Dr. Lori Verderame
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori
by Dr. Lori Verderame
There are many downsizing and decluttering gurus out there. Some have tips about labeling laundry baskets or tossing clothes you haven’t worn for a year or more, but few can spot the valuable items in your home or teach you how to sell them online before you unknowingly toss them or donate them. My channel, www.YouTube.com/DrLoriV, offers free videos and instruction about identifying valuable objects and reselling unwanted stuff for top dollar. Learning how to spot sought-after objects and gain the confidence and skills to resell them at a profit can be fun, exciting, and profitable.
Many of my YouTube followers are interested in downsizing to clear the clutter and cash in on unwanted stuff. If you want to find objects for resale within your home, here are some tips to get you started. In a follow up article, I’ll share the concepts I teach in my Selling Old Stuff for Profit online class. Many of my students have made tens of thousands using my selling strategies.
For nearly 25 years, I have helped people all over the U. S. downsize from expansive mansions to cozy townhouses. Some of these folks are super shoppers with a vast array of objects from many different eras. Others are seasoned collectors of a specific style or movement of art or collectible that they collect. Many people have objects passed down from generations of family members or previous owners of a family home. For those who are drowning in stuff, downsizing can be a very freeing experience.
Here are my tips to downsize your home and get unwanted objects ready for resale:
Don’t get paralyzed or overwhelmed by the task. Take it one room at a time. Start small. You could decide to just clean out a hutch filled with nic nacs or a desk of drawers. Some people declutter by taking on a small bedroom and tackling a guest room closet first. Once you decide where to begin, be ruthless. Be open to surprises. You will find stuff you haven’t thought about in years hiding in a desk drawer or in the back of a closet. Visualize the goal. In terms of keepsakes, keep what you just can’t part with. But, set a limit as to how many sentimental items you can keep. Let those keepsakes fill your heart with joy. Then, get ready to resell the other stuff.
Your emotions count. Don’t let others push you into decluttering something you cherish. Don’t get rid of objects that you love just in the name of getting rid of stuff. You’ll regret it. Clean out the unnecessary, unused, unwanted. Keep the keepsakes. That’s how they got their name.
Certain items should be kept and enjoyed for the future. Don’t forget that certain vintage objects should be retained because they may be of better quality than an object made more recently. Just because something is old, that doesn’t mean you must part with it. It might be of higher quality and you might be sorry you let it go.
Set an object budget. What is an object budget? It is the number of objects of a certain type that you allow yourself to keep. It you have 50 pairs of socks, but you only use 20, then choose the 20 best pairs and the rest go into the ready for donation or resale pile. Your object budget for socks is 20 and you may only keep 20 pairs. And not one more, 20 is the limit. This goes for everything else. Set the object budget and stick to it for your collections of fine art, antiques, and collectibles, too. When trying to decide what to keep and what to let go, look for the highest quality objects, the most valuable pieces, and the most personally important items.
Declutter with your friends and family in mind. As you review items that you are ready to part with, think of the people in your circle who might be interested in buying them from you, even if you give them a deep discount, focusing on a potential buyer who you know will make payment for an item is easier than hunting for an unknown buyer.
Give children and grandchildren the power to ask for items as you downsize. You’d be surprised at the items that they may want to keep as remembrances from your home. Most people don’t realize that their children or grandchildren have any interest in their stuff. Indeed, in my experience, they certainly want some things that remind them of time spent in your home. Kids and grandkids should be allowed to weigh in during the downsizing process.
Lastly, identify some pieces as “must haves” like a dining table, favorite comfy chair, or antique bed. These mainstays must be retained no matter what. You will need them as you move to the next phase of life and if they have sentimental value, you want to bring those good vibes to your new home.
Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, and award-winning media personality, Dr. Lori Verderame presents antique appraisal events nationwide, appears on Netflix’s King of Collectibles, History channel’s The Curse of Oak Island and Pawn Stars do America. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, watch videos on www.YouTube.com/DrLoriV or call (888) 431-1010.