Downsizing? Determined to get rid of stuff you no longer need? Cleaning out a home or an estate? Stop! Know Before You Throw.
Careful! Do you really want to throw that away?
With the holidays over, many of us get a head start on our spring cleaning by pitching stuff in earnest. The house got a little fuller last month between gifts the kids got and those Black Friday deals for ourselves, which were just too good to pass up.
So, now we start looking for a little more space for our new treasures, which usually leads us to eliminating some old stuff currently collecting dust. Before you throw, are you sure you aren’t discarding something of monetary value?
Case in point: During one January, I received a call from a family clearing out some boxes that had gotten pushed to the back of a closet. With the space now greatly needed, they were going to just throw the boxes away, as they had been sitting there for quite some time, and no one seemed to miss the contents. How important could the contents really be?
Out of curiosity they did peek inside, and then called me to get some professional advice. It turned out their boxes contained some vintage Christmas ornaments, old comic books, jewelry and collectible figurines. All total, they got about $2,800 for the contents of those boxes. It always pays to Know Before You Throw.
Jon Englund has more than 25 years of experience in appraising and liquidating personal property, jewelry, art, collectibles, antiques, furniture, printed items and more. A Midwest transplant, Jon trained at New York University in appraisal studies.
For more information, call (480) 699-1567. You also can send an email to Jon@KnowBeforeYouThrow.INFO.