Caring For Aging Parents Support Group

Caring for aging parents can be a difficul time as we become the caretakers for our parents. This broad responsibility can encompass such services as assisted living, adult day care, long term care, nursing homes, hospice care, and in-home care. Whether you have just started caring for your parents or just need a place to talk, we're here.

852 Members
2,506 Posts
1 Online
Seniors
/ Caring For Aging Parents Support Group

Downsizing my parents

TenderHeart599
TenderHeart599

My parents have a large 5 bedroom house w lots of stuff in it. Anyone have suggestions on the best way to clean it out so I can sell it? Or there is no easy way? So far I am sorting everything as trash, thrift store, keepsake or junk removal. Every time I go there I do 10 bags of trash and 5 boxes to thrift shop at a time. It’s a lot of work. How do I get rid of dressers, armoirs, huge metal shelves, tables, couches? They won’t help me cause partially lazy maybe and partially it’s too painful emotionally to help cause they don’t actually want to get rid of stuff and move ( mostly my mom at home while my dad in rehab) She has early dementia so I’ll give her a task and she’ll get thru half the task. For instance she’ll wash all the clothes to take to thrift shop but it’s sitting in her car. I don’t want them paying mortgage and independent living rent both at the same time too long so I need to clean it fast. But if feels like a 3 year project. Did I mention I’m planning my wedding and getting married in 2.5 months?

billwfriend
billwfriend
wow that is a lot with the wedding.....we hired an estate sale company who we trusted......most take 1/3 of what the sales are and many think they get whatever is left at the end but do not accept that as they will overprice items they want and then when they do not sell they think they get them free.....nope rip off.....our people let us get rid of anything that did not sell....the first day of sale full prices....second day they took off I think 50% then the last hour or two of sale was bag sale where it was like $5 for whatever fit into the bag or something like that....when our people did that they had boxes that they counted as two bags and they were allowed to take anything left over at $10 per box....things they had priced a bit high that had not sold that they wanted.....anyway I felt they ripped off some stuff with their box idea.....it was only them that got the box for $10....I did not know how to put some dishes that they put into the box that I would have liked to have but they had the box where I just had a bag and thought they would not travel well in bag....oh well....I did not need the dishes but they were pretty and nice set...
I am sure she sold later off her website or out of a thrift store the stuff at more inflated prices...oh well....we did not make money because we had dumpsters and asbestos abatement that needed to be done.....but everything was pretty well gone and I gave a charity the rest so they could sell it or use it with the girls they help get off drugs and prostitution
carlyj1202
carlyj1202
Tender, I dealt with 5 years of moving my MIL from place to place as she was never happy. I will say that the last place she was in....if I could afford it....it was like club med.
TenderHeart599
TenderHeart599
Uh! I know my mom keeps making it sound like this is a trial, like she is going to try to go back home or something or hold on to it much longer than needed as she pays rent and a mortgage at the same time. I found a wonderful moving company, they will pick up donations for Good Will and give me a packing /moving fee. So I feel hopeful about getting the house cleaned out w/o me having to do 30 trips to the thrift shop or worrying about large items. I don’t care about making money off any of the stuff. I’m more focused on cleaning it out so I can hire cleaners and fix it to sell. Hope on the horizon. Mom slowly getting on board.
Community LeaderSunCloudJD
SunCloudJD
You can also have an indoor garage sale.....

Some charities will pick up here like the Diabetic Assoc.... I would google charities that will pick up in your area
TenderHeart599
TenderHeart599
Yes! I think Habitat for Humanity will do some pick up for us. I can use them for the small items and then pay the moving company to take large furniture items to Good Will or trash. The thrift shop wants things curb side and there is no way for us to carry stuff out so we’ll have to pay for that part.
Posts You May Be Interested In
  • confessionsofaqueen

    Love is Bittersweet

    Posted by: confessionsofaqueen
    Last Reply: hasty_05
    2
    Some things we don't talk about, we breathe them... Some things cannot be explained, but rather experienced. Some of the most healing moments arise when given the memory, acknowledging the love.One cannot go back in time; we move forward, and we carry the love we shared. No one but ourselves has the power to do so, or the permission to do so, but ourselves.So live life with your faith and...
  • Mathieu-Beaulieu

    Been feeling down lately

    Posted by: Mathieu-Beaulieu
    Last Reply: GirlinCalif
    2
    I've been feeling  like I don't matter  my wife the other day instead of telling me she was having a pain day  when I went to have sex with her  she tell me afterwards that she having pain day due to her fribromyalgia  and making feel like shit afterward saying  she has a list of things from past 9 years of thing for me to do  and is always  adding  more and more to this list  and talk...