I love to clean, organize, purge, and check items off a list.
I happen to post that I was in Maine and a friend from my teaching days in Westbrook saw the post and invited me for coffee or in my case hot chocolate. We met at the Little Dog Coffee Shop in Brunswick. We spent quality time catching up on our lives and what the future holds.
I told her about my dream job: helping people clean out their houses. She was getting ready to clean out her mom's condo. Life has a strange sense of serendipity, and she was looking for someone to do exactly that! She had a buyer lined up and was planning to close in the beginning of June. She was having a company come look over the condo and price out the cost of the removal of her mom's possessions. I jumped at the idea and said I would do it if she wanted me to.
The next day I received a text asking if I was serious and if I would help. I was thrilled to help. Mike and I went to meet her and her sisters and look at the volume of the job. I have cleaned out houses in the past and loved the work, but I had never done it for a non-family member. This was going to be my chance to decide if this was truly my dream job or not. The condo was about 45 miles south of Mike's parents and an easy commute. It was an area that was quaint and friendly.
The sisters were at different levels of letting go of their mom's possessions, their childhood memories, and family mementos. We discussed what the goal was for the possessions: items to go to a good home, and then decided on a start time. I was ready!
Mike and I returned with our work clothes and an excitement to being doing something physical after so many days of resting. We had free reign to do what was necessary to empty the house. Sort and organize was the first step on our list. They had left items with sticky notes that were to be picked up by family members at different times. So we took pictures of the items with the notes (stickies kept falling off) and moved them to one area on the first floor. We then arranged the living room so we could add more items from other areas of the house. Our goal was to remove big items first and then sort smaller ones. We then moved up stairs and brought down the items up there. We left a few items upstairs as they were too heavy and bulky to bring down: a bureau, a desk and a queen-sized bed. That was day one.
Day 2: I went back and cleaned the 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms and the 6 closets in the upstairs. Ceiling to floor clean with dusting, vacuuming and wiping all the surfaces.
As the days went on, we sorted through all the items. Clothing, linens, pictures, lamps, office supplies, correspondence, stamps, coins, jewelry, silver, trinkets, cleaning products, etc...
As a third party going through the house of someone else was easy for me as I did not have the sentimental connection to the items. But let me tell you it was a fascinating, educational process for Mike and I. We felt like we knew the lovely lady of the house when we were done. Her reading habits her utter love for the art of letter writing and documentation of generations of life events. What she valued based on the items she kept was intriguing. She was the keeper of the past and had letters dating back to the mid 1800s and books from the late 1700s, notes on the back of artwork and original receipts for items over 100 years old. She wrote reviews of the books she read and notes to herself. One of my favorites was a note on the top of a box of postcards. "These bring me joy in the rereading of them!" as if she wanted the finder of the box to understand their worth and why she kept them.
Once the house was sorted, we then arranged for the sale of items. I had a few different auction companies come in a take what they could sell at their live and online auctions. The jewelry, coins and silver were sold to a dealer who specialized in such items. I took old towels and linens to the local animal rescue, books to libraries and clothes and personal hygiene to a woman's shelter. A book collector also was arranged, and he took boxes of books. Then came a inside estate sale where it was open to the public to come purchase the rest. These steps completely emptied the upstairs, the basement, the kitchen and dining room. The items would go to someone that wanted them and saw their value. Items were not simply tossed to Goodwill or into the trash. I believe that 95% of items can be recycled into a new and wanted home and I am proud that I gave them that option.
We came back the last day and took the remaining items to local community centers and a few remaining items to the recycle plant. Sadly, the recycle plant closed before we finished, 2:30 PM on a Friday, and was not open on the weekend, so I had to leave a few items on the porch to be taken later. The house was dusted, vacuumed and wiped and the door was locked.
It was sad to say goodbye. I came to love the house, the contents, and especially the lady who owned it all. She passed away in the middle of my time working on her home. The clearing of a loved one's possessions while they are living are very different than once they have passed. A finality settles in and changes the minds of the loved ones removing the items. Strangely the items have more value than they did before as they serve as a reminder to who once loved them.
I am thankful for the opportunity given to me. The trust I was provided with to care for the items of the home and to find them a new home. I was the happiest I have been in a while serving a great purpose and enjoying the labor involved. I thank my friend for the support and trust she shared with me. I thank Mike for his time and muscle in this dream job of mine.
Yes, it is still my dream job and I look forward to opportunities to continue to serve and help others.
Let me know if you help cleaning out your place or someone else's. I have the time and we can bring our own sleeping quarters with us!
