Tomorrow - estate sale

[OSUFan]

Well, tomorrow through this weekend is my Mom and Dad's estate sale. The sales people have been pretty good about getting things up and not totally destroying Mom and Dad's house but we have found them parking their cars on the front side lawn (leaving ruts) and they have made new holes in the walls hanging things (even tacked things up into Mom and Dad's cabinets. Stupid!) They have said they will repair everything before they leave. We'll see.

And maybe I'm just a bit touchy but when a friend asks me if my Mom and Dad have a recliner because he wants to pick a recliner cheap it seems a little creepy and in bad taste to me. I'm probably taking it the wrong way.

[JimBob]

You are not being touchy; questions like that are tacky, and that's the nicest thing I can say. This is very personal for you or anyone in that situation. IMHO, stay away, and spare yourself any more grief.

[wood911]

One way to look at it is that your parents worked hard to accumulate all the things they had. They would want their children to benefit from their labors and for that to happen you need to sell their belongings. Just direct your friends to the sale and leave it at that. Consider it their effort to contribute to the estate.
The auction team probably won't fix it back like it was but they may clean it. There is nothing pleasant about losing a loved one. You have my sympathy and prayers.

[BobBarker]

Don't see how they can fix the tack holes in the cabinets. You should take $100-$200 directly out of their commission for that. I agree, how stupid can you be?

[barryrules]

I saw the ad in the paper and have been thinking of you and your family as I know this isn't easy for you.

And yes, that was very tacky of your friend to ask you that.

[osujane]

Fan, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I agree it was very tacky.

Sending warmest thoughts to you and your family.

[orangegal]

I wish you good luck. We are beginning the process of going through house,cleaning and sorting, to prep the house for eventual sale. I'm not looking forward to it.

Bev.

[GoPokes83]

Maybe your friend just wanted to contribute to the sale, don't look for motive in every syllable. It's very easy to become overly sensitive and I do feel for you. I remember when my mom knew she was a goner. She gave out what was important to the family and her friends, and I asked her about what to do with the rest of her belongings, (Ranks right up there with "What do you want to wear at your funeral", in the awkward / painful conversation department.) and she said, "Don't worry about my stuff, none of it is important. It's not going with me, and in the end it's all just junk." She was right.

Keep your head up and if you can, do go to the sale if for no other reason than to keep an eye on the estate sale staff. It'll be tough to see some of the stuff go but it helped me to close that chapter and move on. My experience with those folks who do the sales is they'll take you for whatever they can, whenever they can. Look for an itemized list of everything that is for sale, and match it against what sold and for how much. And definitely hold their feet to the fire about any damage they've caused to your property. You're the one who will be left with it after they leave with their profits.

Good luck!

[OSUFan]

My sister said she would go after each day's sale and check on the house. I don't think I can nor want to. I know its junk and most of it has no value to me or I would have kept it.

I think the harder thing will be to walk in the house with everything gone. Heck, I may not ever go back to the house. I want to remember as it was.

[OSUFan]

Estate sale is over. Unbelievable how much was sold on the last day. Some of the rooms look smaller now that they are empty. Everything now goes to charity and then we start cleaning and repairing the house and preppng it for sale.

[orangegal]

Hang in there, Fan!

Bev.