider]

I feel for ya.  We recently helped my FIL sell his home to move in with us.  We dumped a few loads, gave away a lot of stuff, sold some, and I still have boxes and boxes of things he'll never need, in my basement.  He is a self-employed musician and piano teacher and loves his books.

It'll be much worse when I move out of my house, whether on my feet or on a gurney.  I do all my own repairs and maintenance, and a little carpentry, and have all the stuff required for that, plus material for a few unfinished projects, and stuff I've acquired for free because I'm sure I'll use it some day.  I'll have to take a year off work just to finish the projects and get rid of the stuff I don't actually need.  I'm glad I don't have a pole barn!

[phideux]

I have lived in the same house for 40 years. In that 40 I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I also have 6 acres and a 20 x 40 pole barn full of toys and tools. House is 4k sq feet and since the kids are gone its just my wife and I. Way too much to take care of since I live in a woods and frankly I am tired of spending hours on end with yard work. I originally paid 40 k for this property in 1977. Yesterday I bought a 1900 sq foot ranch home new with 2 and 1/2 car garage in a maint. free community where they have a clubhouse and pool ect. Big downsize for me.
Problem is how do I get rid of all this STUFF. I have so much stuff to get rid of. 4 wheeler, unfinished 78 corvette with 20k miles on it and other MC that wife no longer rides and way more.
Has anyone else done this? Downsizing? Do I have an auction, or hire someone to market this stuff or do I do it myself. I am not retired and have no desire to be. I just want to spend more time riding and relaxing than working in the yard.
What are some thoughts?
NO I am not selling my valk. Now its valk related 

I'll give you what you paid for it plus an extra 10k for the "stuff".

[BF]

We bought a townhome for that exact reason(s).  To get rid of the pool, the yard...and...stuff. 

I sold a bunch of stuff on ebay and on c-list.  Gave away a bunch to the kids. 

The rest went to the dump.  I made more than several trips. 

[98valk]

My daughter will sell it all for you, I mean she sells all my stuff, whether I want her to or not,LOL  She is a yard selling demonness.  I taught her the motto," let someone else haul off your junk, and pay you to do it".  It takes a little time, but man, she makes money on garbage and gets paid for it.  Like a couple have said already, sell the good stuff at your price,  put a cheap price on the rest of it and let it go.....  by the way, got an anvil? I need an anvil

             I'm thinkin here Anvil quit postin aways back.  RIDE SAFE.

I think baldo is anvil.

[Wizzard]

I have lived in the same house for 40 years. In that 40 I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I also have 6 acres and a 20 x 40 pole barn full of toys and tools. House is 4k sq feet and since the kids are gone its just my wife and I. Way too much to take care of since I live in a woods and frankly I am tired of spending hours on end with yard work. I originally paid 40 k for this property in 1977. Yesterday I bought a 1900 sq foot ranch home new with 2 and 1/2 car garage in a maint. free community where they have a clubhouse and pool ect. Big downsize for me.
Problem is how do I get rid of all this STUFF. I have so much stuff to get rid of. 4 wheeler, unfinished 78 corvette with 20k miles on it and other MC that wife no longer rides and way more.
Has anyone else done this? Downsizing? Do I have an auction, or hire someone to market this stuff or do I do it myself. I am not retired and have no desire to be. I just want to spend more time riding and relaxing than working in the yard.
What are some thoughts?
NO I am not selling my valk. Now its valk related 

I'll give you what you paid for it plus an extra 10k for the "stuff".

I imagine you would. Such a generous offer

[baldo]

My daughter will sell it all for you, I mean she sells all my stuff, whether I want her to or not,LOL  She is a yard selling demonness.  I taught her the motto," let someone else haul off your junk, and pay you to do it".  It takes a little time, but man, she makes money on garbage and gets paid for it.  Like a couple have said already, sell the good stuff at your price,  put a cheap price on the rest of it and let it go.....  by the way, got an anvil? I need an anvil

             I'm thinkin here Anvil quit postin aways back.  RIDE SAFE.

I think baldo is anvil.

You've mentioned this before. And you'd be wrong, again.

Sounds like he really got under your skin.

[phideux]

I have lived in the same house for 40 years. In that 40 I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I also have 6 acres and a 20 x 40 pole barn full of toys and tools. House is 4k sq feet and since the kids are gone its just my wife and I. Way too much to take care of since I live in a woods and frankly I am tired of spending hours on end with yard work. I originally paid 40 k for this property in 1977. Yesterday I bought a 1900 sq foot ranch home new with 2 and 1/2 car garage in a maint. free community where they have a clubhouse and pool ect. Big downsize for me.
Problem is how do I get rid of all this STUFF. I have so much stuff to get rid of. 4 wheeler, unfinished 78 corvette with 20k miles on it and other MC that wife no longer rides and way more.
Has anyone else done this? Downsizing? Do I have an auction, or hire someone to market this stuff or do I do it myself. I am not retired and have no desire to be. I just want to spend more time riding and relaxing than working in the yard.
What are some thoughts?
NO I am not selling my valk. Now its valk related 

I'll give you what you paid for it plus an extra 10k for the "stuff".

I imagine you would. Such a generous offer

Just trying to help a brother in his time of need. I might be able to go to 11K if it will help you out.

Me and the Fiancee are buying a house this spring, we're gonna have to clear out and sell our 2 houses, I'll be in your situation in a few months. Anyone want a house by the beach???? Good riding weather year round. It was Mid 50s and sunny today, I was riding today but I cheated on the Fat Girl, I took the Fat Boy out.

[The emperor has no clothes]

My daughter will sell it all for you, I mean she sells all my stuff, whether I want her to or not,LOL  She is a yard selling demonness.  I taught her the motto," let someone else haul off your junk, and pay you to do it".  It takes a little time, but man, she makes money on garbage and gets paid for it.  Like a couple have said already, sell the good stuff at your price,  put a cheap price on the rest of it and let it go.....  by the way, got an anvil? I need an anvil

             I'm thinkin here Anvil quit postin aways back.  RIDE SAFE.

I think baldo is anvil.

You've mentioned this before. And you'd be wrong, again.

Sounds like he really got under your skin.

Anvil was pretty ascerbic. He got under the skin of many here. I don't mean this as dissing you Bob, but if you are Anvil in disguise you are off your game big time. Other than a proximity of geography, I don't know why CA keeps thinking you are Anvil. But if I was you I would take it as a HUGE compliment.

[Wizzard]

i guess you could take it as a compliment if your goal was to see if you could get under everybody's skin

[The emperor has no clothes]

i guess you could take it as a compliment if your goal was to see if you could get under everybody's skin

I don't think that was his goal. He seemed pretty smart, articulate, and effective I arguing his point. I know he got to a lot here, but he just didn't pull any punches.