A Tale of Two Clients

Let’s pull back the curtain and peek inside the window to see two families in similar situations.  Each has a mother that has recently passed away.  The funeral is over, the extended families have returned home, and the kids have gone back to school or work.   Our heroine has given herself one more week before she returns to either her own workplace or her caregiver responsibilities. 

We turn our attention to Kathy.  We peek through the window to find Kathy going through the closets.  Her loved one has passed away and has left a house full of items that need to be dealt with.  She needs to sell the house.  Her grief has energized her and she feels like it could be good therapy to tackle clearing the house.  The process of going through everything will bring closure and she will have a sense of accomplishment in seeing daily progress.  She feels confident that she can handle the situation. 

She doesn’t need the money from the items. She just want things to go to a good home.  She contacts the family members.  Who wants what?  The grandkids claim a few things but don’t have time to take them now. No problem – she can pick them up another time.   The neighbors stop by.   She offers them some of mom’s things.  After all, She appreciates that they looked after mom in her aging years and she definitely doesn’t need more stuff.   She gets rid of the clothes, she gets rid of the food, she starts throwing away trash.  She is making great progress.  She has cleared a couple of rooms and then. 

And then, there’s a crisis. There’s a work crisis or a health crisis or a family crisis.  Or maybe it’s not a crisis but something else.  A family vacation, a house repair project, maybe a promotion at work.   And suddenly, the energy that she had been devoting to clearing out mom’s house has been diverted to more urgent situations.  That’s ok.  Things will “go back to normal” and she will be able to finish clearing mom’s house.  A few weeks go by without a visit to mom’s house. She has to get over there!   She stops by her house to get a game plan for moving forward.  She pulls in the driveway and notices the yard could use some attention. She walks in the house and notices the kids haven’t picked up the things they wanted.  She send them a text.  They’ve changed their minds.  They don’t have room for Grandma’s hutch, or antique curio cabinet, or her collection of hummels.  She starts looking around.  Did this stuff multiply while she was away?  She boxes up some stuff that she is sure no one wants and makes a couple of trips to Goodwill.  She looks at herwatch.  The day is half over, and she still hasseveral errands that she needs to run.  She decides to go home.  And she starts thinking – what am I going to do with all this stuff? 

We close the curtain on Kathy and travel a few neighborhoods over to Kim.

We find Kim walking through the house, having a visit down memory lane.  

Her loved one has passed away.  They have generously left her the house AND all the contents. She knows that she will miss her mom, but also knows that she lived a full life, and she is happy that she could spend time with her in her declining years. She arranges a day for the kids to take the things they want.  She goes through the filing cabinets and cleans out the fridge. She walks through the house.  Mom loved her collection of hummels.  She was a good cook and enjoyed kitchen gadgets.  Her bookshelves are overflowing with the books she loved to read. She looks in the closets. She didn’t realize mom had all those clothes. Shelooks in the medicine cabinets and starts collecting all her prescription meds. She looks at her watch and can’t believe what time it is.  What is she going to do with all this stuff?  She certainly doesn’t want it but surely someone can use it. She decides it’s time to go home.  When she gets home she goes to the internet and starts researching ways to get rid of stuff.  She remembers that a friend was in a similar situation a few years ago.  How did she handle the situation?  Kim sends her a text and she refers her to an estate sale company.   

That’s when you realize you don’t have to do this alone. At Crossroads Estate Sales, we specialize in stepping in when life is too full, emotions are too fresh, or the to-do list is just too overwhelming. We take care of sorting, staging, pricing, and managing the entire sale with professionalism and compassion, so you can focus on what matters most. We simplify the process, respect the memories, and give you back your time helping you move through this transition with clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. 

Feeling overwhelmed? Let us simplify the process.

If you’re facing a home transition and wondering where to start, our team is here to help.