quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:


You have to be willing to cut the emotional strings and the nagging feeling that it is worth something. Just get it out of your way.

This. The last move, I *finally* got rid of some antique furniture of my grandmothers that I adored, have been moving since forever, but never had room for. And I took a ****ton of vintage stuff I’d paid $$$ for (to add my various “collections”) to the town’s only thrift store (which was small, and at one point they asked me not to come back for a couple of weeks because they were all out of room ) The stuff we’ve been holding onto forever because our grandmothers said it was worth something is not worth anything to anybody else. You just have to ditch it all. (You’ll feel a whole lot better when you do!)

yes, it's tough but necessary

My rule of thumb is-- if I forgot it existed until I uncovered it during downsizing/packing, do I really need to keep it?

The junk guys are here now. It's wonderful. A sleep sofa, a love seat, a bookcase, two dressers, a dressing table and chair, three mirrors, numerous boxes of books and assorted crap...then they will take out the basement carpet, pad and tack strips.

Soon the basement will be a gym!!!

I have achieved funlightenment.

I got the ups driver in Maine to take a TON of our stuff. He was an antique collector. Every time he showed up I’d drag him into the garage to see if he wanted some other piece of junk I was trying to get rid of.

They are trying to get the sleep sofa out of the basement. Poor bastards.

But, it went down, so it will come up.

Dismal and dismaler...(About getting rid of "junk antiques"). Your unanimous insistence on emptying my house for sale, is hitting home.

My parents adored Early American furniture and primitive tools, etc. - all the more valuable because our house itself was Early American. (Hmm. Perhaps I might get somewhere by offering furniture once homed there to present owners...!)
One of the most valuable pieces they had was a Windsor chair with one desk-arm. They sold it for over $50K 40 years ago.

An equally valuable weathervane, was actually stolen by a gang of helicopter-borne thieves specializing in - antique weather vanes!

I felt privileged (and enriched) to be given most of this furniture as my own parents progressively downsized. I was amazed that they ended up buying for retirement the model home in a new FL development, including all the furniture. They were all white, glass and even brass wall-hung Chinese characters.

I guess we all know by now that "brown furniture" has vastly depreciated - able to make even beautifully designed appts and houses unsaleable,

If I had loads of space, though, I'd store much of what remains. I can't believe that eventually these and other nostalgic antique pieces, won't again rise in value. Everything seems to. Even a son's large collection of Sonic the Hedgehog comics in excellent condition, turn out to be selling now for ~ $100+/- apiece (when I think how close I came to tossing them!). A few first editions also turned up among my dusty old books.

I can see why storage units are a vastly appreciating market!

(I've known for a long time that whenever this house is put on the market, the first step will be to store most of the contents) Hopefully from there, I can arrange an auction of all but my very favorites.

The most valuable furniture now (and even amongst fine art) appears to be Chinese antiquities - clearly owing to the rise of Chinese zillionaires finally valuing their own heritage.

Art now seems to be sold less by aesthetics than for its investment value (hence much is sold in microshares). I guess artists (female especially) are well advised to produce many offspring. That way, at least a few are apt to be willing/interested in taking in a few pieces each. (The fallacy, though, is that ones finite time and energy seems to be mostly an either/or choice - spend it on kids or making art.)

Still, I keep wondering about that eventual rebound in value of brown furniture. I've been studying the furniture market online for years, and even now some brown furniture (French, especially) is going for big bucks. Hope I can find a really qualified appraiser around here to see if I have anything intrinsically valuable.

PS Soliciting financial and emotional advice too about what to do with artwork produced by artist family members. It's hard enough to evaluate ones own best work (been finally sorting through the last five years worth) for starters.) I'd like to think at least one son, will be willing to hold on to portfolios, hanging pieces alternately.

(Both parents are also artists, one of whom has pieces auctioned online. There's only so much wall and shelf space!)

quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
They are trying to get the sleep sofa out of the basement. Poor bastards.

But, it went down, so it will come up.

And you thought the sofa bed was bad....

quote:

***FREE***working Stark piano. In great condition.
May need to be tuned.
Pickup out of basement yourself(HEAVY)

(seen on Nextdoor)

Brown furniture = brown wood?

quote:

Originally posted by AdagioM:

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Just a warning.

I am doing a bathroom renovation. We cannot start until the white Koehler toilet arrives. It will arrive in 12 weeks. Unless it is delayed.

Supply lines are awful now and may be until this COVID nightmare ends. No way would I try to do a bunch of repairs rather than selling as is.

Toto is the way to…go. We’re all Toto over here (3).

I put Toto upstairs, but I want to save money on this one. And the tile isn’t in yet, anyway.

If you want to save money and water, get the comfort height .8 gal flush American Standard at Home Depot. In stock. $150. My plumber recommended them and they’ve been trouble free for two years.

If I may say, this is one reason fliopers make money on houses and homeowners don’t. There are plenty of very nice tiles and toilets in stock everywhere. Homeowners tend to overthink this stuff.

What everyone else said. Bidding war on my Missoula house even though the only prep I did for sale was to whitewash one side of the garage (my realtor insisted I not do anything else). It desperately needed a new bathroom and a new kitchen. The buyers took it on as a project.

If you can move first and make the house empty and spotless, that's your best shot. In this market, nobody cares about any of the concerns you expressed.

Again, more appreciation for the basic facts presented unanimously (although people familiar with my house agree about the most serious problems - e.g., the falling apart siding).

I. can't help wondering what I would do (hard to picture good fortune) if I were able to sell my house ALMOST as is.

Where would I go then???

(Meanwhile, everything I own would have been put in storage pending disposal - auction or whatever.)

quote:

Originally posted by Amanda:
Again, more appreciation for the basic facts presented unanimously (although people familiar with my house agree about the most serious problems - e.g., the falling apart siding).

I. can't help wondering what I would do (hard to picture good fortune) if I were able to sell my house ALMOST as is.

Where would I go then???

(Meanwhile, everything I own would have been put in storage pending disposal - auction or whatever.)

Amanda I was wondering about this. Do not, repeat, do not put your house up for sale unless you have some other place to live. You will not find another home easily, or possibly not at all.