Tag Archives: estate sales

Making Something Old New Again

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Personal Tagged , , , , ,

I’ve long lamented the influx of fast fashion, made with inferior fabric that will not hold up long. Proponents only need the fabric to last as long as the fad lasts, but those of us who treasure well-made clothes out of beautiful fabrics cringe when we hear that sentiment expressed. Our love of high-quality garments and fabrics explains why we may own pieces that are 20 or 30 years old (or older).

Recently I’ve been reading about sewing bloggers who search thrift stores for older garments made of beautiful fabrics in any size. Then they remake the garments to fit. If the garments are too small, which is often the case since people have gotten bigger over the last 40 years, they combine fabrics that go well together so that two old garments turn into one “new” garment made of high-quality fabric.

I love this idea! I suspect estate sales would be another good source of older garments made of great fabrics. I think between estate sales and thrift shops, I may soon develop a new hobby!

“I Hope My Kids Don’t Do This to Me!”

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Retirement Tagged , , , ,

The estate sale I went to last week was a packed one; it was like a museum of my childhood, complete with thermal coffee mugs with woven-straw sides, and a large wood stereo system on tall legs just like you would have found in most of the houses in the neighborhoods of my childhood, back in the 1960s.

But what was most memorable about this sale was that on two separate occasions I heard women say, “I hope my kids don’t do this to me!” as they looked at the displays of two elderly folks’ personal possessions.

My goodness, do they think their kids will keep their houses (and contents) intact after they go to a nursing home, or after they die? Something will have to be done with their things, and it’s extremely likely that their kids will do this to them; what other choice will they have? Do they expect them to keep all of it? We’re talking about a houseful of stuff: tables covered in bric-a-brac, knick-knacks, plates, glasses, linens, tools, you name it.

I wanted to tell these women that there is only one way to be sure your kids don’t do this to you, and that’s to go through it yourself while you’re still alive and kicking. Make the tough decisions now so your kids will never have to put all of your things on display for strangers to pick through someday.

As the late philanthropist Percy Ross used to say, “He who gives while he lives knows where it goes.” Keep only your most favorite and necessary possessions, give the next best items to people you love, and sell or donate the rest. You’ll relieve your kids of a huge burden someday, and you’ll never have to spin in your grave because your home is the site of an estate sale.

(Learn how to give up anything you’re sentimental about in The Sentimental Person’s Guide to Decluttering.)

 

What I Buy at Estate Sales

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , ,

As I said last time, if I buy something at an estate sale, I have to get rid of something else when I get home. This “one-in, one-out” policy is the key to staying on top of clutter, once you’ve gone through everything and kept only what you really love or need.

So what kind of things do I buy at estate sales?

First off, I buy linens and towels. Not just any linens and towels, however. What I like are new or almost new items. Many of today’s seniors used to set things aside “for company.” So while their everyday towels and sheets may look like they’ve had many years of use, their “for company” items are like new, and often are new, sometimes with price tags still attached.

Just this weekend at a nearby estate sale, I found a lovely dishtowel with a design that screamed “1960s,” hot pink with roses on it. It was like new. Its quality was so far beyond the dish towels sold in stores today that I couldn’t leave it there, so I bought it for a dollar. Then I pitched an old and faded dish towel when I got home so that there would be room in the drawer for my new find.

The quality of today’s new linens and towels are just not up to the standards of the mid-20th century. Even luxurious plush towels quickly degrade within a year or two of washing and drying. But the old goods just last and last.

Another reason I buy things at estate sales is that I can find things there that I can’t find in the stores anymore. A while back I bought a very sturdy eggbeater. It’s perfect when I need to beat something quickly and don’t want to take the time to dig out my hand mixer. Good luck trying to find one at your local Target!

Finally, the prices at an estate sale can’t be beat. I often find hardcover books for a quarter. I read them, then donate them to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. If you need a plate to put a cake on for your family reunion or church picnic, a 50-cent china plate from an estate sale makes the perfect display, and you won’t be concerned if the plate is accidentally broken, or if someone takes it home by mistake, after the event.

I’ve always felt that going to an estate sale is like going on a treasure hunt: you never know what kind of treasure you’ll see. You just have to have some rules about what you can take home, and follow those rules!

 

 

 

The Joy (and Danger) of Estate Sales

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Personal, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , , , ,

Once we got rid of more than half of our belongings when we downsized, I figured going to estate sales would now be out of the question for me. Otherwise, how would I handle the temptation of more stuff?

I’ve been going to estate sales for years. I used to live down the road from a very wealthy town where people lived in beautiful old houses on acreage. Those were truly estates! By going to the estate sales, I could go inside these lovely old houses, appreciate their architecture and decorating, and sometimes pick up a few goodies as well.

Now that I’m committed to not bringing home more stuff unless I get rid of an equal amount simultaneously (so that I never overstuff a home with clutter again), I’ve been surprised to discover that going to an estate sale can actually encourage me to stick to my guns.

How can this be? Well, now when I go into a house where an estate sale is taking place (as I did the other day), and I see table after table covered with old glassware and plates, countless knick-knacks, faded costume jewelry and worn linens, I think with gratitude that I’m glad this mess isn’t mine, and that I don’t have to deal with it. It’s a good reminder of the quantity of stuff we went through when we downsized, and how happy I am to have that behind me.

Of course, my stuff was newer than most of what I see in estate sales. But it’s the sheer quantity of stuff spread all over someone’s home that is a good visual reminder of how much stuff a house can hold if you don’t stay on top of things.

So going to estate sales actually helps me keep on top of my own clutter. But there are other benefits as well. Since I no longer live near that wealthy area, the houses I go into now aren’t palatial or architecturally significant. But their contents often include things I remember from my childhood, so it’s almost like going into a museum of my youth.

For instance, at the sale I went to the other day, I saw an ashtray with a gold-colored metal top and a red-plaid bean-bag bottom, just like one I remember from my grandpa’s house. Seeing it took me back to Sunday afternoons visiting my grandparents, where the women chatted in the kitchen while Grandpa and my uncles sat around the tiny black-and-white television set, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes as they cheered on the Sox. All those important people in my life have been gone for years, but what a nice memory of them that ashtray brought back to me.

That’s why, as long as I can keep to my pledge not to bring home anything unless I get rid of something else, I will keep going to estate sales.