Inheriting Clutter – A Must Read for Us Awesome Adults

Inheriting Clutter – How to Calm the Chaos Your Parents Leave Behind, by Julie Hall, is a must read for anyone who has parents, or who is a parent.  This book is a practical, well-written manual on how to handle a difficult and emotion-charged process.

Julie Hall, The Estate Lady

Nicknamed “The Estate Lady”, Julie Hall has been a professional estate liquidator for 28 years. She’s also been a shoulder to cry on, hand-holder and source of comfort for those grieving with loss.  She is an expert in what to do, what not to do, and what to avoid.  Ms. Hall shares anecdotes and horror stories gleaned from her many years in the estate business.  Handling the details around and after a loved one’s death is a very difficult topic, but Julie Hall approaches it with warmth and humor.  She’s been in the trenches, and she shares her experiences, both good and bad. I cried several times while reading this book.  A few stories made my blood boil.

No one likes to think about their parents passing, but it is inevitable. And as Julie Hall points out eloquently in the book, the more prepared our parents are, and the more prepared we are, the easier it will be to handle all the things that must be done after they do pass. As hard as it is to talk to our parents about their passing, if you can get them to document their final wishes while they are still alive and lucid, it will be much more likely their wishes will be fulfilled.  Inheriting Clutter provides tips on how and where to approach these conversations with our parents, as well as sample ice breakers and conversation starters.

Clearing Out My Dad’s House

I know first-hand how hard it is to clean out a parent’s house.  Last year my dad and stepmom moved into a senior apartment in North Carolina when their house got to be too much for them.  The move itself overwhelmed them, so we told them to take what they wanted and we would handle the rest.  My dad’s house was in Florida.  We live in Texas. So my daughter and I flew in to clean out the house and get it on the market.

Words can’t begin to express the gamut of emotions I felt when we entered the house. I loved that house.  I loved going to that house, and I didn’t even grow up there.  My dad bought that house 15 years ago when he retired.  I’ve been a single mom for a long time.  When my daughter was little, vacations were always at “Grandpa’s house”.  One, it was all I could afford, two, my daughter adored her Grandpa.  They would spend hours tooling around in his golf cart talking, looking for alligators and bonding.  That house was full of memories. 

And stuff!!  My daughter and I looked around and asked each other “Did they take anything?”  Seriously, you could have moved in right then and there and not need to bring anything but your toothbrush.  We had our work cut out for us. As I said earlier, my dad is still living. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be to try to clean out your parent’s house after your parents have passed. 

Inheriting Clutter is a Step by Step Manual

Inheriting Clutter walks you through the steps you need to take, before and after your parents pass.  The book also offers advice on getting your own house and affairs in order so your kids won’t inherit your clutter.  Throughout the book there are checklists, “next steps”, resource lists, definitions of common and uncommon terms, and my personal favorite – “Note to Parents” which call out important information that should not be missed.  The instructions, notes and tips for Executors are especially useful.  Written with incredible detail, possibly too much detail, this book is a go-to guide for trustworthy counsel on how to deal with all that is involved in your parent’s passing. 

I will admit I got lost in the detail in the middle of the book.  Possibly because I am not dealing with liquidating an estate right now, possibly because my sisters and I are very close and have a great relationship, I found the parts on dealing with family members a little too detailed.  That part of the book was slow-going for me.  But the next section on how to clear out the family home in 10 days or less brought me right back in.  Julie Hall’s plan for division of labor, sorting of “stuff”, and how and where to start are spot on, and will even work on clearing out the excess from your own house.

Overall, I loved this book.  I wish I had it when I was clearing out my dad’s house last year.  We managed to stumble upon most of the steps Inheriting Clutter recommends, but it would have been a lot easier if we had this book as our instruction manual.  I will keep this book as a resource for when it will inevitably be needed, either by me or my friends or family. 

Anyone from middle-age on up needs to read this book, and it is especially pertinent to us Awesome Adults.  Our parents aren’t getting any younger, and neither are we. Use the book as a reference guide for when the time comes for approaching your aging parents, and eventually dealing with their passing.  Lastly, possibly my most important take-away from Inheriting Clutter is to get my own ducks in a row, and start clearing out my own house, so that I don’t leave a mess for my daughter to deal with after I am gone.

Full disclosure – I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.