After the death of a loved one, you may inherit some of their former possessions. With close loved ones like parents, you may even end up inheriting an entire home’s worth of items. Knowing what to do with all of these inherited possessions can be difficult, especially if they are seasoned pieces like an antique fireplace.
You can’t keep them all, but just what items do you choose to part with? This guide can help you to work out what to do with all these items.
Prioritize items you need
It can be hard to know what items are worth keeping, but there’s one thing that every household needs- their lawnmower! If yours is broken and they’ve left you an old model with plenty of life left in it then make sure not only will they still get used but also save yourself some money by doing this.
Work out what is valuable and can be sold
Certain older items could be valuable and worth selling. This could include antique furniture, historic books, jewelry or collectibles. If you don’t want to keep these items, consider hiring an expert to professionally value these items so that you can sell them for what they are truly worth.
Consider donating items
Some items may not be worth the effort of selling due to their low value but could still be useful to someone. Consider donating these items. Donating unwanted items can be much more rewarding than throwing unwanted items away. You may be able to donate items to charities or you may be able to simply give them away online through sites like Facebook. You should also consider whether any friends or family may need these items.
Preserve treasured items you can’t keep through photographs
Parting with some items will be very hard as they may have sentimental value. At the same time, you need to think about whether you really have the physical space for them. It could be worth taking photos of these items so that you can still look at them. This is particularly worth doing with old ornaments.
Consider putting some items in storage
You may not have the time or energy to sort through all your loved one’s possessions straight away. However, you may also have to consider selling their property or renting it out to someone else. It could make sense to find self storage so that you can store these items away and sort through them at a later date. Just be wary that you will have to pay self-storage fees.
Get a helping hand going through items
Going through all your loved one’s personal items alone could be emotionally challenging and time-consuming. It’s worth asking a friend or family member if they can help you sort through these items. They may be able to help you be more ‘brutal’ as to what you keep and what you throw away. They can also save you time sorting through large collections of items.
Take the time to declutter your own home
It’s worth also taking this opportunity to declutter your own home. This could allow you to make room for more inherited items that you want to keep. If your home is already cluttered, you may want to tackle this task first before you start adding to the clutter with inherited items.
Now what? inheriting a loved one’s possessions can be daunting. It feels like we’re obligated to keep every little thing, but that’s not always practical or necessary. What are some of your own tips for dealing with an influx of inherited belongings? Share them in the comments below!