Wall space is often the most overlooked real estate in your home, especially in closets and mudroom areas. Hooks are a great solution for hoodies, backpacks, keys, handbags, umbrellas… the items we all throw on the floor or table when walking through the door. Hooks can be decorative or utility-like, but most functional. There are hanging solutions for stick cleaners like your Swiffer, brooms, small vacuums… Let’s use this “real estate” and get hung up!
Monthly Archives: May 2024
A good friend just lost her father and then moved her mother to live closer in assisted living. After all the arrangements were made and mom settled, my friend returned to the family home to prepare it for sale. She found some interesting things in unsuspected places, however. Tax documents that dated back to the 1970’s… old magazines… boxes of shredding to be done.
But the biggest surprise of all was the cash she found.
It started with loose coins throughout the house which she collected and when she took them to a coin machine found several hundred dollars worth. Then they needed to replace carpet and when they pulled the old up? CASH! She began searching carefully everywhere and thought she was thorough, but the estate sales team found even more and were honest enough to report it. All in all, $15,000 was recovered. That will help pay for assisted living!
If you are in this position… look up down and all around and then do it again!
I am often asked what to do with belongings when a loved one passes away. The “when” is different for everyone. You will know when it is time. When you are ready to make some space, it will be freeing for you. You want to cherish the memory of your loved one, so keep the items that will do just that and remind you of that loved one.
Who will be up to the task? Just you? Or are siblings involved? Communication is key. Everyone has their own pace for this task as they cope with loss. There is no hurry if there is room to store items until you are ready. I did not have time, however, so I probably kept more than necessary at first. Then a few months passed and when I was ready the task was easy. Plus, we needed the space in our garage, so I knew it was time. Come to an agreement with other family members that nothing will be thrown out until everyone has had an opportunity to go through the belongings.
Elect one person to be in charge of documents and paperwork as this can be overwhelming all by itself. Save all shredding for a load to be picked up by a shredding service. It is not that expensive and will save you valuable time. Shredders will shred hard-drives and CD’s… staples and paper clips too!
There are five categories for items: save for me, save for others, sell, donate, and throw away. Set up a “ground zero” in an area to work from.
Sometimes a photo is better than the object. Take a lot of items and condense… like several blankets made into one quilt. USE the items you choose to keep. Don’t store them in cardboard boxes in the garage or pay for storage. Integrate them into your daily life and the memory will be enjoyed.