First, I gotta say YAY! I got more giftcards in the mail today:
$20 Bed, Bath & Beyond
$20 Lowes
Grand total in Gift Cards: $120.00 NICE!

Spent most of the day today with my sister at my great-aunt's house. She passed away last year. We're selling the house at the end of May & we've been sorting through all her stuff. Most of its been falling on my mother's & my shoulders, with my sister helping a little bit.

As sad as it is, we've been dividing up her stuff. Some of it was in her will, but most of the stuff is to be divided between my sister, my mom & myself.

As I'm looking to buy a home soon, this is a blessing. I'm getting the Cherry Dining Room set, which is a table, chairs, buffet, china cabinet & server. All beautiful pieces. I was willed the china. I'm also taking the kitchen table and chairs...they're a pretty oak. I'm taking part of a bedroom set, not all of it is worth taking, so I'm only taking the dresser & the bookcase.

My sister is taking some mirrors & the nicest bedroom set (she's loved it since she was like 6), as well as a loveseat. She also picked out a classic set of Charles Dickens books.

My mother is taking the silver, the tea service and a table.

It seems like I'm getting much more than my mother & sister, but neither one wants or needs any more than what they are taking. When I told them I feel guilty taking so much, they yelled at me. I'm starting with no furniture, so it makes sense to take more.

We've already sorted the most important stuff...the memories. Decades of family pictures & memoribilia. We'll be making copies of the most important pictures & making scrapbooks for each of us as well as a few cousins.

My roommate was surprised that we will be giving the rest of the furniture to an estate company (we get a fee & they take it away). She said she would have kept absolutely everything. I told her we didn't need all of it.

If my aunt's house wasn't in another state, we wouldn't probably use the estate company, but rather sell the pieces ourselves. But with all the travel required, this is just easier and less stressful. As it is, we'll be using a moving company to get the furniture we are taking to our homes.

I'll have to put the pieces in storage until I buy a house...time to revamp the budget again.