Guess I have to relate this as Other

Depends on what you want and what needs taken care of........... Forget 80% of the "projects" and just concentrate and using the old AC to cut the grass every week. Hire a younger guy to do the snow plowing, and in a few years let him do the grass also. If the house is decent small size, and ONE FLOOR, then you can make it work... I know a few who have sold and moved to town... know a few who never will... im only 65 years old, but already trying to plan ahead to stay.

Thanks guys. I have views as to both directions as well, watched my Grandmother die by inches until 101 where we all worked incessantly to keep her in her home until she passed, same for the wife's parents but the work to keep them there we cannot expect as have no kids to do so and even if did I could not now ask them to after having done it myself. My Dad was a widower, Mom left us early where he had to make it on his own basically for seventeen years, he actually checked himself into a Assisted Living Center rather than be a burden upon his boys.

I guess in general I had delusion of grandeur by building a new home late in life, I pushed the magic line of pain and killing myself trying to save money doing as much as I could to get it built still seeing myself as that 30something young man full of pizz and vinegar that Could get it all done. Actually ended up hurting myself in the process that will not repair now. Had planned on staying here and enjoying the quiet life in a four bedroom house we could entertain family and friends on weekends or holidays, house is too big, we have WAY too much 'stuff' and I keep looking at the pile as if to consider we should have Downsized a LOT rather than having built this. Hindsight can be quite a eye opener.


All our close kin and long term friends are busy raising/caring for their own families, we see them occasionally but they do not come to stay or to be entertained or just visit, life moved on around our big ideas.

Yeah,,,I think most of us are sort of in the same boat,,,, and I'm wonderin "why" we thought some things were so important to "Save" for the kids and Grand kids. My garage is so full of all kinds of "Stuff" and the wife was absolutely positive that our first Granddaughter would be lookin forward to all them toys and Dolls she would buy her when she was growin up. There are at least 60-70 of those talkin dolls stored in 10 of those plastic tubs in MY garage,,,,!!! those dang dolls were like $80-$125 each,,!!The last time I asked our Granddaughter if she wanted them,,,and after bout a 3 minute pause,,,she says,,"GrandPa,,where would I keep them? Go ahead and sell em if you can but don't tell Nana I didn't want them",,,,,,

Slowed down a lot this past year and have been giving some thought to cleaning out some things I have collected over the years and will probably never use. Going to start bringing my granddaughter up to date of some of the family heirlooms I have such as my grandfather's S&W .44spl that he carried when he delivered mail in a horse and buggy. Like most of you I have "stuff" packed away that will go into an estate sale if I don't get rid of it first.

As a 50 something I can relate to the neighbor part. We love 10 miles from town but have a country store where we all congregate. We’ve lost most all the good ole boy neighbors and hardly know those who move in to those places. This summer the country store sold to a very young couple from the city in California. You can imagine how that went.
No one will want my tractors. I sold off some and just kept what I really want.
I now only buy tools that I think I will be able to use way in to my retirement for a little extra money and boredom control.
I can’t imagine ever not living here but with my mom getting upon the years I often wonder how I will feel if she were gone?

has anybody experienced a complete auction including realestate

My Grandmother was smart, she collected minimal but did have the boxes of old clothes she intended to repair and reuse, loads of mis-match glass ware pots and pans, not much of anything really but stuff. Had a sale when she had been moved out, listened to the auctioneer as to STAYING AWAY during the sale, made her a couple thousand dollars and most of her stuff was someone else's. We hauled off trash or to the house the rest where I have steady reduced what we accumulated from her.


Dad never was a collector, he had total disregard to physical thigs and used them as intended until use no longer there then either gave away or trashed. We gave my Mom's collectibles mostly to grand kids who would take them, I have a few odds and ends but they too are destined for other hands.


Furnishings can be sold, discarded to GoodWill or trash makes no never mind to me. We get to that fateful point of choice I will call the auctioneer to set up the sales, excess household first, tools next, excess machines I have already promished my nephew are his as have been written off already.


Wife and Sis in law would not stay out of their Mom's house during the sale, tore them up all day as people 'molested' their parent's things, had to remind her that her Parents were no longer there and they did no longer care of physical attachments to stuff, I got THAT look for those comments. Still have shelves of stuff collecting dust the two of them 'Could NOT Be without as they are so memorable' yet collect dust in the dark in storage in the basement much as were at their parent's home. Sad what people put values to that actually are not there.

I can relate to the other noted wake up calls from all here, BOTH my brothers, one older the other younger have had Prostate cancer, the Aggressive types and had to have them removed, i too have had repair surgeries to some levels of satisfaction and not so do feel the limitation of my remaining years as tentative as well short. We all address our mortality in some fashion as we age to a point we know are failing to keep up.


Edited by DMiller - 31 Oct 2018 at 7:53am

For some reason this thread hit a spot with me. So today I made a list of the toys and a list of the syrup making tools that I have accumulated over the years. I was a little surprised actually by the ammount of things I have got. This list is the big items that might bring some money at a auction. If I sold all of it I could then start fresh and accumulate new things and re-invent my life too! Might be a fun project. The alternative is to keep all this stuff and the wife or kids would have to dispose of it. Might be interesting to be at your own auction? Plus I could turn my sugarhouse into the storage area/ shop I need too.

Hubert, love your phrase,  "My mind keeps on writing checks that my body can't cash"

Edited by weiner - 01 Nov 2018 at 6:52am

Remember it all just "STUFF".  Get rid of it or redistribute it in the family. The important stuff IS the family.