Another term for "living estate auction' would be 'downsizing.' My parents did that when they moved from their house in town up to the mountains where I now live.

A regular estate auction is when the owner(s) are all dead, and it is a liquidation for the estate. It is common to see family members there glaring at each other. I'll never forget one I went to where the deceased woman made porcelain dolls for a hobby and there was a lot of fabric and doll parts. The sale was grinding along, not bringing in much money, and then all of a sudden there was big interest in one of the tables. The daughter who was in charge halted the auction and started dividing the boxes into smaller lots so they would bring more revenue. The auctioneer said 'but you don't understand' meaning the boxes had already been given lot numbers so now it was going to be hard to keep track of who bought what. And the daughter said "no YOU don't understand" meaning the siblings would give her a hard time for not getting the most out of the auction.

A living estate auction usually has the owners hovering around the edge somewhere. It's hard to see your stuff spread out in the sunshine. All the worn edges on the sofa arms show up, and there's that table full of linens and gifts that were too good use, set aside for a day of indulgence that never came. This type of sale is not without regrets and family discord. In our case, I found that my mother was auctioning off furniture she had promised to give to me, and one of her friends came to me and complained that she was selling an item that the friend had given to my mother, but now she wanted it back.

Here are some pictures from an upcoming auction near Greeley, Colorado. I love the grainy quality.



Mr. Troutbend played with a Marx gas station like this one.



I have a trunk just like this out on the porch of one of the cabins. It's nice inside, and I use it for storing blankets.



The reason I like this one is it reminds me of the cover of the 1914 Popular Mechanics that has an article about my house in it.





Does this picture on the front look familiar to you? It was sold through the Home Interiors parties, and you see it all the time in Colorado. Formerly displayed with pride in living rooms, they are now more common in thrift stores and basements piled against the wall like this.



My dad always carried a pocket knife. See that yellow on top center? He had one just like that for many years.



I've decided that although some people call it hoarding, the reason we keep things that belonged to our loved ones is so when we come across those items we are reminded of them. Now, mind you, some of these hoarders apparently have fond memories that are triggered by empty pizza boxes and fast food drink cups; their reason for allowing them to pile up ceiling-high in their living rooms.