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Do you worry what will happen to all your belongings when you die?

(114 Posts)
mrsgreenfingers56 Mon 17-Feb-20 10:40:54

Getting older I seem to have a lot of "stuff" and yet do clear out quite frequently. When you have hobbies and interests you do have more belongings. Just had a new suite and carpet and had to move a lot of things and when I emptied the two rooms I thought there is so much gear/belongings/stuff and almost felt a bit stressed with it all. I am not a hoarder but when you empty cupboards and drawers etc it starts to dawn on you how many belongings you have. Huge bags to go to the charity shop now and the wheelie bin is full. I thought to myself what a job for my family when I am gone.
Do other Gransnets think on these lines at times?

notanan2 Fri 21-Feb-20 10:10:51

Well Ive never heard of that must be regional I call them dressers etc

They get a good price in clearance stores
You dont generally find them in charity shops who only have space for essentials (fire labelled sofas, kitchen tables, bedframes) but clearance stores take them and they go fast (so long as not wide/bulky)

Callistemon Fri 21-Feb-20 09:47:52

Wall units don't usually hang on walls, notanan

They are freestanding dressers which could be painted with chalk paint to look modern.

Billybob4491 Fri 21-Feb-20 09:34:54

I have had two charity shops call this week, I am downsizing and have parted with a great deal of furniture. I asked the delivery men if they sell everything they get donated, they said mostly yes, but some items end up in the skip, likewise if they do not have room to store, in the skip it goes.

M0nica Thu 20-Feb-20 21:38:38

trisher well, since you had already said that, and my post was in response to yours, why should I need to repeat it?

trisher Thu 20-Feb-20 21:16:24

Well bully for you M0nica don't admit you were entirely wrong about everything being resaleble no matter what its date or condition. Soft furnishings are found in most houses and many people have stuff that is not fire proofed and it really should be sent to the tip. Of course there are always people who will sell or pass on dangerous goods with no thought about what might ensue.

SueDonim Thu 20-Feb-20 19:52:18

They weren’t hung on the wall, they just stood on the floor. confused

M0nica Thu 20-Feb-20 19:50:49

trisher there is more to furnishing a house than upholstery. Rables and chairs and shelves and all sorts of things.

Most of our furniture is really old, sourced from junk shops and auctions and gradually upgraded by keeping good pieces from relatives houses and buying and selling at auctions and restoration and while the market for brown furniture has slumped in recent years, nevertheless, we usually succeed in selling anything we have decided has outlived its welcome.

We have cleared 5 family houses and the only thing we could not sell or rehome was a good quality repro georgian sideboard.

endlessstrife Thu 20-Feb-20 16:55:55

My friend’s mum died a few years ago, and her dad a few years before. My friend and her two siblings had the arduous task of house clearing. It was a big house with so much stuff, it was so stressful for them. Added to it was the memories which were triggered, not all good. I decided there and then, to completely declutter and get rid of stuff we knew we’d never need, to save our children the job when we both die, or one of us when the other one dies.

notanan2 Thu 20-Feb-20 16:04:49

Wall units are tricky. So many ppl in rentals where theyre not allowed to hang as much as a picture hook sad

Dark furniture still goes fast to "upcyclers" but it needs to be "renter friendly" (not wall mounted and compact)

SueDonim Thu 20-Feb-20 10:13:09

I assure you, Monica no one would take my friend’s wall units & cupboards. No charities would accept it (they said they’re overrun with goods), no one on ‘Swap/giveaway’ sites wanted it. She asked the council who said they’d certainly collect it but they too would put in the skip. confused

trisher Thu 20-Feb-20 09:18:07

Actually no one will take furniture which does not carry a fire certificate label. So old armchairs/settees etc go to the skip unless they have reached the state of being collectables when someone might be willing to refurbish them.

M0nica Thu 20-Feb-20 08:48:24

There is absolutely no reason or any excuse for putting decent quality furniture, no matter what its colour or age, in a skip. There are charity shops that collect and sell furniture, there are charities that take furniture to help to furnish flats for homeless people, who get accommodation but have no money to furnish it, you can put it in an auction sale or get a house clearance company to clear it.

If there is one thing I can be sure will happen after my death, it is that none of my belongings will end up in a skip and landfill, until every other way of disposing and recycling them. has been exhausted

Sara65 Thu 20-Feb-20 07:04:46

I don’t worry about it, but I think it’s sad that a lot of our things will end up in a skip, because they’re too big for either daughters homes, and my son certainly wouldn’t want them.
They aren’t valuable or antique, they’re items we’ve had made over the years, but probably too big for most houses.

I haven’t got any valuable jewellery, no original artwork, but thousands of books, of no value at all, except to me. The more I think about it, very little will be recycled.

Lyndiloo Thu 20-Feb-20 01:57:18

I've been trying to have a good sort-out recently, but however much I get rid of, I never seem to gain any space!

The one thing that worries me about popping my clogs is my jewellery. (When my sister died, some years ago, her jewellery was all over the place - junk mixed with valuable jewellery, etc.)

Now, I have so much 'junk' jewellery I could open a shop! It worries me that my daughters won't know the difference, so I started a 'Jewellery Log', photographing my 'real' jewellery (plus crockery of value, that they could sell - not just bin).

Talking to son-in-law the other day - Me: 'I think I'll spend the day working on my Jewellery Log.' SIL: 'You were doing that when we first met!'

Was I?

He and my daughter celebrate their 11th Wedding Anniversary this year!!!

Better get on with it!

Callistemon Thu 20-Feb-20 00:36:49

Not all young people live in modern homes, several I know bought older houses and do them up but keep the original style if possible.

Callistemon Thu 20-Feb-20 00:34:07

Not all young people are like that SueDonim and certainly our upcycling centre seems to do well, they accept most furniture, restore it and sell cheaply.

Callistemon Thu 20-Feb-20 00:32:11

I'm not talking about huge pieces of antique furniture, notanan!
I don't live in a mansion. We downsized from that years ago.

SueDonim Thu 20-Feb-20 00:28:13

My friend’s no-longer-required furniture wasn’t big, dark wood stuff. It was standard size, same kind of measurements as you get today with units. Still, into the skip it went.

Silverlady333 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:27:43

Framilode They probably are worth thousands! Get your husband to categorise all his railway stuff. My oh has a spreadsheet with everything he has and current prices! If he goes before me I have strict instructions to sell everything and I will have an idea of what they are worth!

lavenderzen Wed 19-Feb-20 11:42:01

I do have loads of stuff and am aware how much there will be to clear when I'm gone. My books just seem to grow and grow. What I have tried of late is to clear some cupboards, wardrobes and the back bedroom a bit at a time. It all goes to the charity shop and books I sell. I feel pleased when I have done it but then months later I seem to be back where I was!

moggie57 Wed 19-Feb-20 10:54:22

am cleaning out my stuff again now ,the little things we collect thinking oh that might be useful .then you end up with drawers full of rubbish. not worried about my stuff as daughter has instructions smaller things to salvation army .furniture to british heart foundations. and any other stuff she can keep if she wants. any money left over goes to pdsa.....

Marmight Wed 19-Feb-20 03:35:38

Ive just found this thread. Middle of the night before I go to Oz and lying here wondering what to do with a box of very personal stuff from my past which, should I not return (!) I wouldn't want my DDs to go through. I’ve decided to ask a younger friend to dispose of/burn the lot should I meet my demise. I know I should get rid but can’t bring myself to do it yet.
As for the rest of my possessions, my DDs will just have to deal with it. One will want very little, the one abroad may have trouble getting anything big to her home and the third, a magpie, will take most of what is left! I have a long list of who, including the GCs, is to get what in the jewellery/family ‘heirlooms’ dept. Having just emptied an Aunts house I now have loads of her stuff too to add to my parent’s , so the girls will have quite a job on their hands grin

Txquiltz Wed 19-Feb-20 02:15:21

DH and I are trying to clear house. I understand seniors in Sweden observe a day a year to clear as much as possible to save their children the task. Seems wise. I do have 1 item I am taking with me. A tiny needle. As a quilter, if I get to the other side without one, I'll know I am not in Paradise! ??

notanan2 Wed 19-Feb-20 01:53:35

SueDonim, yes I am amazed when I hear that 'no-one wants dark brown wood'. If I was trying to get a home together with little money I would accept dark brown wood and buy some sandpaper and paint (well, as we did years ago).

Pieces that can be painted are in huge demand. But they have to be small/compact.
A lot of dark wood furniture is just too large for modern homes

SueDonim Wed 19-Feb-20 00:08:38

Oh, that was replying to Callistemon.