Senior downsizing or a parent's house in Albuquerque: free pickup, at your pace

Forty years in one house means a workshop, a garage, a collection or three, and a family with not enough weekends. Send me photos as you go, and the job gets a plan. No rush from me — but if there’s a move-in date at the new place or a listing date for the house, tell me and I’ll say honestly what I can do by then.

What usually has a second life in a long-lived-in house

• The workshop: hand tools, power tools, hardware, the vintage stuff that's worth more than new — and a drafting table, a flat file or a hobby printing press if there is one
• Electronics and audio across four decades — working or not
• Sewing machines, cameras, records and the stereo, books (those go to a local book donation drop box), collections of every kind
• Camping and sporting gear, bikes, instruments
• Small appliances and quality kitchen gear
• Vintage & quality furniture — mid-century, antique, New Mexican carved, solid wood, old steel desks and cabinets (photo the whole piece and any maker’s mark; tell me the stairs)
• Home-health equipment parts — power-chair controllers and wheelchair parts, adjustable-bed motors, control boxes and remotes, lift-chair motors, working or not (parts, not medical supplies; a whole chair or bed: send a photo first — no promise. From hospice or rented? The supplier’s sticker tells you who to call — ask whether it’s yours now)
• Shop, service and aviation manuals, and technical instruments — microscopes, slide rules, drafting and test gear
• Quality clothing and shoes — brand-name outdoor apparel (Patagonia, Burton, KUHL, Stormy Kromer), designer labels, workwear, vintage and western, good leather boots, vintage wool camp blankets (a photo of the labels and soles tells me)

Things like these have already gone to buyers through me — a few, in my own eBay listing photos:

What I’m hunting right now: printing presses & type · flat files & drafting cabinets · old mail sorters (nothing marked USPS property) · vintage signs & neon · vintage & quality furniture · vintage & industrial lighting · old door hardware · architectural salvage · shop pieces · vintage film cameras · tube radios & old hi-fi · ham radios, test gear & slide rules · vintage toys & games — the whole want list.

Family first, then me

Keep what matters. Let everyone take their turn. There's no clock on my side — send photos of what's left whenever you're ready, room by room if that's easier. I'll tell you what I can take free and give you an honest list for the rest: Habitat ReStore or GiveABQ for everyday furniture, the City of Albuquerque for large items, a hauler only if truly needed.

Doing it yourself? Start with the room-by-room plan for clearing a parent's house. Only home for the holidays? See how to help a parent downsize in one visit. Holding a sale first? Afterward, see estate-sale leftovers.

Moving to assisted living or a smaller place

When a parent moves to assisted living, a senior community or a smaller home, the new place sets the limit: what fits comes along, family chooses next, and everything else needs a good home. Start with the rooms nobody is using — the garage, the workshop, the storage closets — and leave the bedroom for last. Hall and bedroom closets often hold the best finds of all: good leather boots, wool coats, a vintage camp blanket in the cedar chest. Quality clothing and shoes are worth a photo of the labels.

• What I take free, by request: workshop tools, electronics (working or not), records, cameras, sewing machines, sporting and camping gear, instruments, appliances, collectibles, home-health equipment parts (power-chair controllers, adjustable-bed motors and remotes), manuals and technical instruments, quality clothing and shoes (brand-name, vintage, western, good leather boots) — and vintage, antique, mid-century or solid-wood furniture (not particleboard or worn upholstered pieces). Not worn or everyday clothes, or linens.
• Everyday furniture in good shape: Habitat ReStore picks up large donations — (505) 265-0057, call to confirm what they take.
• Big items nobody wants: the City of Albuquerque's Large Item Pick-Up, at the curb, for residential trash customers (call 311).
• What's left after that: a paid hauler, only when it's truly needed — call for a quote.

How a clear-out works with me

1. Send photos — wide shots of every room, garage, and closet. Don't sort first — but open the closets: good boots, coats and labels are worth a photo (quality clothing & shoes). I read every request personally.
2. I reply honestly: what I can take free (the resale-worthy share), what a charity or the city will take, and what needs a paid hauler. You get a plan, not just a truck.
3. Pickup by request, around my routes. I'm one person with a trailer and a forklift; I'll tell you what's realistic for your date rather than overpromise. Drop-off by text is the surest option for smaller loads.
4. Afterward, a Reclaim Receipt: a note telling you where the things actually went.

Working with a senior move manager

If a senior move manager, realtor or estate attorney is running the move, they can text me photos directly. I take the resale-worthy share free and tell them exactly who takes the rest. Professionals, see partners.

Text me a photo → Or use the request form