Every so often we bring ourselves to dive into the process of decluttering our homes. We all know the feeling of needing a specific shirt or a household item we have disposed of two days earlier. We are reliving the loss of an item we have already said a goodbye to. Now imagine that same feeling magnified by the fact that you never got to say your goodbyes as you haven't disposed of it on purpose. Let's have a look at some unfortunate losses people had to live through.
Money
Money has an obvious value and it helps us know exactly how much we had disposed of. I know several smokers who always tend to keep some cash in their cigarette wrappers. They have all complained that every so often, once they finish a pack, they dispose of it along with the money in it. Luckily, these are usually small amounts. How about those that have lost fortunes by disposing of their savings. There was a Brisbane woman who had decided to declutter her mom's home and ended up donating suitcases full of money (somewhere around $80.000) to charity, Luckily for her, they have managed to find the person who has bought them from a charity store and retrieve most of what was lost. This is a note to everyone out there to double check what they are getting rid of, particularly if it is not their own belongings. Check every pocket, quickly go through pages of every book and open every box. You never know where people hide money from themselves. Your home savings can be a part of your homeowner's insurance but to a limited amount. The amount obviously depends on the insurer but I doubt you would find anyone who will happily insure you for the loss of tens of thousands of dollars.
"The firsts"
The term "firsts", refers to those items which were the first of its kind and had no or little value at the time but increased in value significantly later on. I came across a great example of this while digging through the bin of Nigel Reynolds. He is a journalist who received a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone from JK Rowling herself and decided to throw it away. Today, you can get up to $50.000 for one of these. I do not have a real solution for this as pretty much any item you have can become old and valuable with time. However, appreciate the presents and do not throw away items of artistic value. If you do not care for them, at least give them away to someone that might care.
Jewelry
You would be surprised how much jewelry gets thrown away each day. These tiny items can pretty much hide anywhere and we tend to keep them in 'safe places' instead of safety deposit boxes or at least jewelry boxes. Visit your local landfill site and you may reduce your wedding costs by those of engagement and wedding rings. You can have these items covered by your homeowner's policy if you list them as such but be aware that the policy will cover part of their value only under listed circumstances.
Furniture
On one occasion, back in 2003, we have replaced some of our old appliances. My brother decided to conduct an experiment since we wanted to give some of them away as they were still functional. He took our old washing machine out in the driveway with a note "it works". It was gone within 45 minutes. We were busy inside the house so we did not notice the exact moment they took it away. I assume that the same thing would have happened to anything else we left outside, particularly if it is on a waste collection day. I came across an instance online where contractors took out a $10000 worth kitchen cabinets outside to do the rewiring. They were surprised to see that a garbage truck came by and collected the kitchen. A Rubbish Removal Sydney based service recommends getting in touch with those responsible for your waste the moment you realize something is gone. The sooner you do it, the greater are the chances they will be able to assist. While furniture is more often stolen or damaged in accidents and natural disasters, apparently it can also be lost. Take out a homeowner's policy to keep your piece of mind.
Accidents happen and we are not always fully focused. It is better to protect our valuables, that is, ourselves from the loss of the valuables than regretting it. Make a list of everything you would like to have insured, and browse insurance companies. Go with the one which provides the most suitable coverage and make sure you understand all of the instances for which you are insured, as well as the payouts you can expect.
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