Organize and Declutter For An Estate Sale: A Five-Part Strategy

A preliminary step that must be taken before work begins on planning an estate sale is organizing and decluttering the property and other items once owned by a deceased individual. A five-part strategy typically proves to be the most effective method to utilize when it comes to organizing and decluttering following the death of a loved one. 

The five elements of the strategy are:

• Keep

• Store

• Donate

• Throw away

• Sell

Keep

Following an individuals death, there undoubtedly will be items of personal property that are bequeathed or given to specific individuals in a will. In the alternative, there will also be items that specific family members may want to keep for their own after a loved one passes away.The first step in organizing and decluttering is identifying these items of personal property. These items are conveyed to appropriate individuals at the commencement of the effort to organize and declutter.A problem area when it comes to preparing for an estate sale is that many people overdo when it comes to isolating items that are to be kept. In other words, many people keep too much. A discussion presented later in this guide involves how a downsizing specialist, like Downsizing Divas, can provide assistance to prevent a person from overdoing when it comes to setting aside items to keep.

Store

The second classification of personal property items are those that are to be stored. These can include items that might have sentimental value, but no one has come forward to claim them as of yet. They might also include items that are collectibles of some nature that are rising in value over time. Selling them at a later date beyond the estate sale might be a wise course of action.Another key reason why certain items might be stored stems from a reasonable determination that a person really is uncertain if another alternative is appropriate. For example, the possibility might exist that certain pieces of property might prove useful to certain family members at a future point in time. Rather than throw certain items away or sell them merely because they are not needed at the moment, storing them can prove a rational alternative course of action.

Donate

When at all possible, usable items in good shape – but which are not needed or lack sentimental value – should not the thrown away. In some situations, items of this nature may not be suitable for inclusion in an estate sale. Items in this category should be segregated out and donated to a worthy cause of organization. Habitat for Humanity Restore is an example of a nonprofit organization that welcomes donated items of this nature.

Throw Away

One of the hardest components of the organize and declutter process is throwing away items. There undoubtedly will be materials that clearly can be categorized as trash. On the other hand, there are also likely to be items of personal property in disrepair or lacking in value that should be thrown away.A downsizing specialist can prove useful when it comes to developing a strategy to determine what items need to be thrown away. In addition, in order to effectively manage throwing items away, renting an appropriate dumpster renders the overall process far easier and more efficient.There certainly will be some items that clearly need to be thrown away. Realistically, there may also be some items that might have questionably value, practicality, or sentimentality. Rather than immediately toss some items into a rented dumpster, a staging area can be designated. Certain items can be placed into the staging area to permit at least some time to pass, and a bit more consideration, before the final decision is made to throw out this property. Having a temporary staging area provides a person with some comfort that things will not be tossed into a dumpster willy-nilly.

Sell

After running personal property through the keep, store, and throw away filters – perhaps with the assistance of professionals – you end up with those items to be placed into an estate sale. Once this group of personal property items is established, giving them one more going over is advisable. The property review is undertaken both to confirm that something or another that should be kept in the family is not heading to an estate sale or auction. In addition, the review process works to ensure that junk also is not en route to an estate sale.