THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021 Page 17 S y Senior How to Downsize Your Home for a Move Sa e a t D BY JIM MILLER Dear Willa, The process of weeding through a house full of stuff and parting with old possessions is difficult and overwhelming for most people. A good place to start is to see if your kids, grandkids or other family members would like any of your unused possessions. Whatever they don’t want, here are a few tips and services that may help you downsize. Sell It Selling your stuff is one way to get rid of your possessions and pad your pocketbook at the same time. Selling options may include consignment shops, a garage sale, estate sale and selling online. Consignment shops are good for selling old clothing, household furnishings and decorative items – they typically get 30 to 40 percent of the sale price. A good old-fashion garage sale is another option, or for largescale downsizing you could hire an estate sale company to come in and sell your items. See EstateSales.net and EstateSales.org to locate options in your area. Some estate companies will even pick up your stuff and sell it at their own location – they typically take about 35 percent of the profi ts. Selling online is also a great option and opens you up to a wider audience. The OfferUp app (OfferUp.com), Facebook Marketplace (Facebook. com/marketplace), Craigslist (Craigslist.org) and the CPlus for Craigslist app (Yanfl ex.com) are great options for selling locally, which can eliminate the packing and shipping costs and hassle. These websites and apps also don’t take a cut of your sales, but you’re responsible for connecting with your buyer and making the exchange of money and goods. Donate It If you itemize on your tax returns, donating your belongings to charitable organizations is another way to downsize and get a tax deduction. The Salvation Army (SAtruck. org, 800-728-7825) will actually come to your house and pick up a variety of household items, including furnishings Senio nior i nir ior Y Dear Savvy Senior, What tips can you off er for downsizing? My husband and I would like to relocate from our house into a retirement community condo near our daughter but need to get rid of a lot of personal possessions before we can move. Overwhelmed Willa and clothing. Goodwill (Goodwill.org) is another good option to donate to but they don’t offer pickup services. If your deductions exceed $500, you’ll need to fi le Form 8283, “Noncash Charitable Contributions” (IRS.gov/pub/ irs-pdf/f8283.pdf). You’ll also need a receipt from the organization for every batch of items you donate and will need to create an itemized list of the items donated. To calculate fair market value for your stuff, use the Salvation Army’s donation guide at SAtruck.org/home/donationvalueguide. Toss It If you have a lot of junk you want to get rid of, contact your municipal trash service to see if they provide bulk curbside pickup services. Or, depending on where you live, you could hire a company like 1-800-Got-Junk (1800gotjunk.com, 800-468-5865) or Junk-King (Junk-King.com, 888-888-5865) to come in and haul it off for a moderate fee. Another disposal option is Bagster (TheBagster.com, 877-789-2247) by Waste Management. This is a dumpster bag that you purchase for around $30, fi ll it to a limit of 3,300 pounds and schedule a pickup, which costs anywhere between $100 and $300 depending on your area. Get Help If you want or need some help, consider hiring a senior move manager. These are professional organizers who help older adults and their families with the daunting process of downsizing and moving to a new residence. To locate one in your area, visit the National Association of Senior Move Managers at NASMM. org or call 877-606-2766. You can also search at Caring Transitions (CaringTransitions.com), which is a large senior relocation and transition services franchise company that has more than 200 franchises nationwide. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. SACHEMS | FROM PAGE 7 mistakes out there – which has been our issue all season with such a young team – but the guys kept battling and came up with the big plays at the right time.” The contest was deadlocked at 2-2 after seven innings. Peabody took a 2-0 lead early and kept it until the fi fth when the Sachems erupted for two runs to tie it. The visiting Tanners retook the advantage with a tally in the top of the ninth. Casaletto not only stroked the winning hit (he fi nished with two hits in the game) but also earned the win on the mound. He tossed three innings of relief and allowed one run on three hits. He fanned four batters. Along with Macone’s game-tying RBI, Ryan Anderson and Kyle McLaughlin drove in runs. Michael Howard had two hits, including a two-bagger, and Sean O’Rourke, Nathan Ing and Anthony Cicolini also contributed hits. Moving forward, Saugus will look to seize on the good feeling of Wednesday’s lategame upset triumph over an always-strong Peabody team. The only previous one-run win for the Sachems this year was a 3-2 victory over Gloucester back on May 11. “I’m hoping this gives us a lot of momentum. That’s a Division I team we beat, so now we’ve maybe stolen a game that we weren’t supposed to win,” Luis said. “Right now, we’re just trying to prepare for the [postseason] tournament and get better every day.” The Sachems return to action on Monday when they host Salem at World Series Park (scheduled 4 p.m. start). METRO | FROM PAGE 5 with energy-effi cient mechanical systems, provisions for solar panels and vegetated roofs. The compact, four-story design will feature an upper-level courtyard, roof decks and a double-height library rotunda. NEMT was selected from hundreds of applicants to receive funding for a feasibility study, a process that revealed building a new school is the most economical and educationally appropriate option in addressing the defi ciencies of the current school. Members of the community are reminded that the latest updates regarding the project and details about future community forums will be posted to the building project website and Facebook page as they become available. 1. June 4 is National Donut Day; what people are credited with bringing olykoeks (“oily cakes” or donuts) to America? 2. What book by Ray Bradbury was originally called “The Fireman”? 3. On June 5, 1883, the first long distance run of what passenger train departed Paris? 4. Which island had an ancient ritual of bull-leaping? 5. On June 6, 1933, wet concrete was first poured on what would later become the Hoover Dam, which created Lake Mead on what river? 6. How are the names of a German spa and New York prison similar? 7. What TV show had days of the week called “Circus Day,” “Anything Can Happen Day” and “Talent Roundup Day”? 8. What was called “The Curse of the Bambino”? 9. On June 7, 1982, Graceland was opened to the public; what room in which Elvis Presley had died was kept off limits? 10. What city’s transport system is known as the “L”? 11. In baseball what does SB stand for? 12. June 8 is World Oceans Day; what is the world’s largest living structure? 13. What Richard Wagner opera inspired Boston’s Swan Boats? 14. What is the Hyper Text Coff ee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP)? 15. In what century was General Tso’s chicken fi rst cooked? 16. On June 9, 1973, what horse won the Triple Crown? 17. Dutch cabbage salad is better known as what? 18. What two planets do not have moons? 19. What is cassoulet? 20. On June 10, 1964, the U.S. Senate ended what to enable passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? ANSWERS 1. The Dutch, who settled New Amsterdam (Manhattan) 2. “Fahrenheit 451” 3. The Orient Express 4. Crete 5. The Colorado River 6. They are composed of repeated words (Baden-Baden and Sing-Sing) 7. “The Mickey Mouse Club” 8. When the Red Sox had a longtime losing streak (blamed on Babe Ruth [the “Bambino”]) until they won three World Series 9. The bathroom 10. Chicago’s 11. Stolen base 12. The Great Barrier Reef off of Australia’s coast 13. “Lohengrin” 14. An April Fool’s joke memo published in 1998 by “The Internet Society” 15. The 20th (reportedly invented in Taiwan in the 1950s) 16. Secretariat 17. Koolsla (coleslaw) 18. Venus and Mercury 19. A French bean casserole 20. A fi libuster
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