For folks over 50 years old- what about all the "stuff?"

[AuroraB]

For folks over 50 years old- what about all the "stuff?"
I now live in a 1bd/1ba apartment. I want to clear about my apartment and give all my "stuff" away before I CTB.
I want my apartment empty or only a 1-2 hour clean out before I CTB (which will not be here in the apartment).
This will have to look to loved ones and neighbors like I'm downsizing to travel for a year or something. Give away all my easy-to-replace stuff, maybe put some stuff (bikes, cars) into storage to make "moving" look more legit.
I don't want my loved ones/neighbors to have to deal with it. Clothes, shoes, linen, furniture, a mountain of kitchen stuff, bicycles, electronics, sewing machine/fabric, guitar/amp, lamps, paperwork, etc..it's endless... I'm thinking I'll package up all my jewelry and family memorabilia and send it to family a day before I CTB. Money will be sent via Zelle to their banks on a Friday so it won't hit until Monday and I'll be gone, hopefully avoiding probate. Anyone else read "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" and starting to downsize now?

 

[TennTrixie]

Almost 50. Planning to CTB because of health problems. I am planning to sell my house to a flipper. I'm moving "important" stuff before the sale takes place and leave all the unimportant stuff for the flipper to deal with. It does seem endless. I have lived in my current house 20 years. You accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. I also want to make it look to others as if I'm just downsizing. You could put some of your "stuff" in storage in case someone could/would use it after you're gone?

 

[guitarsteve]

For folks over 50 years old- what about all the "stuff?"
I now live in a 1bd/1ba apartment. I want to clear about my apartment and give all my "stuff" away before I CTB.
I want my apartment empty or only a 1-2 hour clean out before I CTB (which will not be here in the apartment).
This will have to look to loved ones and neighbors like I'm downsizing to travel for a year or something. Give away all my easy-to-replace stuff, maybe put some stuff (bikes, cars) into storage to make "moving" look more legit.
I don't want my loved ones/neighbors to have to deal with it. Clothes, shoes, linen, furniture, a mountain of kitchen stuff, bicycles, electronics, sewing machine/fabric, guitar/amp, lamps, paperwork, etc..it's endless... I'm thinking I'll package up all my jewelry and family memorabilia and send it to family a day before I CTB. Money will be sent via Zelle to their banks on a Friday so it won't hit until Monday and I'll be gone, hopefully avoiding probate. Anyone else read "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" and starting to downsize now?

Leaving here means leaving 'stuff'. Stuff has no meaning anymore.

 

[TennTrixie]

For me, I want to deal with as much as I can - stuff, finances, etc - before I'm gone so that it isn't left to my loved ones to deal with while they are grieving as well as dealing with the trauma of my suicide.

 

[AuroraB]

Leaving here means leaving 'stuff'. Stuff has no meaning anymore.

It's just a lot of work for whoever has to clear it out. That's my big idea. Don't want to leave behind a burden.

Almost 50. Planning to CTB because of health problems. I am planning to sell my house to a flipper. I'm moving "important" stuff before the sale takes place and leave all the unimportant stuff for the flipper to deal with. It does seem endless. I have lived in my current house 20 years. You accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. I also want to make it look to others as if I'm just downsizing. You could put some of your "stuff" in storage in case someone could/would use it after you're gone?

I moved from a 4bd/3ba I lived in for exactly 20 years (2000-2020) to a 1bd/1ba in 2020 so I empathize with 20 years in the same place and all the stuff. I don't have a lot of possessions with cash value. A car, an e-bike, a road bike, a guitar/amp, some jewelry. The value of my all my "stuff" isn't even worth $4000.00 used...just need to find a way to get rid of it all (or most) and not raise suspicion since I don't want to leave a clean up behind.

 

[TennTrixie]

What about hiring a junk hauler to take away the truly non-essential stuff? You could just keep basic stuff, along with any heirloom type stuff, in your apt so that only the bare minimum will be left to deal with when the time comes?

 

[AuroraB]

i live in an apartment high rise with over 150 units.
i think i could give it all away for free. hauling is good for real junk but i hate seeing things that someone will appreciate end up in landfill.

Almost 50. Planning to CTB because of health problems. I am planning to sell my house to a flipper. I'm moving "important" stuff before the sale takes place and leave all the unimportant stuff for the flipper to deal with. It does seem endless. I have lived in my current house 20 years. You accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. I also want to make it look to others as if I'm just downsizing. You could put some of your "stuff" in storage in case someone could/would use it after you're gone?

I'm not really looking for advice, I'm curious what other elder folks plan to do...have you flushed out your plan aside from selling the house? will you be hiring a hauler?

Almost 50. Planning to CTB because of health problems. I am planning to sell my house to a flipper. I'm moving "important" stuff before the sale takes place and leave all the unimportant stuff for the flipper to deal with. It does seem endless. I have lived in my current house 20 years. You accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. I also want to make it look to others as if I'm just downsizing. You could put some of your "stuff" in storage in case someone could/would use it after you're gone?

so sorry your health problems are CTB-worthy. aging isn't going to be easy for any of us. xo

 

[TennTrixie]

I am selling my house and moving under the guise that I need to be closer to family because of my health, so I don't need to explain to anyone why I am doing it. Only taking basic items and any heirloom type things. I'm going to let the flipper clean out anything I don't plan to take with me. For my car, I'll be taking it to where I'm moving. I'm still working on how to handle financial matters. At a minimum I'll be sure to leave a list of assets for my family to find. And also, passwords to various accounts.

 

[AuroraB]

I am selling my house and moving under the guise that I need to be closer to family because of my health, so I don't need to explain to anyone why I am doing it. Only taking basic items and any heirloom type things. I'm going to let the flipper clean out anything I don't plan to take with me. For my car, I'll be taking it to where I'm moving. I'm still working on how to handle financial matters. At a minimum I'll be sure to leave a list of assets for my family to find. And also, passwords to various accounts.

brilliant plan. wishing you the best in all of these logistics!

 

[Forever Sleep]

I'm 44 but I have a whole shit load of 'stuff'. Most of it is junk. I've asked my solicitor to employ a house clearance company when I die. They clear the property, sell your stuff, take their fee from the sale and any extra goes into the estate.

Kind of depends if you want to bequeth certain things to people. You could probably set those things aside and leave that in a will or list of wishes. But yeah- I don't want my family to have to deal with the hassle of it.

I feel like people may get a bit suspicious if someone just starts giving away all their prized possessions but, I guess there are guises you could use.

 

[TennTrixie]

@Forever Sleep do you have any suggestions for guises? I'm wanting to do this with no suspicion and am still struggling with how to do it,

 

[Forever Sleep]

@Forever Sleep do you have any suggestions for guises? I'm wanting to do this with no suspicion and am still struggling with how to do it,

Really not sure to be honest. Are there many people who have died young in your family? That may be a guise for bequesting speacial things early- fear of natural death.

Clearing out junk and tidying up I doubt would raise suspicion. Say you want a shot at living minimally or whatever but, clearing everything out I think might look a bit suspicious. Depends how many people are around you to see and how nosey they are I guess. But, like I say, I'm happier to leave it to my solicitor and a paid clearance company to deal with.

 

[OnlyOneSolution]

For folks over 50 years old- what about all the "stuff?"
I want my apartment empty or only a 1-2 hour clean out before I CTB (which will not be here in the apartment).
I don't want my loved ones/neighbors to have to deal with it. Clothes, shoes, linen, furniture, a mountain of kitchen stuff, bicycles, electronics, sewing machine/fabric, guitar/amp, lamps, paperwork, etc..it's endless...

Keep in mind that unplanned death happens everyday. Accidents, illnesses, heart attacks, violence, war...

None of those people get to think about their "stuff". I understand wanting to have a tidy departure. But, I just want to CTB because I want out of this body, this brain, this life. My stuff, a will, my bank accounts...idc. They are meaningless to a dead man. My family gets along now without any of my stuff or assets. So, if these are important to you, maybe you should consider alternatives to CTB.

 

[AuroraB]

my stuff is NOT important to me. not leaving a mess behind/hassle IS important to me. thanks for sharing your situation.