Suggestions from the Team at Wesley Enhanced Living

You have lived a full life – having a career, raising a family, and seeing your grandchildren grow. Over that lifetime, it is not uncommon to collect memorabilia, antiques, or heirlooms. We think that our children and grandchildren would love to have a set of china handed down from your great-great-grandmother, but that is not necessarily the case nowadays. More times than not, your kids have enough stuff of their own that they need to downsize, which means you have to find something to do with your porcelain doll collection.

You do have some options to dispense of all the things no one in your family wants. It will take a little work, but it will be worth it, especially if you are downsizing to move into a Wesley Enhanced Living continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Why clutter up your new home? Now is the time to shed some baggage and enjoy clutter-free living!

Options for Getting Rid of Items Your Kids Don’t Want

You have a lot of brick-a-brack. Some are valuable antiques, other items are not worth so much. No matter what you need to find new homes for, there are some basic ways to let go of the things nobody in the family wants anymore, so that you can enjoy your retirement years:

  • Get Assistance: For those items that you think may have some value, do some research and then call an expert to help you sell them. For example, you can sort through your books, utilize a book site like Biblio.com, and then reach out to a book antiquarian. 
  • Bring in the 21st Century: Remember that holiday weekend at Niagara Falls? You probably have a ton of snapshots of your family standing in front of the cascading water. Why not make it a family affair to transfer all the photos to digital files that everyone can enjoy, without taking up valuable space. 
  • Donate: Yes, you may have a steamer trunk in your attic. So do many people. You may have a sewing machine or a film projector. For items that are quite common, donate them to thrift stores or a non-profit and refuse to look back. The same goes for porcelain figurines, “collector’s” plates, silver-plated objects.
  • Find Sellers: Do you have any antiques? Maybe some furniture, a Persian rug, or fine linens? Finding a buyer may be hard but utilizing the Internet can help. One site to use for research is P4A.com. 
  • Be a Match Maker: When you have beautiful sterling silver cutlery, crystal wine services, or fine porcelain dinnerware, it is easy to assume people would want the full set. Formal entertaining, however, is not a priority with many people. An alternative is to use sites like Replacements.com to sell your sets to. They will piecemeal it out to those who are looking to buy a few items.

Service-Oriented Senior Living Begins at Wesley Enhanced Living

Avoid giving into sentimentality and burdening your kids with stuff they have no use or desire for. Use these tips and downsizing will be a breeze. At Wesley Enhanced Living, we offer our residents many opportunities to make new memories and have new adventures. See what life without worry is all about!

Contact one of our Philadelphia area locations and find out why our seniors love where they live. Our staff is happy to discuss your elder’s needs or your own, give you a tour and inform you of our range of services.

Wesley Enhanced Living provides high-quality senior retirement communities for you or your loved ones. Please visit our website to learn more or click here to request more information today.