THE GOOD STUFF
After my mother passed away unexpectedly, like so many Americans with parents who accumulated stuff over a lifetime, my sister and I were left with an uneasy question: What do we do with her stuff? From a sentimental standpoint, it was hard to let go of anything for fear it meant something to her. From a practical perspective, neither of us had the space to keep much. My sister and her family live in a two-bedroom New York City co-op; at the time, my wife and I rented a one-bedroom Shanghai apartment.
Our problem wasn’t unique. Around the world, questions about what to do with the material leftovers of a life are becoming as much a part of the mourning process as the funeral. There’s so much, and the children all live somewhere else. Who’s to clean it out?
Multifamily homes emptied of stuff are assets. And they are becoming more common. People over age 65 will account for one quarter of the U.S. population by 2030, and senior housing demand is expected to grow with their population. That’s why Sharon Kadet is seated at a small coffee table in the corner of a windowless conference room at a Coldwell Banker real estate office in Minneapolis at 9:30 a.m. on a weekday.
She’s been invited to pitch Empty the Nest to the agency’s roughly 40 agents. Plenty of companies and individuals will clean out homes and drive the stuff to the dump after skimming the easily marketable objects. But Empty the Nest is unique in its commitment to finding reuse and resale markets before giving up on an object. Empty the Nest has a thrift store, and what can’t be sold there is donated to organizations that might have better luck.
As Sharon sets out Empty the Nest brochures, a handsome realtor in a very expensive-looking blue suit approaches. He’s heard of Empty the Nest and wants to know more. But
