With all the trouble and uncertainty in the world these days, I wanted to approach the task of clearing my family member's things in an intentional way. Here's the way we did it:
1) I created a "Sib Dibs" sheet with all of the furniture items in the house. Our family went through and claimed what we were interested in. Thankfully, no fights! I also created a list of cleaning tasks by room and put that in the kitchen. I love checking items off the list.
2) We emptied cabinets, shelves, closets, etc. Items piled up. We set up a "store" in the living and dining room with sections for clothing, electronics, kitchen, bath, etc. Anything to organize the chaos helped.
3) The location and type of house made an open house "estate sale" problematic. So, I decided to bring a new idea to the local Buy Nothing Group. I created a google form and posted the link. I asked people for contact information (wish I had specified Facebook ID only), asked them to categorize what they were looking for (and suggested a few things that we had on offer,) provided open text fields for what people were looking for, asked for any transportation challenges, and a checkbox agreeing that they would not resell.
4) I received 50 responses! I found the information overwhelming and difficult to categorize. It made it so challenging to determine who I would reach out to for what. Some of the circumstances were heartbreaking. It took me a few days to sift through the information and formulate a plan. I combed through the list for needs we could not meet, and emailed people to let them know. The clean out clock was ticking...
5) I decided to set up a calendar. I used Google booking appointments to set up 20 minute shopping visits and scheduled those for when I could be there (after work) for a few days. I reached out to everyone who responded to the survey, either through Facebook messages, text message, and email.
6) I hosted 6 people the first day, and realized it wasn't getting rid of stuff fast enough. So I opened up a Saturday morning slot and posted again. On my second post, eight people commented and I replied with the booking link. I picked up a few more shoppers.
7) All in all, 17 people booked shopping appointments. One cancelled and two were no-shows. Some people left with one item, others left with a car load. I made one delivery to a person who responded with transportation challenges.
8) I managed to get rid of a lot of stuff, with a couple of other bonus gifts. A couple of bags of shredded white paper! Items that met the needs or interests of two recipients who responded to earlier posts on smaller clean out (and happened to be related to each other, which cracked me up). Someone asked for a melon baller AND booked a time and I had one, so I set it aside for her. That was awesome. Folks asked me about the why behind the clean out. That was difficult to respond to, but the stories of how people responded with empathy, kindness, and best wishes was awesome.
9) Overall, it was a good learning experience. I wouldn't have done the survey to find out what people wanted. I would have reduced my expectations. I was happy that my organizational and administrative skills made the experiment possible. As one recipient's husband said, you had a process and a system. I was proud of what I was able to accomplish.
10) After a load each to Freeport Community Services, MidCoast Humane, the Restore, and Goodwill-- we are finally at a manageable place. We've got a solid plan for the following weeks, back on schedule. A big relief!
Thanks to all who were part of the experiment.
