With a heavy heart...

As a professional organizer, I've had the privilege of working with many, many wonderful people through the years.  But every so often a client comes along who becomes a good and trusted friend.  Such was the case with Beverly Wunderlich, a fantastic woman I moved into a senior community a number of years ago.  Beverly has just left us, and I will dearly miss her.

Beverly had a "thing" about paper.  Once a piece of paper crossed the threshold of her door, it was nearly impossible to get it out.  Our monthly sessions were often an arm wrestling match over some bit of paper or another.  No matter what system I devised for organizing her paper, she would find a way around it.  Though interestingly enough, she felt that she was making progress with her paper addiction, and I have many an email from her describing how helpful she felt working with me was for her.

Beverly lived at the beautiful Cardinal Point, in Alameda.  She would always schedule our sessions so that we ended with lunch in their beautiful dining room.  We would hash over the goings on at CP, discuss politics, and she would often give me excellent business advice.  She introduced me to her children and would include me at celebratory events.

Beverly and I shared a love of good chocolate and ice cream.  I will think of her whenever I order a hot fudge sundae!  Thank you, Beverly, for being my friend.

Liquidation...

What do you do with a house or apartment full of furniture, collections of things, kitchen items, bedding, books, art and a garage full of tools?  The family has taken out those items that they want, and now there are rooms full of the left overs.  Some things are valuable, most things are not, and a lot of it is just plain junk...


In the bay area, I suggest my clients call a Rick Hudson, of Hudson's Estate Service and Liquidation. 
Hudson's is a family that has been in the antique and estate liquidation business in the Bay Area since the 1960's.  They conduct on-site estate sales and warehouse (consignment) sales to maximize the value of estate contents while minimizing the efforts of the family, executor or beneficiary.  Their approach to estate liquidation leaves the residence ready for sale or rent in a timely manner after generating maximum revenue for the beneficiaries.

One great advantage of using a liquidator, like Hudson's, is that they take EVERYTHING away.  It means you do not have to deal with scheduling charity pick ups or pay for a junk hauler.  This works extremely well if you are on a tight schedule or you are managing an estate from a distance. 


Using a liquidator is not just for clearing out estates.  If you are moving to a smaller home or apartment, a liquidator can take those items that no longer serve or fit into your new lifestyle.


Here's my advice for getting ready to close out a home or estate:


1.  Distribute items to family and friends according to everyone's wishes.   Distribute to charity anything you want them to have.

2.  Discard useless, broken or unsellable items, like paper or the broken toaster that has been in the back of the garage for years.

3.  Check EBAY or with an appraiser to get an idea of the value of art and antiques.

4.  Make sure you have the proper agreements from all beneficiaries before giving anything away.


Planning and managing the distribution of an estate, or downsizing a home, can be time consuming and stressful, so being as ORGANIZED as possible can be a life saver. 

Happily ever after...

Just a week ago we moved a friend's 80 year old mother out of her Santa Rosa double wide trailer home, and into a lovely one bedroom apartment, in a beautiful senior community, in Marin.  The move went smoothly and we settled her into her new home in one day.  

Packing up the old livingroom...

My assistant, Michelle, helping our client choose which clothes to take...

The new bedroom...

The new livingroom. Looks like a comfortable place to be...

Today the phone rang..."Mom wants out, she wants to return to her trailer."  So, we'll do it all over again.  My friend is heartbroken, knowing that her mom should not be living alone, and so far from the rest of the family... 

Moving your elderly parents...

Every week I receive at least one call from a son or daughter who is at their wits end over how to help their elderly parents move.

The decision to move should have been made several years earlier, but the parents resisted any discussion of the subject, so the children stopped bringing it up.  Then something happened, a fall, surgery, a diagnosis of a serious illness, sometimes even the on set of dementia, and now it is imperative that they move to a safer environment.

Finally, the parents agree to move, but the move slows to snails pace when it comes to sorting through a house that has been lived in for 40 years.  Every single item needs to be examined and the parents are insistent that everything they own is a valuable antique and can't just be donated, it must be sold for an amount of money that they deem acceptable.  However, when the appraisers come in, there is very little that is actually worth selling.  Sometimes the process stops outright as parents battle children over what to do with their stuff.

When the decision has been made as to where the parents are going, it is often to a much, much smaller place.  Most seniors go from their 3 bedroom, 2 car garage homes to an apartment of about 600 square feet.  Convincing them that they need very little of the items they
have lived all their lives with turns into a tug of war.

I just finished working on such a move and the son asked me "why were you able to get them to
agree to everything when we couldn't?" And my answer was, "because I am not family".  I
don't have your history, I don't look for a "win" with a client, I listen and look for ways
to come to an agreement.  I don't argue, I don't get upset or annoyed, I simply move on until I can find something that we can call "done" and then return to those hot button items until a decision can be made.

Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get a parent to agree with you or to give up their power to their children.  Knowing when to call for professional help will save you, and them, a lot of grief.