Junk from the cellar

It is my contention that what looks like junk can usually be re-purposed. People are so quick these days to toss anything that has the slightest imperfection. When I was a kid the slogan was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." And the landfills didn't fill up so quickly.
 
debodun said:
It is my contention that what looks like junk can usually be re-purposed. People are so quick these days to toss anything that has the slightest imperfection. When I was a kid the slogan was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." And the landfills didn't fill up so quickly.
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I suspect you were raised to keep junk
 
Gotta get back down in the cellar soon, or I'll lose my momentum for it. The last few days I've been distracted with other dribs and drabs. It's going to be another scorcher weekend here with the heat index in the triple digits - phew.
 
When we bought this house ,, there was a lot of 'stuff' in basement and through out the house.
I bought along my collection to crocks,glass to add to to it.

A bucket became back porch light by turning it up side down,, doing some punched leaf designs out lines to it.

I recently restored an old railroad lantern for porch decoration.
Hope to find some sort of solar light to put in it.
 
Deb,, have you tried putting up for sale signage in stores that have bulletin boards for items fo sale?
If there are Amish in your area,, they might want the crocks.

Reading your post, am guessing you have looked at crock prices on ebay.
Any online research of the glass , crocks ,unusual items to give you price range should help get you a price you are comfortable with .

Good luck in cleaning out the basement & selling stuff.
 
Sliverfox said:
Deb,, have you tried putting up for sale signage in stores that have bulletin boards for items fo sale?
If there are Amish in your area,, they might want the crocks.
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To my knowledge, there are no Amish in my locale. I have been trying to have estate sales since my mom passed in 2006, but it is a slow and tedious process. The spring after she passed I called an auctioneer that was highly recommended to me. He came and took all the best items, then literally sold them for pennies. After that, I vowed to try to do it on my own where I have some control over what happens. I have had some nice things go missing from my sales, one of them being this lovely Loetz glass bowl. I saw one just like it on eBay for $400.

Czech bowl.jpg
 
I ended up owing him money between his hauling fees and his cut of the sold items and the little he netted from the sale. For instance, he sold teh dining room set (8 foot long rustic pine table with 6 ladderback chairs with woven rattan seats for $20, then an oak china cabinet with curved glass went for $35. He couldn't give away a 10 foot oak bench.

Appraising is fine, but try to get that for estate items.
 
Nope. And when he returned that items he didn't sell, he made me come and pick them up or he said he's take them to the dump and charge me for his trouble. When I went there, most of the things he returned weren't even mine. I think he played a switcheroo with some really nice things - at least he never accounted for them (like a chandelier lamp and a large Greek style print picture) and substituted junk he wanted to get rid of.
 
We moved a little over a year ago and my husband threw away almost everything in our basement. He didn't even tell me what was there and since there was so much and I have a bad memory I have no idea what he tossed away. He did save things he knew I treasured that had belonged to my parents. Thankfully he didn't throw away any pictures.
 
debodun said:
Nope. And when he returned that items he didn't sell, he made me come and pick them up or he said he's take them to the dump and charge me for his trouble. When I went there, most of the things he returned weren't even mine. I think he played a switcheroo with some really nice things - at least he never accounted for them (like a chandelier lamp and a large Greek style print picture) and substituted junk he wanted to get rid of.
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Like most you listed each item & took pictures and wrote descriptions of what the auctioneer took right? Or not.
 
Sassycakes said:
We moved a little over a year ago and my husband threw away almost everything in our basement. He didn't even tell me what was there and since there was so much and I have a bad memory I have no idea what he tossed away. He did save things he knew I treasured that had belonged to my parents. Thankfully he didn't throw away any pictures.
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So you don't miss what you didn't know he threw away?
 
The problem is finding folks who want these things and more importantly, are willing to pay for them. My kids don't want more than a single Orrefors or Waterford vase. Lenox or other fine china, crystal bowls, sterling silver flatware, Lladro figures, etc, don't speak to them.

Hummels, Precious Moments, knick-knacks, depression glass, etc. are barely worth what it costs to haul them to the dump.

(I'm not suggesting that I own all that I listed above - just saying that younger generations don't care for what many in our generation and older valued.)

Junk from the cellar indeed. Most of us inherited plenty of beautiful things that our family will not be interested in when it's their turn to own them.

Sometimes I feel sad about this, but I realize that future generations get to make their own decisions about what's valuable and what they want in their homes.
 

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