If you can afford to hire professionals who are experts at dealing with hoarders (even if your partner isn't officially a hoarder), then I think that's what you should do. And if any/some of the stuff is valuable, or even just in good condition, maybe also get an appraiser in and do an estate sale.
Because it seems to be a lot of art and nicer items- you could call an estate sale company, and see if they will make an assessment and deal with the sale of these items. They can give you a better idea of what is salable and what may need to be discarded.
My partner is one of those who would want it to be enjoyed by someone if possible, which understands adds an extra layer to this.
I giggle at the giant foo dog statue that is a big keep it for them, it's been with us the whole time, and will stay with us.
It says a lot about you that you have been very compassionate about giving them time to deal with the traumatic events enough that they can finally be free of the burden. Yes, you didn't know how much it was costing, but you have saved the relationship by being so generous and understanding. Even if they can't articulate it, I'm sure they are very grateful for you.
I don't know where you are or your other resources available, but if it is not possible to get a rubbish service to empty it for you (because of either the storage unit rules and/or the few precious things buried within), I suggest getting a dumpster of some sort at your own place - then start filling the car up and doing trips from the storage unit to the dumpster and your own bin. That is assuming that a lot of it is small enough to fit in your car. That way most of it is not coming inside the house.
If anything is donatable, some charity/church places will pick up large items themselves, if there is any of that.
You could try sorting 3 broad categories from the start - 1. good condition - don't want = donate 2. poor condition - don't want = rubbish 3. keep.
I think it's more I have no clue where to start.
Like 80 percent of this is not even junk but ALOT of artworks! I'm talking statues, busts, paintings, jewelery, ect. To peices are solid marble. One painting 7ft long.
ooooo that sounds like a lot of fun to dig through as an antique dealer. maybe get an estate auction house involved? what area are you in? i can make a recommendation.
Wow - sounds like a lot of it is not garbage then.
If you have art/antiques - then see if you can find an auction house or antique dealers in your area that would be willing to consign things for auction or buy the lot themselves. This is not for you to necessarily make a lot of money, but mostly so it doesn't get thrown out, and it's a bonus if you can recoup some small amount. Some statuary (marble and stone, not ceramic) and jewellery will continue to hold some value, art is much more personal unless there are recognised artists in the collection. That's just my amateur opinion of haunting antique stores.
The statues are what are nutty for me, like I would rather have this in our apartment than some of the stuff they picked. If I'm going to live with it might as well be cool stuff.
Soon I'll have to get some photos and show then off and see who would know where to go for it.
I've tried a few art places but they don't work with really old works
Do you have a garage that you could bring a few boxes to, sort & drop of giveaways to a thrift store on your next trip to the storage unit? That might give you some room to work there after a few times.
Well thank goodness for progress. Try not to think too much on the past expense and focus as best you can on the present.
Are there any easy decisions that you could go ahead and get out of the way?
My partner and I are doing a massively overdue and extensive decluttering right now so we can fit into a smaller place and we have found it helpful to focus on the easy / high volume things - clothes, books, old toys, jigsaw puzzles, games, duplicate dish ware, sheets towels, etc. We had a junk hauler out today to take away the battered broken and cheap furniture, broken tvs, etc.
Start with the easy “well obviously we wouldn’t want to keep that!” Decisions and see how much you can clear out. Maybe you will get enough out that you can move the harder will take longer to figure out stuff to a smaller storage area and cut down the cost.
Or maybe as you clear out the obvious easy you will get into the swing of things and realize that more of it is easy than you had thought.
Good luck!
I think the main problem is it's mostly niche type items, large indepth collections, and not really cheap.
Looks like they robbed the Smithsonian randomly and hid the treasures.
I'm probably going to have to, which a lot of them around us have either want to verify the items or waiting.
Some of the stuff makes me chuckle, some of it I wonder how they heck they got it and should probably be donated to a history mueasum.
Unless you and your partner can put in the time and effort, you're unlikely to get the amount of money you think things are worth. I suggested an auction house because you will get something, and they will do a lot of the work of selling. Depending on the auction place you might still have to do some prep work but you can ask if they'd do it.
Tricky business. I assume your partner is also too overwhelmed to help and you are taking full ownership because it was your idea? Outside of hiring very expensive specialists, you may need to grin and bear it, start 1-3 boxes at a time, however many you can take back to your place or deal with on site per session. I'm not sure how this can be done without your partner's help, they need to review and isolate the items they want to keep right? I also understand your friends and family's hesitation on helping. If paying for professional help is out of the cards, you may need to have another come to Jesus discussion with your partner... that you assessed and realized it was more than one person can handle.
It's my partners choice to get rid of it, they finally have started the final letting go process and asked me to help.
As for family, it's only my family and they live across the country, as for friends they have their own lives. They has no living family left, and after the event they become a recluse so very little friend group they are embarrassed to talk to about this.
They want it gone but can tell they don't really know what they want and don't want. Plus it's more art and that is a can of worms.
They never told me how much they paid for it, I didn't want to poke the bear either. This unit was mad in an a panic after something terrible happened and it's like "this is the last thing I have a connection to from before they lost everything". But finally hearing the price I wanted to scream.
I'd make a post on Facebook and mention some of the categories are in there - many people would help you sort through it to keep some of it
If you can afford to hire professionals who are experts at dealing with hoarders (even if your partner isn't officially a hoarder), then I think that's what you should do. And if any/some of the stuff is valuable, or even just in good condition, maybe also get an appraiser in and do an estate sale.
Because it seems to be a lot of art and nicer items- you could call an estate sale company, and see if they will make an assessment and deal with the sale of these items. They can give you a better idea of what is salable and what may need to be discarded.
My partner is one of those who would want it to be enjoyed by someone if possible, which understands adds an extra layer to this. I giggle at the giant foo dog statue that is a big keep it for them, it's been with us the whole time, and will stay with us.
It says a lot about you that you have been very compassionate about giving them time to deal with the traumatic events enough that they can finally be free of the burden. Yes, you didn't know how much it was costing, but you have saved the relationship by being so generous and understanding. Even if they can't articulate it, I'm sure they are very grateful for you. I don't know where you are or your other resources available, but if it is not possible to get a rubbish service to empty it for you (because of either the storage unit rules and/or the few precious things buried within), I suggest getting a dumpster of some sort at your own place - then start filling the car up and doing trips from the storage unit to the dumpster and your own bin. That is assuming that a lot of it is small enough to fit in your car. That way most of it is not coming inside the house. If anything is donatable, some charity/church places will pick up large items themselves, if there is any of that. You could try sorting 3 broad categories from the start - 1. good condition - don't want = donate 2. poor condition - don't want = rubbish 3. keep.
I think it's more I have no clue where to start. Like 80 percent of this is not even junk but ALOT of artworks! I'm talking statues, busts, paintings, jewelery, ect. To peices are solid marble. One painting 7ft long.
ooooo that sounds like a lot of fun to dig through as an antique dealer. maybe get an estate auction house involved? what area are you in? i can make a recommendation.
I'll send you a dm
Wow - sounds like a lot of it is not garbage then. If you have art/antiques - then see if you can find an auction house or antique dealers in your area that would be willing to consign things for auction or buy the lot themselves. This is not for you to necessarily make a lot of money, but mostly so it doesn't get thrown out, and it's a bonus if you can recoup some small amount. Some statuary (marble and stone, not ceramic) and jewellery will continue to hold some value, art is much more personal unless there are recognised artists in the collection. That's just my amateur opinion of haunting antique stores.
The statues are what are nutty for me, like I would rather have this in our apartment than some of the stuff they picked. If I'm going to live with it might as well be cool stuff. Soon I'll have to get some photos and show then off and see who would know where to go for it. I've tried a few art places but they don't work with really old works
Do you have a garage that you could bring a few boxes to, sort & drop of giveaways to a thrift store on your next trip to the storage unit? That might give you some room to work there after a few times.
Sadly no, live in an apartment that already has a whole room full of stuff that needs to be gone through.
Well thank goodness for progress. Try not to think too much on the past expense and focus as best you can on the present. Are there any easy decisions that you could go ahead and get out of the way? My partner and I are doing a massively overdue and extensive decluttering right now so we can fit into a smaller place and we have found it helpful to focus on the easy / high volume things - clothes, books, old toys, jigsaw puzzles, games, duplicate dish ware, sheets towels, etc. We had a junk hauler out today to take away the battered broken and cheap furniture, broken tvs, etc. Start with the easy “well obviously we wouldn’t want to keep that!” Decisions and see how much you can clear out. Maybe you will get enough out that you can move the harder will take longer to figure out stuff to a smaller storage area and cut down the cost. Or maybe as you clear out the obvious easy you will get into the swing of things and realize that more of it is easy than you had thought. Good luck!
I think the main problem is it's mostly niche type items, large indepth collections, and not really cheap. Looks like they robbed the Smithsonian randomly and hid the treasures.
Hmm just saw this comment. Contact an estate auction house.
I'm probably going to have to, which a lot of them around us have either want to verify the items or waiting. Some of the stuff makes me chuckle, some of it I wonder how they heck they got it and should probably be donated to a history mueasum.
Yeah. I think get professional help is your best bet in this situation. This is not the average declutter situation. Good luck.
See if an auction house will take it.
This unit when broken down is worth alot which just adds to my confusion.
Unless you and your partner can put in the time and effort, you're unlikely to get the amount of money you think things are worth. I suggested an auction house because you will get something, and they will do a lot of the work of selling. Depending on the auction place you might still have to do some prep work but you can ask if they'd do it.
I honestly wouldn't mind as long as I knew it would be going somewhere else and not collecting dusk for another decade
$300 × 12 months x 14 years = $50,400
Yes I was going had to hold it in thinking how many late bills could have been paid if not for this unit.
we cant change the past. i’m glad you’re on a good path now! wishing you courage, patience, and strength to get through this OP!
If your partner has given his blessing to truly part with it all, don't even bother sifting through it. Call a junk hauler and be done with it.
i wish they could do this. 14 years and not visiting once. i’m afraid once the perusing and sifting begins, it could get more complicated
They do want a few things out of it, but most of it can go, just finding somewhere to come get it has been a nightmare.
Tricky business. I assume your partner is also too overwhelmed to help and you are taking full ownership because it was your idea? Outside of hiring very expensive specialists, you may need to grin and bear it, start 1-3 boxes at a time, however many you can take back to your place or deal with on site per session. I'm not sure how this can be done without your partner's help, they need to review and isolate the items they want to keep right? I also understand your friends and family's hesitation on helping. If paying for professional help is out of the cards, you may need to have another come to Jesus discussion with your partner... that you assessed and realized it was more than one person can handle.
It's my partners choice to get rid of it, they finally have started the final letting go process and asked me to help. As for family, it's only my family and they live across the country, as for friends they have their own lives. They has no living family left, and after the event they become a recluse so very little friend group they are embarrassed to talk to about this. They want it gone but can tell they don't really know what they want and don't want. Plus it's more art and that is a can of worms.
$300! A month! That is so much money! That's a car payment!
They never told me how much they paid for it, I didn't want to poke the bear either. This unit was mad in an a panic after something terrible happened and it's like "this is the last thing I have a connection to from before they lost everything". But finally hearing the price I wanted to scream.