This is a fabulous idea. I bet they love starting over!

Eh, I think in this day and age debt is just a part of life. I like the idea but if it were me I'd probably start accumulating debt trying to replace those things. I guess that isn't really the point though.

Compartment Life- your comment scares me!! It doesn't have to be part of life!! It is such a free feeling not to be in debt to anyone and I think that mindset is a reason our country is i trouble!! Good for them!!! Wish I lived closer so I could shop their sale :)

Sure, getting debt-free is great, but a quasi-estate sale can't come close to paying off a household's debt. Besides, the sellers still will need essentials such as beds. The math doesn't add up unless there's something else going on that wasn't mentioned. Maybe next they will sell their decluttered house to buy a smaller home, such as a condo, in cash to be mortgage-free. The difference after income tax might be used to clear their remaining debts. A smaller home also would reduce the temptation of retail therapy, helping them to stay debt-free. Wouldn't that make sense, especially for families like empty-nesters?

It sounds like this couple has gone the Dave Ramsey route and is serious about "selling so much stuff, the kids think they're next." Every time hubby and I start thinking about selling stuff, we feel that we don't own anything other people would actually want. I like how they are thinking outside of the box!

I think it's great to see that these people are at least trying something.
I agree with creativecoley about Compartment Life's comment.
The attitude of just accepting debt and need to just buy frivolous stuff, is a mind set that could use some cleaning out.

They may already be planning to sell the home but, since they're underwater with the mortgage, need to bring a check to closing. Selling off all the household items will help fund that.

I hope this helps them get out from under oppressive debt. I also hope that they don't repeat the past and get stuck again.

I think it's great they are trying to get out of debt but you can only be truly debt free if you don't have a mortgage. I also think they would likely get more money if they posted antiques individually on craigslist.

The furnishings sale would help empty the home, making it look bigger and so more attractive to prospective buyers, if they're planning to sell that next.

Many of the comments here are suppositions based on a lack of knowledge. Nobody knows the real reason these folks are liquidating....maybe they've collected so much over time that it's time to sell off some of their collection.....maybe there is a medical emergency or some other issue that we don't know about.

The gist of this is, it's a great idea for someone to sell off a bunch of posessions in hopes that like-minded folks will appreciate what they are buying.

I think this idea could work well if the sellers own a lot of nice things and can bear to part with the peices they don't absolutely need. I mean... I would assume these sellers are hanging on to the essentials like their bed.

Depending on how much debt they have and how valuable their furniture is, perhaps they could pay it down.

I have to agree with people who say debt is a part of life. I don't think its a good idea to run out and buy things you don't need on credit, but certain things are essential. I don't know anyone who is able to pay for their college education, a car, or a home without taking out loans. I know that not everyone wants or needs these things, but I think for a lot of people they are important!

Sure, regardless of their situation the sale sounds like a way to make some money and empty space without much work.

I agree with creativecoley on Compartment Life's comment. That seems like a scary mindset. I think debt free should be the goal and I applaud the sellers in working towards that. Sure a little bit of debt is the norm, but it certainly doesn not have to be!

excuse my ignorance but whats the difference between this and a regular estate sale?

omg. i'm so glad you live in my city. thanks for posting this.

People do this all the time, have house sales, when they are moving, splitting up, or downsizing. Sometimes they list it as a whole sale of pieces in one style, other times they list individual pieces on craigslist or elsewhere. And, for those of us who live in cities, and don't have yards to drag stuff out into, having sales in apartments or houses has always been the way to go.

They sound like smart Dave Ramsey fans for sure! Live like no one else today so you can live like no one else tomorrow.

Debt is not a part of life, it's a force of habit.

Unrelated but, I love seeing more KC ppl on here!

@MyAliya
Well, in a regular estate sale, the owners of the stuff being sold are supposed to be dead.

I did the "Dance of Joy" when we downsized from our 3000 sf house (multi-generational, so don't judge) to less than half the size. I wish I had done it indoors.

Getting out of debt and living a simpler life is the New Black.

I'm surprised how many of the comments have been about the debt aspect of the post and not the format of the sale. Do you think that seeing stuff in its natural habitat (on a wall, on a table, etc.) would make the stuff seem more appealing, and therefore go for a price premium? Or do you think people would psychologically feel like they were taking what's yours and be hesitant to buy?

@MyAliya
Ok, wiki says I'm wrong. I guess it is basically an estate sale. I think I've actually seen a similar listing (must have been in the philly area) before, though.

I'm addicted to CL, but my tastes are getting a bit minimalistic, so I currently have excess furniture from earlier overenthusiasm. I hope what I make on reselling will finance any future purchases, so it's all self-contained. Also so I don't have to withdraw cash anymore.

My goal is zero debt within six years. Our credit cards are paid in full each month because, like I tell my husband, if we can't afford to pay for something with cash then logically we can't afford to pay for it plus loan interest. The exceptions were car and student loans and a refinanced mortgage, of which only the mortgage remains. Compare interest rates, it may make sense to use savings to pay debts. Forget keeping up with the Joneses in the new normal.

I have a feeling that the prices won't exactly be bargain barrel, since I feel like at normal garage sales the stuff is generally things that the sellers consider junk, and is priced accordingly. If you love all of the stuff you're selling, you understand it's worth to like-minded people and it will be priced accordingly. Either way, it sounds like a really fun sale.

I absolutely applaud them for prioritizing their financial freedom over owning a bunch of cute but unnecessary stuff. While debt may be a fact of life for most homeowners, I think it is unhealthy to just say WELP I'M ALREADY IN DEBT I MIGHT AS WELL BUY A NEW TV/FURNITURE/ETC. EVERY YEAR AND JUST ENJOY IT. Spending beyond your means without a thought has serious repercussions (see: American debt crisis), and it is really, really good to see people taking steps to minimize their debt instead of enjoy their debt.

@ande2994, I'm more comfortable at yard sales. I'd be hesitant to buy. I didn't buy anything at the few estate sales I've attended. I felt uncomfortable, down, and somehow guilty of disrespectful intrusion. I saw plenty of customers digging cheerfully through things at estate sales, though.

thanks lepidoptery

I always thought garage sales are mostly stuff you want to get rid of to free up space, or get rid of junk you dont want etc, while estate sales are selling everything (or mostly everything) of what you own. So I dont see this post as presenting a new idea, thats all...

I am suspicious of this add as I once saw one like this and the guy was selling MCM stuff out of his house at fair market prices and not really what I thought of as garage sale prices.

I've strayed away from yard sales and mostly just follow up on Craigslist listings. Yard sales rarely have anything I want. I don't buy anything unless I need it so perusing yard sales is a waste of time for someone trying to live an efficient life.

This sale would be interesting though. For the right price I would get some nice Astro or MCM dining room chairs.

I'm also a person who hates debt. I'm a student who saves for almost everything. I do have subsidized student loans, and a microscopic mortgage my wife and I are ripping apart as fast as we can, but when I graduate and we sell our place we should be well in the black, even after I pay off my loans, so I'll never have to pay interest on them. Booya!

The people who live with debt are the people who will almost always have a very low net worth, and almost all of their wealth will be tied up in vehicles and their home.

I'd rather live debt free in a modest home and built wealth so I can be financially independent. Credit card debt will never ever be a part of my life. I refuse.

Now that we've bought a house, we're planning on having large sales, selling on ebay, opening an etsy store to get rid of everything that doesn't fit in the new house, and then some. The point is to keep collecting, but not become hoarders. Scary! Cleaning out all debt except the mortgage is part of the plan, we did most of that before buying the house.

My first guess is that all this MCM/Danish Modern furniture is how they got into debt in the first place, that's how the ad makes it sound. In that case, of course selling it'll help pay down the debt.

I went the Dave Ramsey/Clark Howard/Suze Orman route a couple years ago and am mostly debt-free. So reading this stuff makes me feel guilty about buying crap to clutter up my house, eek! Buyers remorse from my thrift store trip today!

Being debt free is a beautiful thing. When my boyfriend divorced his ex he had enough from the sale of their house to buy a piece of property with a run down house, and since he's a carpenter could tear it down to the foundation and build fresh. Neither of us had much, and we're slowly buying and decorating now, through Craigslist, thrift stores and flea markets. But the house is ours, free and clear and both of us drive older cars so no mortgage or car payment either. If we don't have the cash, we don't buy it. If we had to sell everything to get to this point we'd probably do it and start over.

Anybody who decides to do this - be careful. I didn't think twice about moving some stuff inside when I had a garage sale. Some customers took this as a free-for-all and offered to buy literally everything in the house from my gym shoes to the appliances. This didn't happen but theft would have been easy since you can't keep everyone concentrated in one area like you could in a yard. One would hope that a home of this caliber would attract more polite customers. But be sure to prepare for less than scrupulous people if you decide to open your home to the general public.

I'm lucky to have scored one of the five presale passes on Friday. I'll let you know what I find!

Let me throw in some info that lead up to this decision in our life. My husband and I have had a tough 2011 as most families experience in the forms of rising gas prices, employment or lack of, etc. – yay ECONOMY! On a personal level, I do my best, as a wife and mother, to help keep expenses at a low and/or not at all. We don’t and never really have lived beyond what we could afford. We don’t have cable, we have the basic phone plans, we fix meals in our home, and we don’t eat out. You’ll quickly learn why as you read on.
We live in a spacious but small 4 bedroom 60’s ranch home that is filled with (what we think to be beautiful) mid-century items we have hand-picked up throughout our years from sales, antique stores, shops and Craigslist. This is not why we are in a financial bind. The financial strain came after losing my job in January. My husband still works full time but my income was large enough to pay for most of our home expenses. The home is also filled with 6 children that mean more to us than any era of furniture and/or decor.
As much as I would love to keep our belongings, our rare finds, our estate sale bargains - we find that the only things in our home that we are truly emotionally tied to are each other. We had to make some hard (very hard) decisions in coming up with this plan. Is it flawless? Will it pay off all our debt? No. What we do feel strongly about, is that it is a step in the right direction. What good is a home filled with beautiful "things" that if you wait too long you risk losing the home that stores them? Do you see? It’s not a sympathy card – it is purely a choice. It’s the route we chose to take to get us out of debt. To be able to wake up and feel excited about something instead of feeling the revolving door of fear. It's a matter of our responsibility to our kids and to each other = our future.
I'm not the only one making sacrifices, my husband is selling a 25 year collection of rare guitar gear, guitars, drums; a vast amount of musical gear that he has had all his life – these are his babies. These hold a lot of history and a passion that only a true musician would understand. He’s doing that for us. How could I not give up the passion that I have – my mid-century love of stuff! We make these sacrifices so our kids see and learn from us. That is our job as parents. Am I right?
Please don't allow yourself to resign to the idea that debt is inevitable and it’s a way of life. We have set a very high and attainable goal to become debt free in the next couple of years. These small sacrifices you see posted in this ad are, in fact, our future for a better and more sustainable lifestyle as our kids grow and as we grow old together. We will have opportunities throughout life to make a new collection of items. It’s not so hard. This time, we will know that we are buying it with cash.
My husband, the musician, and me, the artist, are far too smart and creative to stress out about the bills that aren't being paid. It doesn't make any sense when we are desperate for a break in the debt while we sit on a $500 dollar sofa? We got smart. We thought outside the box. We found our solution.

We have an amazing group of kids. They are full of promise and happiness. They believe that we, as parents, will always provide. That's what this is about. We need to put aside our wants for material things and start fresh with a debt free home.
We want to make smart choices. I believe this is good for us. I have said my goodbyes to all my things. We, of course, keep all the necessities...beds, dressers, board games, all the children's belongings (hands off) and a few things we simply can't part with. Again, we never were hoarders or had the space for too much, anyhow.
We really do feel liberated, optimistic and thank God for this great intervention. No worries over feeling weird about things being sold. BUY! BUY! BUY! We chose to open our home - simply because it made sense to not make extra work for our busy family. If things don't sell, we reassess our goals and move forward - good thing will be everything will still be in place. My two oldest kids have volunteered to help during the sale. Our most important priority while sending our debt to zero is to not let this disrupt the kids’ lifestyle. Yes, they have to drink from liters instead of cans. Yes, they have to restrict snacks throughout the day. They are being responsible with us.
In all this, we are extremely fortunate. We have our health, love, family, and friends. We can't afford to sell our home - as we have a big family and need what space we have. Once I get work - and I have two opportunities this week - yay me - we will continue to kill the debt once and for all. We don't have a lot of debt, but it is important to remove all that we do have. It's a matter of choice.
Yes. I listen to Dave Ramsey every day. GAZELLE INTENSE! Yes. He inspired us - we inspired each other to do this. We are a rare breed - my husband and I. This will work because we work well together, we believe in each other and our family. We are both making huge sacrifices with the things we love to pay off all our debt in the next couple of years. Our prices are not garage sale prices (well, many things are) but this is only because some of the items aren't junk items.
So *sigh* in closing....thanks for everyone's feedback / comments. I love reading them and I adore this site. It's a part of my morning ritual. God bless and wish us well.
All the best, Mrs. Whitmore

oops - I should add that I am the one that posted the CL ad. I know....long winded Suz. :)

I not only wish you and yours well, I respect you for responding sensibly to changing fortunes. It's tempting to play ostrich and carry on as usual until the cards are maxed out on foolishness. We did that once while my husband was unemployed. You also have your priorities straight, a valuable trait that's unfortunately rare. This recession won't go away any time soon, and your positive example is encouraging. Thanks for sharing what's happening and, again, best wishes.

I applaud anyone for doing what works for them, definitely. That said, I would rather be in debt and have things around me that I love. I'm pretty damn po', but I've slowly collected beautiful things (dumpster diving/yard sales/careful investments on sale pieces), and in a life filled with financial and other stress sometimes having things around me that I love is all that keeps me going.

I would totally sell a car if I realized I had gone over my head into debt for it, or downsize from a bigger house with very expensive furniture to a simpler lifestyle if debt were choking me. But I think there's an assumption about financial situations going on when people assume that selling your stuff is a viable step to getting out of debt. A lot of us aren't in debt because we collect expensive stuff or live in a house too big for us, we're in debt because at some point it was the only way to get by.

This is what happens when you have a woman who makes bad life decisions based only on HER needs. She is incapable of seeing the big picture and how it affects others.

She convinced a man to move 1000 miles away from his own child to only dump him 6 months after he moved for her!!! She said she loved him, wanted to marry him and have his child and then only a few months after she kicks him out of her house - she marries someone else and has yet another child.

I feel bad for people who are in debt because of no fault of their own. This is not this woman. It is sad that she has another man making sacrifices for her. Poor guy shouldn't be having to sell his musical items.

She said the same stuff about the man who moved for her - that they work well together, they believe in each other, they love each other.....