Yesterday, I spent the day in Westchester preparing a house for a MAJOR tag sale. We're liquifying a house full of 80 years of accumulation in one day. Well, that's the goal at any rate.
My sister, my mom and I continued the process of pulling out the obvious trash and leaving black garbage bags by the side of the road. We unfolded two tables in the living room and piled up china and cups and thousands of cherubs. I listed the house on Craig's List with some pictures.
The house was a swirl of dust and ancient mouse feces, which made my sore nose tingle. After a couple of hours, I threw in the towel. We'll have to do tons of last minute tagging on Saturday morning.
I've never liquifyied a house before. I am curious to see what people will buy and what they won't touch. I'm already getting tons of e-mails from people begging to get in earlier and asking for pictures that I forgot to take with all the swirling dust and my tingling nose. I'm a tad nervous that there will be more people than we can handle.
I imagine that there are thousands of other houses, like Aunt Theresa's, that need cleaning out and liquifying. Is it possible to make a successful business doing that work? Probably not. I bet we'll clear around $5,000 from the house, but we've already spent many hours there sorting through garbage. And it is very dirty work. It's sort of sad, but it is probably cheaper to just hire two minimum wage guys with a shovel to pile the contents of the house in a dumpster than to find the right home for all the stuff.
Apt. 11d 
There are people who make a living doing this – my mom has already suggested that my sister and I hire some when she goes and we have to deal with her houses. It doesn’t sound like a job I’d enjoy, but I’m sure there’s a huge demand for it.
LikeLike
There’s a trunk just like that in my parents basement. I think it came over with my grandma’s parents.
LikeLike
I”m selling it for $150, but they go for as much as $400.
LikeLike
Have you ever seen that show on HGTV called Cash and Cari? Indeed, that is her job.
LikeLike
When my MIL died and we moved my FIL to assisted living, my SIL was in charge of cleaning out the house and selling everything in a massive tag sale (you don’t exactly have an “estate” sale in Levittown). E was 5 then and at his most difficult, and my husband was overseeing moving my FIL to assisted living near us. But part of me is really sorry I missed out on being there.
LikeLike
but they go for as much as $400.
Ours is in worse shape than the one photographed.
LikeLike
Liquifying? Do you mean liquidating? I’ve never heard it called liquifying.
LikeLike
People do make a living liquidating estates. http://www.aselonline.com
LikeLike