Where to Donate/Sell Pre-Loved Items/Appliances?

It took us more than two years to clear more than 50 years worth of accumulated stuff from my childhood home. We had meter+ deep cabinets, so you can just imagine how much storage my Mom had in the house. She kept everything and that meant finding appliances used when I was still a child! We didn't have the time or energy to host a garage sale, so we found ways to donate and sell the items best used by someone else. 

Here's a list of where we donated and sold the excess items from my childhood home -

Donation centers:

• Library Hub Philippines - for books and useful office/school supplies
• Goodwill Philippines - pre-loved items (clothes, kitchen items etc.). We donated more than 200 mugs that were mostly unused, plus useful kitchen items, bags, clothes etc.
• Ateneo de Naga - where we sent my Dad's law books (coordinated through my cousin in Naga)

Items sold:

• 
  A.C. Scrap - old airconditioners
• Fernando Delgado junk shop - other junk like very old appliances 
• Old furniture (cabinets/cribs) was bought by the contractor and some of the workers

The proceeds of the sale were used to pay for our decluttering coach whose team helped finally pack and clear everything from the house. Some of the proceeds were also used for the ground-breaking and blessing of the property.

I still have some items which will go to relatives (mostly plates and drinkware). I also gave some furniture away since there's a lot. I'm expecting to give away more once the construction is done (it's currently stored and un-movable). We'll be using most of the key furniture (like the dining set), but I'll need to have it refurbished. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Demolition Day One

I was confined in the hospital when the workers moved in. We scrambled to empty the house before the move in day and I guess that made me so stressed out. We had to send Chris and Pops to the province and completely empty the house. 

Funnily, there was still one cabinet that was filled to the brim! Mama Lola's vintage mirror kept it inaccessible. My Mom had cleared out Mama Lola's stuff and in it were more craft materials! It took me another three months to sort it.

Anyway, I managed to get home before the crew started to demolish the house. They had to build their lodging and storage area first. Then they removed all the furniture we were keeping (the big ones we can no longer store in our current home). 

I shed some tears when I saw what they removed first - my parents cabinets. The same ones that were installed when the house was built back in 1969. The foreman commended how the house was built. He said it was built really well and they would probably have a hard time removing everything.

I had mixed feelings about seeing my childhood home demolished. It was taken apart slowly. My siblings knew how it looked while it was being built. I slowly saw the opposite. I only saw what was being done through photos and videos since I had the misfortune of falling down the stairs a week after I got home from the hospital. I'm a total klutz, so for safety, I've been banned from going to my childhood home. It's probably better that way since aside from being a klutz, I may be an emotional wreck. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Last Look at My Childhood Home

I honestly couldn't find a clear photo of my childhood home's frontage because there was so much foliage in front. Mom planted a lot of trees in front and it obscured most of the house. Here's my last photo when the house was still standing. 

And a photo from the corner of the street on January 2025 -

I probably have to look through all the old albums to find an original photo of the house when it was new. It was very different from how it looked when I was a child. I always wondered why my Mom had all the beautiful walls painted white.

I wasn't born yet when the house was built.

This used to be an open area but became my Dad's office

I loved the original look of my childhood home. Tito Bert really designed it really well and it withstood many earthquakes and flooding. Adjustments were made based on Mom and Dad's needs and plans and I didn't really plan my future. I thought when Miggy and I moved out that was the end of my decades-long stay in my childhood home. 

I have so many memories in my childhood home and my friends told me they also have a lot of happy memories in our home. We had a lot of gatherings there, birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas family reunions etc. We always had a lot of neighbors come and visit. I think everyone loved my Mom's beautiful garden.

Last year, my childhood home reached its 56th year as our OG family's home. It was time to move on and build new memories. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

What We're Going to Do with My Childhood Home

My Mom kept telling me she wanted us to go back to the childhood home. The decision to go back was made on Dad's birthday after she passed away. It was bittersweet and it took me months to start on sunsetting the house. Emptying the house took two long years. 

We took time to really plan what to do with the house. Tito Bert built the house to last, but at some point you really need to redo the electrical and plumbing system. We had the house reviewed by a structural engineer and several architects and engineers. The recommendation was the same for everyone. Demolish the house and build a new one. 

We eventually decided to follow the professional recommendations and started to think about what we wanted in our forever home. The funny thing is our current home is similar to my childhood home. I started a wishlist to detail our goals.

Here are our goals for our future house:

• 
  The house needs to be PWD friendly :) 

• Provide appropriate space for our needs and lifestyle. 

• Proper ventilation to keep heat out and be protected from bad air quality. Assume all rooms will have air conditioning and air filters. We are fine to have a loft for storage. All rooms have air purifiers.

• Preserve Mom’s garden. Ensure structural integrity of garden and where house will be built. Be able to collect rainwater.

• Proper drainage system and keep out flood water. Build house higher than current height from road. 

• Follow property line and ensure security*.

• Solar energy and future proofed

Listing our goals helped communicate what we wanted out of the house. We gave this and our room wishlist to the architects we consulted. It took awhile before we chose one. I'm glad we followed our instincts and chose the one that closely aligned with our values and expectations. 

Next week I'll write about how we finally chose our architect.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Childhood Home Clearing: Done!

After two years, we finally opened the last box of items from my childhood home. I out the kitchen stuff last when we slowly went through all the boxes. I put it last because the boxes were heavy and I had to think about what to do with the many plates and serving dishes Mom left.

We would have finished in July, but I had an accident and my mobility was compromised. We had all the boxes in our living room for more than two months already, so I decided to get help from Ally Canita, our decluttering coach.

For two days last week Ally and her team helped us unbox and sort the leftover items. They matched all the plate sets and segregated the other items (mostly clothes from those who lived in our house). By the end of the second day all the boxes for donation were sent to Goodwill and they found places to keep what I wanted to use.

It's nice to get back out living and dining room. I just need to get it deep cleaned and then we can decorate for Christmas!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sunday Busy Day

My mind is currently in busy mode. We have to work on sorting the boxes faster. Sweetie takes care of getting them. I take care of sorting. 

Keep. Donate. Throw. We keep three boxes nearby as I work on sorting. We switched gears and started working on my Mom's room. Most of the boxes were sewing materials, some bags and shoes. I was surprised there was not many clothes. It might be in another room.

Bailey inspecting a cabinet from my childhood home

After doing some ironing, I continued sorting. Mom really had a lot of knick knacks and it takes a lot of time to sort it. I was able to put together a box of shoes and belts for donation. I hope it would still be useful.

I think I'll be doing the same thing for a few more weeks, but hope to finish soon.

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe