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June 22, 2006, 6:58 am PDT
Parents collector-hoarder estate cleanup
We are closing my parents estate
Hey I feel ( tearfully) for all of you in you various situations with the common thread of "stuff"
My parents had a normal house until Mom started collecting antiques- things just accumulated until they got too old to do much about it.
Examples
A 21/2 car garage- with no car- just boxes full of stuff ( and mouse debris) - and me (wearing surgical gloves) for weeks combing through it.
The bedrooms stuffed to the gills with boxes, etc; and even after the first 2 sales we ran, I found 30 more more pcs. of framed art in my old bedroom!
After a year and a half- the only thing we have to do is rip out the pet odored carpets( wonderful hardwood floors) and do a final cleaning and we are done. ( deep clean and repair are done!)
It is such a slow process and there are emotions you didn't know you had, and the memories my bro. and I share and discuss are so valuable-
My Dad repaired TVs( his shop was in the basement) in addition to his factory job at Goodrich. After we watched them do the final cart-off of Dad's shop, my bro said he couldn't do anything the rest of the day he was so emotionally wiped out.
Finally clearing out Mom's BR and the dressing table which predates me, I opened one of the drawers and smelled that familiar perfume which so enchanted me as a little girl- I unexpectedly burst into tears.
Events we regard as so common on our lives growing up have more meaning than we will ever know.
If anyone is in the midst of clean up- remember- it Is possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel- but it takes time- and don't forget to cry.
I am feeling overwhelmed as we approach this last phase- but I must remember how far we've come!
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