Downsizing to your Sun City Home

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by bmac007, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. bmac007

    bmac007 Member

    I didn't want to hijack the other threads that mentioned "stuff" but they are so timely for me because I'm dealing with that right now. I thought that I got rid of lots of things when I sold my previous house but I couldn't believe how much furniture and boxes the movers delivered when I finally moved into my current home.

    The kids aren't really interested in much of any of it. I'm trying to sell my mother's furniture that I inherited and it seems that I will have to practically give it away. I'm not talking priceless antiques but nice wood quality pieces. I haven't even started on all of the china, etc.

    What did you guys do? Just sell to be rid of it? Garage sales don't bring that many people to our neighborhood. Any unique ideas for sales? Thanks.
     
  2. LAPPY50

    LAPPY50 Super Moderator

    One idea is to donate unwanted items to Goodwill, Salvation Army etc. If you are still concerned about taxes you can write off these donations.
     
  3. Fiona

    Fiona New Member

    The other place to take unwanted items would be the local Luthren church here. They have a Goodwill type store in Sun City.

    I was lucky to be able to spread the goods to our 3 children who always need furniture and things.

    But if you do find you still have too much stuff when you arrive in S.C, yard sales are a big thing here and always bring crowds. The best time of the year is when the snowbirds are landing from Oct to Jan.
     
  4. Sulley007

    Sulley007 New Member

    I've used Craigslist pretty successfully too.
     
  5. Ironman

    Ironman New Member

    If you have Amvets, Lupus and similar charities in your area, they will even come and pick it up and leave a receipt for you to use with your taxes as a non-cash contribution.
     
  6. velvet cricket

    velvet cricket New Member

    When we had to get rid of my Mother's household we had a public blind auction. We lived in a small community, but with revisions it could work anywhere. Family members were also required to bid on the items that were left, after the heirlooms were distributed. We put an ad in the local paper for the most desirable items. We had an open house where anyone could come and place a bid in an envelope by the item. Another option is to assign bidders numbers, and have an open bid, where they just write on a tablet for all to see what the current bid is. At the end of the day, we simply called the highest bidder. If they decided not to take it, or didn't come after it in a resonable amount of time, we moved on the to second highest bidder. IT was great. We didn't have to have an auctioneer. Buyers liked being able to bid on what they wanted, without waiting around. Left overs were donated. Good Luck.....
     
  7. CopperLady

    CopperLady New Member

    What an innovative idea. Was the newspaper the only place you advertised? Did many people show up? I may try this.
     
  8. Ironman

    Ironman New Member

    This is a great idea Velvet Cricket!! Will also have to give it a try. Just wondering about how many items you sold??
     
  9. velvet cricket

    velvet cricket New Member

    She had a three bedroom ranch in a small town of about 1200. Five children divided up the small items. We each drew a number and #1 got the pick of one item in any given room. #2 got a second item in that same room. This continued, rotating the five numbers, until all the "small" items were gone. "Small" means anything we didn't want to auction. It was a way to fairly distribute the desirable items plus getting rid of the "junk." After the first room was emptied, child with #2 picked their room, and they got first choice. It continued this way until all was taken. The big items were left for the auction. Bedroom furniture, appliances that didn't stay with the house, lawn equipment, etc. Maybe 25 to 30 items. Some items brought more than we expected, others not much. However, we got rid of it without a lot of hassle. We advertised in our small town newspaper so there was a bill of the auction items for everyone to see. This was long enough ago that we couldn't use the internet. And of course "talk of the town" was good too. Hope this gives you some ideas for your stash. It could be easily tweaked to fit your situation.
     
  10. CopperLady

    CopperLady New Member

    Thanks for the info velvet cricket. Loved the idea of her children picking numbers. That makes it very fair. Keep the ideas coming. :)
     
  11. Ironman

    Ironman New Member

    Thank you Velvet Cricket for some details on how all of you retained the items you wanted and then auctioned the remaining 30 items or so. It sounds like it made it much more manageable!! Will definitely keep this whole approach in mind when we get ready to downsize.

    Ironman
     
  12. pegmih

    pegmih Well-Known Member

    When I left the state of Washington, I gave my furniture to Habitat for Humanity.
    Probably the biggest philanthropic thing I will ever do.
    A garage/estate sale just was not feasible.

    Miscellaneous items I gave to 7th Day Adventist Church.
    They give things free to people in need.

    I did bring my recliner, sewing machine, photo albums,
    quite a few baking pans/bowls/etc. But, no silverware or dinnerware.
    I wrapped pictures in towels. I also kept certain linens.
    Like the dish towels I embroidered way back in high school!

    I sold (at very low prices) several items to the people who painted
    the inside of my house. Gardening stuff was given to a neighbor.
    My son's collection of cars was given to a neighbor with kids.

    I probably could have gotten by with just a trailer you pull
    instead of one you drive. One of my sons drove it down to AZ
    while I flew down.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2013

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