 |
| Ha, ha! A lifetime of panty hose that I pulled out of a dresser drawer! I can’t imagine these would sell at the estate sale! |
Over the past many months in preparation for unloading all of a lifetime possessions, I’ve emptied drawers, closets, and a few cupboards. After all, we are living here, continuing to prepare meals, do mountains of laundry, endlessly entertain and amuse ourselves utilizing copious technological devices.
As time marches near, two months and four days from today, I peruse the items left on the shelves, in the closets, packed into kitchen cabinets and overstuffed drawers and of course, the intimating array of tools and miscellany in our old basement, Tom’s domain.
What’ll we do with all of this “stuff?”
We’ve packed no less than 15 totes of items (the tip of the iceberg) to sell at our upcoming estate sale beginning on Thursday, October 25th, jammed into one of our three guest rooms. Good grief! No overnight guests, please! There’s no room to walk around the bed, let alone lay in it!
Another guest room is jammed with banker’s boxes of six years’ of tax returns, plastic totes filled to the brim with “can’t part with” Christmas decorations, photo albums and memorabilia, to be stored by our adult kids (thanks kids!).
Other than the storage of these six totes, we will have no storage, no “stuff”, nada, nothing when we own other than the luggage in our possession.
Months ago, we arranged with Jim Anderson, owner of Caring Estate Sales to conduct our sale. We’ve met with him twice, spoken to him on the phone a few times, feeling confident about having chosen him.
When we met with him, he specifically stated, “Take everything you want to keep out of the house before October 25th; luggage, totes for the kids to store, food in cupboards, leaving behind everything to be sold, including the clothes in the closets. Leave everything in its place! Don’t pack.”
I packed the 15 totes. Why? I don’t know why. I just did it. It made sense months ago to start going through everything, tossing unwanted unusable items, taking usable items to Goodwill (which I did) while sifting for morsels of memorabilia. Now I must stop.
Speaking to Jim again yesterday, apologizing for asking the same question over and over, acknowledging this would be the last time I’d ask, “Do I really leave “stuff” in the cupboards, closets, drawers? Does Tom need to go through everything in the basement, sorting and tossing?”
His answer, “Yes, leave the stuff in its place and no, Tom doesn’t have to go through anything in the basement. We prefer to do everything ourselves, pricing as we go. You will inspect and approve the items and the pricing before the sale begins.”
I’m flabbergasted! It finally sinks in: leave everything in its place. Stop packing except our luggage and the totes for kids.
What does this leave me to do in regard to “stuff” only, that I haven’t done thus far? (Bear with me, it helps to make a partial list to which I continually add as I really dig in after Labor Day. I’ll copy and paste the list to my “to do” tab in Excel).
- Empty and clean the two refrigerators and huge freezer in the basement, the Subzero in the kitchen, distributing all usable food to our kids and neighbors.
2 Clean out all the food in the storage room in the basement and all food in kitchen cabinets.
3. Remove all wine from the Subzero wine cooler in the kitchen, beer in the basement and distribute them to family and friends.
4. Empty and clean cabinets in bathrooms of all toiletries.
5. Finish cleaning dresser drawers of all personal effects such as underwear and pantyhose as in above photo (who’d buy used pantyhose or underwear, anyway?)
6. Clean Tom’s walk-in closet. He has the equivalent of three large totes of relatively useless papers to go through.
7. Go through all the kitchen drawers in search of memorabilia
8/ Go through all of my approximate 100 cookbooks, scanning favorite recipes, keeping in mind our low carb, gluten-free, sugar-free, wheat and grain-free diet. (Good job to start today!)
I’ve had way too much time to think about all this. Realistically, if we waited until the last month, we’d somehow get all of this done.
Now, I have to go dig out my favorite recipe for Hollandaise Sauce from The New Antionette Pope School Cook Book, published in 1973.
 |
| This is my double boiler which purchased years ago at an estate sale for $2. I gave it to my friend Karen who kindly offered her home when we’ll need a place to stay before the sale begins at our house. |
I must make this recipe one more time before the sale using my absolutely perfect 1950’s glass double boiler that I bought 30 years ago at a garage sale for $2. OK, I will go get the double boiler from the storage room in the basement and take a photo which is below. Bye, double boiler. Hello, world.
 |
| Page 1 of recipe. Click to enlarge |
 |
| Page 2 of recipe |
i would love to have, buy those pantyhose!
So sorry, I would happily have given them to you but I threw them away.
Best regards,
Jess
Okay…. that sounds just plain creepy.
Yes, I agree. But "Minnesota Nice" prevails.
nothing creepy here, some women rather toss them in the garbage than get a few bucks for them. whats wrong with wanting them? just look on ebay, many for sale there and some bring quite a few bucks. however, next time, think about it!
Again, I say, Eeeeeeew.