Clean Out the House Now
A year ago in April I wrote a column on Spring cleanout. It was one of the most popular ever. Here, with slight modification, are those observations updated…
Spring is in the air finally and predictable warmth seems to be what gets people moving.
Along those lines, one of the first resolutions for the new spring “year” might be to clean out the house, do it all, including getting the kitchen cabinet painting companies near me to do the painting – both yours and your parents’.
I say this with some experience. After more than sixteen years of practice in elder law, certain themes repeat themselves. One is the notion I hear over and over that, after a parent has moved to assisted living or to a nursing home or after a parent or relative has passed away, the adult child or children will in his or their “spare time” clean out Mother’s house.
Procrastination and sheer tiredness take over and then, even with the best efforts, when the family descends for “clean out,” it may be months and even years before the house finally is cleared.
My family was no exception. Years ago, when my mother was out of her home in Southwest Philadelphia, we tried to clear out the house. Actually, my brother tried. Week after week he sorted through the Philadelphia row house filling bags with trash. We figure there were well over a hundred bags. In retrospect, a cleanout service from https://www.europaintinginc.com/services/ site and a dumpster would have been more efficient.
What is the lesson? First, almost all of us accumulate more “stuff” than we like to admit. Second, sentiment causes us to hold on to more belongings than we might reasonably handle.
A few years back I represented a beautiful woman severely crippled with osteoporosis. She and her husband, now deceased, had lived in the same nursing home. With no family close to her, a neighbor was helping to clear out the house but my client was deeply concerned that items of sentimental value might be discarded.
I suggested sentimental items could be set aside and an outside service could take out the rest. It was not a comfortable decision for her and yet she could not keep these things in a nursing home.
On reflection, we realize that we accumulate “stuff” our entire lives and we are encouraged to do so. Television and radio ads sell the “latest” in electronics which soon become outdated or clothes, furniture, toys, gadgets, magazines and books. The list is endless.
Unless we have a strategy how to move things out while we are moving things in, we could begin to lose track of how much is in our homes. It is no accident, I think, that the cable television program “Hoarders” is such a hit. Some viewers may see it and say “See. I am not that bad.”
Here are some alternatives.
- The giving strategy. You can donate clothes and other items to organizations such as the Salvation Army and charities. Note: If you really want to feel good about giving, you might consider “ReStore”, a project of Chester County’s Habitat for Humanity. ReStore takes clothing, household items and even construction materials for reuse and donations are sold and used locally. Check www.htfhcc.org or 610-466-1890. Stores are in the Caln Plaza, Route 30, Coatesville and in the New Garden Shopping Center, Kennett Square.
- Consignment. Some of your better clothes and jewelry might be consigned for resale.
- Book sales. Local used book stores or charitable sales could help. You can recycle books with paper recycle trash collection, even textbooks.
- Sell on-line. E-bay and Amazon are familiar possibilities.
- Auctions. Contact a good local auctioneer for possible sale of better jewelry, furniture and collectibles. However, if you want to buy new ones, contact Charming Bench store
- Cleanout and Staging Companies. Staging can help to resell homes. Services range everywhere from basic cleanout and painting to full staging of a property for sale. You can contact an expert home works painting contractor in Oakton, VA to get the job done. Most will be sensitive to your need to save sentimental items and often they find belongings among the clutter you thought were lost. For painting, visit this site and get the best painters from there, who use modern technologies for painting.
There are even some items that it appears no organization will accept. Children’s car seats will end in a landfill somewhere as might stuffed animals. Know when to toss and when to give. One person’s discard could be another’s treasure.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.