Dealing with a death in the family is one of the hardest situations that life throws at us.
There’s a lifetime of memories associated with them that you cherish, which makes you miss them all the more.
On top of battling through the grieving process, you’ve now been tasked with inheriting their house and cleaning it of all their precious belongings.
Years and years worth of stuff has piled up and now you need to figure out the proper way to both respect their wishes and not let anything go to waste.
Here are some tips on how to deal with family possessions, and some tips on selling an inherited house in Pueblo, co.
Sort Everything into Simple Categories
Remember that while your loved one has trusted you with their belongings, it’s not your job to directly oversee where every individual item winds up.
They’ve merely trusted you to get their belongings into the hands of those that canoversee that side of things.
Places like Goodwill or the Salvation Army are tremendous organizations to donate clothing and items to. Donating to them will give you peace-of-mind that every item you give will go to someone in need of it.
It’s easy to start the cleaning-out process by getting rid of everything that will be donated first. Have boxes and bags clearly marked “donate” on them and pull everything you find and want to donate to the side.
As soon as you’ve started that part of the process, you’ll find it easier to comb back through what you want to keep or sell and determine which should go where.
Don’t Rush this Process
It’s understandable if you find it hard to go back through items and memories so quickly after your loved one is deceased.
You may try to quicken up the process by only giving yourself a week-long timetable to have everything wrapped up… try to resist from doing so.
While there are several reasons why you should take your time, but none more so than giving yourself room to get lost in the memories.
There will be tough decisions ahead, some that require more thought than others, so prepare for that ahead of time. Give yourself perspective that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Also, don’t let other people’s agendas rush you to go through everything. If you’re under a strict timeline by an outside party to clean out the house quickly, then store the items until you’ve had time to go through them all.
Even if you don’t have an interest in keeping certain items around, there may be a family member or two that would be. So make sure to take plenty of pictures and ask your family members if anyone is interested in certain items.
All Hands on Deck
One of the most important things to remember is that you don’t have to go through this process alone. Often times, you’ll find family members or close friends that want to help you out.
Whenever help is offered, take it. If you find yourself way behind schedule and realize the need for a few more hands, then don’t be afraid to ask for it.
While you may have been given responsibility by your deceased loved one to oversee their house and possessions, that doesn’t mean you alone have to sort through it.
While there are several unfortunate aspects of the grieving process, it also gives you the opportunity to have family bonding through memories and nostalgia together. Going through old possessions with your family is a great place for that.
Give Yourself a Firm Timetable
While it’s important to give yourself the necessary time and room for in-depth cleaning, you also need to set a firm date.
That way you and your loved ones have a firm understanding of the man-hours that are needed to clean out the house by that time.
If you’re looking to sell the house quickly, then you’re under an even-tighter window to get things accomplished. It may take storing some items at your individual houses or at a storage garage in order to meet the deadline.
Overall, you want to have the time in-place to provide a goal for everyone’s schedule. It will probably take several weekends in a row to clean out properly; setting a firm date for clear out will stress that urgency.
Be Practical
At times, this may be the toughest part of the entire process. With certain items, you may feel a level of guilt giving it away or selling the item your deceased relative loved so dearly.
However, if you don’t have use for it, and it isn’t nostalgic for you or another family member, find it’s next purpose through donating or selling it.
On the flip side of that, there will be times where you believe an item to be worth more than it actually is. Do your research on each item you’re interested in selling to see what it’s going for.
Don’t put yourself in the middle of a bidding war for an item if it won’t be worth the money at the end of it.
Family Possessions Are Cleared: Time to Sell the House
While going through family possessions can be a tedious task, be sure to keep your eyes on the big picture.
Ultimately, you want to sell your inherited house for a fair price and you’ll need someone by your side that knows what that process looks like.
Be sure to read this article on the 3 options you have on dealing with an inherited house for tips on the various directions you can take.
For more inquiries, please reach out via phone at 719-299-0741.