Cost of living9:21Excellent luggage transfer
You may have heard of the so-called trillion dollar wealth transfer. That's the estimated amount that baby boomers will pass on to their heirs — mostly their millennial children — over the next two years.
It is expected to be the largest intergenerational estate in Canadian history.
But not all wealth is delivered by check: It also takes the form of large collections of items boomers have accumulated over the course of their lives, from furniture to collectibles, tools and knick-knacks.
When they're being passed down to the next generation—whether they want it or not—it's prompting some awkward conversations about where your prized possessions might go and whether they'll translate to higher prices at an auction or estate sale.
“A lot of times the conversation is emotional. I'd say it's exhausting. It's funny … and it's sad at times,” said Kelly Smith, who lives in Oakville, Ont. Cost of living.
Smith recently helped her parents downsize from their home in Timmins, Ont., where they lived for 50 years, before moving to a retirement home. The process took three years.
“I needed to think about the process, how I was going to, you know, honor these objects that my mom and dad had taken care of,” she said.
“There's something associated (with) guilt that your parents really valued or enjoyed or felt that it was an heirloom and they wanted to keep it in the family and you don't want that, right?”
Sort through it all
If the task of sifting through your parents' basement time capsules seems overwhelming, you can turn to professional organizers to do it for you.
According to Noreen Musick, president of professional organizers of the Canadian Industry Association, the sector has quadrupled in Canada compared to 25 years ago. About 30 to 40 percent of their business is helping seniors or their children figure out what to do with all their belongings.
That work doesn't come cheap: Linda Chu, who runs Out of Chaos in Vancouver, recently cleaned out the basement of the family home after her father died. It costs $5,200.
“There were clothes from the 1960s to the '80s,” she said. “There were a lot of broken items. There was a chandelier that was obviously taken down, but they couldn't bear to throw it away. But it was broken.”
Obviously, not every item you or your parents hold is cracked or broken, but it can still be a burden to those who inherit them.
Young people want 'useful things'
Brian Lehman, appraiser and owner of Brian Lehman Appraisal & Estate Sales Pros, says he sold 62 properties in 2023 alone.
He says TThere is a growing interest in property sales due to the rising cost of land here. They have become, in a sense, the new thrift store.
“People realized they could buy second-hand, well-used, well-loved things for less money than if they went to a retail store,” he said.
Popular items include appliances, vintage jewelry and, in particular, high-quality watches. But he has noticed that younger generations are less interested in some items that may have once demanded hefty price tags.
“They don't want flashy cabinets. They want useful things. They want things they can use every day,” he said.
“Why have a glorious set of china if it sits in the cupboard except for Christmas and Thanksgiving and Easter?”
Quality furniture has also become less popular, although it may have been difficult to squeeze a formal dining set into a 700-square-foot condo.
“A phrase that auctioneers say is: gray sells less. So if you have a gray table, they'll say, no, no, no, thank you. I don't need it,” Lehman said.
Lehman says that sometimes when people know their prized possessions won't be worth much at an estate sale, they'll postpone the decision and put them in storage.
“It's the worst possible thing. Out of sight, out of mind,” Lehman said.
“Then 10 years later, we're the ones that get the call from the moving company (saying), 'Look, we've got six lockers here that people haven't even paid for, and we don't want them. Can you sell this stuff for us?' Well, most of what they put in those lockers isn't desirable.”
Paying for storage isn't cheap. A medium-sized storage unit can run you hundreds of dollars a month.
“So $2,000 to $2,400 a year,” Chu said. “You can buy Christmas every year, a brand new one. Or you can take an annual trip or have that money go to a grandchild, go and help a child.”
Keep things important
One way to avoid storage problems is sometimes called Swedish death cleaning: getting rid of your belongings before you die so no one can do it after you're gone.
“Pass on that trinket, pass on that memory, because then the stories are passed along with the object,” Chu said. “Pass on the stories while you're alive so that the appreciation of that object becomes more real when the person receives it with the stories.”
Smith gave away many of her inherited possessions – some to close friends, so she feels good knowing they will be appreciated. Through the process, she learned to appreciate the few things she chose to keep, the value of which could not be quantified in dollars and cents.
Among them: a rabbit puppet of unknown origin kept by his mother for many years.
“She just thought, like, this would be really, really cool to pass on to the kids,” she said.
“I have it, because it doesn't take up much space. But every time I look at it, it gives me a laugh because I'm like, I don't know why it was so important to him. But now it's mine.”
