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Guides 11

• Sorting a house full of photographs

  Photographs are the one thing in a house you can't judge by size or weight. Start with the albums, keep the ask pile separate, and write names on the back while somebody can still answer the question.

• Sorting a storage unit without paying for it twice

  A storage unit is a monthly bill attached to a pile of decisions you have not made yet. Here is how to empty one deliberately.

• Sorting tools in a garage or workshop

  Rusty hand tools, dead cordless drills, a bench vise and a half-full can of old paint each leave the garage a different way. Clear the floor first and sort by type before you decide what any of it is worth.

• What to do with a mattress nobody will take

  Most charities won't take a used mattress and most haulers won't pick one up without a call first. Work through the store, the hauler and the donation desk before it ends up in the alley.

• Photographing stuff for sale

  Good photos are not about a good camera. They are about light, framing and photographing the flaws nobody wants to photograph.

• Clearing an estate: the first few days

  What to do before anything is sold, donated or thrown out, and why the order matters more than the speed.

• Dividing a parent's belongings with your siblings

  The argument is usually about a chair, not money. Agree on what's already promised, photograph the house before anything moves, and keep the sentimental list separate from the valuable one.

• Going through a parent's paperwork

  A file cabinet is mostly junk mail and a few documents that are hard to replace. Pull the legal and financial papers first, keep the original order, and don't shred anything until you've seen the whole folder.

• Sorting a bookshelf quickly

  Books are heavy and mostly worthless. A twenty-minute pass per shelf finds the few that are not.

• Sorting a record collection: the fast pass

  Most of a collection is worth very little and a few records are worth a lot. The skill is separating them without listening to all of them.

• Where to start when there is too much stuff

  A house full of possessions is not one job, it is a few hundred small decisions. This is the order that keeps you from making them twice.