Every week I get a version of the same phone call. A daughter, usually in her 40s or 50s, whose parents have finally moved into assisted living. The relief of getting them safe is real, but then she looks at the house. Decades of life packed into every closet, cabinet, and corner. And she has no idea where to start.
That’s exactly where I met my client this spring. Her parents had lived in that home for more than four decades, and most of her childhood was in those walls and every nook. Obviously her mom had loved to entertain. I even joked that pictures were clearly the family love language.
She was grieving. The transition had been hard, and now the house was just more than she could handle. We sat down and talked about what really mattered to her. She wanted her grandmother’s pink and white china. She’d found one small piece already, broken, but she knew the rest was in there somewhere. All the holiday things were meant for her niece. And somewhere, she hoped, was a T-shirt quilt.
My team started on Monday. We set up tables so everything could be sorted, and then packed or passed along. I texted her photos so she didn’t have to take a single day off work. Loved items that she no longer wanted were shared through Buy Nothing and Facebook posts, so neighbors and friends could give them a second life.
We found the quilt. We packed all the holiday items for her niece. We located the pink china, every piece. We carefully pulled out all the photos from their frames by hand – hundreds of them – so they’d take up far less space in storage. Nothing got thrown away. Nothing got lost.
Three of her mother’s crystal serving pieces ended up on my Easter table this year. A young mom in our community got what she needed to stock her kitchen. Her mother had spent a lifetime loving to entertain and in a way, she still is. Just twelve days after our first conversation, the home was listed for sale. She hadn’t taken a week off work. She hadn’t spent months waiting for an estate sale company to have an opening, and she got to breathe.
If you can relate to her story, know you’re not alone.
- Step 1: Talk to your family about what actually matters to them and what their priority is.
- Step 2: Make a list of items you know you or something in the family wants to keep.
- Step 3: Understand that it is okay to release things your family doesn’t want or need. Other people will find value in those items.
Before (Submitted by Emma Narvaez)
After (Submitted by Emma Narvaez)
Take the pressure off yourself and visit www.emmahelpsme.com to learn more about how hiring help fits into your life.
