The Estate Sale: This past weekend’s estate sale kept us busy! Overall, it was success, but exhausting. Most importantly, we found homes for all kinds of stuff. Still, there are some dump runs and donation runs in our future, but not nearly as much as it could have been.
We have not yet sold the motorhome (my mother-in-law’s), though there was plenty of interest at the estate sale. We haven’t used it in a year and a half and don’t have plans for it, so we figured we’d sell it. We paid off the loan, so we own it free and clear.
2014 Sun Seeker 32800 miles, winter package, built on an E450 Ford Chassis. It runs great, has lots of storage and sleeps six. It has auto-leveling, a slide out, two awnings, gas/electric fridge, and more. NADA average retail is $63,300. We are priced at $65,000.
Perhaps the next best outcome of the event was meeting neighbors who had known the builder of our place. Many had known “Merl”, some fondly and some less so, as he was “a character”. His wife must have been a patient woman!
Miraculously, the pouring rain stopped on Saturday morning at 4am, giving us a little time to remove tarps and pop-up tents. The crowds were even and steady, likely a result of it being graduation weekend (we didn’t know that). The rain stayed away until Sunday around 3pm, when it began pouring to the point of causing some flooding in places across southeastern Washington.
As for Mom’s place:
Last pic from Mom’s place … the garage where several jeeps were built and rebuilt.
On Tuesday, we drove to mom’s place, probably for the last time, so it was a little bitter-sweet. After nearly 60 years in family hands, the property has sold. We met the buyers, who signed the papers Tuesday morning. They were a nice couple who are excited to be get the place, as it is unique. I walked them through the property, sharing stories and pointing out things they should know, which reminded me just how much work the place needs. But, that’s no longer my problem (thankfully).
The DJ-3A: After we get the shop cleared of the remain estate items, I will install Patterson’s new fuel pump, double check a few things, then he’ll be ready for sale.
My wife’s family recently sold a building that was originally purchased in 1915 by her Great Grandfather. It was a large storefront with living quarters for the family above it. One could freely travel from the living quarters to the store via one of two staircases. As one generation replaced the previous generation’s “stuff”, that older “stuff” was put into the attic, basement, storage rooms, and unused bedrooms. Over the years, the building was home to a bakery, a bowling alley, a record store, and a TV/white goods store. When it was sold, it was packed to the gills with stuff, and the buyer demanded a 75 day settlement. We initially figured we’d keep the antique furniture, and send everything else to the dump. But, as we started opening drawers and closets, the horror of the task ahead of us took hold. Complicating this was my wife, who wanted to give away stuff to people who could use it. So, the first weekend we emptied the kitchen and pantry, and took everything to the “free store” (everything is free to anyone from the community, run by a volunteer organization). We photographed all the furniture we didn’t want and put it up on facebook for free. Over the next 6 weeks, we emptied the house of furniture, toys, and bric-a-brac, and met some truly “interesting” people. We moved all the furniture we wanted to my garage, along with some “finds” from my wife’s childhood, and some very interesting family items that no one knew existed (a gavel from when Great Granddad was mayor of the town, a saxophone used by Granddad when he played with the Dorsey’s in the 1930’s, a bakery scale from the 1920’s, and more) because this stuff was buried in storage rooms. There were a dozen hatboxes full of photographs. Also, there were many “advertising” items from the various ventures that used the store over the years squirreled away. There were so many trains from Dad’s childhood that they almost filled the back of a cargo van. A whole wall record case went (in two pieces) to an artist who was going to use it in his studio. A glass display case from the record store (closed in 1962), found on the second floor in the back of a storage room, went to the local historical society. Two van loads of clothes went to a local shelter organization. One of the nephews took all of the Rosenthal china. Another nephew was fascinated by the vintage (believed to be 1910’s) shoes and took those. At day 70, we made a few trips to the dump to take everything left, which wasn’t much. We were all shocked that 6 of us, working only on weekends and a couple of weekdays, were able to clear out so much “stuff”.
When we handed over the front door key to the building, which was the same skeleton key given to Great Granddad in 1915, with a key tag that said “store” on it from the 1960’s, the new owner looked at it and expressed astonishment that this was the actual key to the property. We assured him this was the case, as the front door wasn’t the door that the family used. The family used the side door, which had a modern key (which we also gave him).
Craig, Wow, this is a great background story on life and how to live it, a difficult task turned into a positive event. Thanks for relating this life experience to us.
Congrats, Dave. One step at a time.