The first days of downsizing or handling an estate can be overwhelming. Often you’re left with the task of making a decision about every single thing in a house—a difficult job especially if it’s someone else’s stuff accumulated over decades. Where to start?

Our best advice is to look at your estate like an expert would—someone without sentiment who can make quick and honest judgements about your possessions and their value.

Remember no one cares about your stuff like you do, so once you’ve decided to sell it, you need to be prepared to do it intelligently and efficiently. An expert will focus on items that have either an intrinsic value (like gold and silver) or items that have an established resale marketplace (like fine art and high-end collectibles). The rest is considered simply household furnishings that are only valuable to someone who will actually use them. Most furniture, accessories, clothing, and garage items fall into the latter category and should be sold on site if possible to minimize shipping costs.

Start by sorting your jewelry into Fine and Costume.

Get a loupe or magnifying glass to look for marks near clasps or rear construction that say 10K, 14k, 18K, or if you’re lucky 22K. These refer to the gold content in the piece. 10K being the least at about 42% gold up to 22K, which is almost solid. Pieces made in Europe or elsewhere will be numbered like 333, 585 and 750 and denote the same gold content. Words like “Gold Filled” or “Gold Plated” mean there is only a micro bit of gold and aren’t valuable unless made by a desirable brand. Such is the lesson of Costume Jewelry. Some of the most expensive jewelry we’ve sold has been gold plated by Chanel and Dior, so even though it isn’t pure gold, the brand is important. Look for names like Miriam Haskell, Trifari, Monet, Weiss, and Givenchy for example, which can be very valuable to collectors. Check sold results on eBay for a quick reference.

After you’ve culled your jewelry, go to the dining room and look for the silver.

Take out a fork and look at the back. If it isn’t stamped “Sterling” it is NOT silver. Don’t be fooled by letters and works like EPNS, Quadraplate, International Silver, and Silver Soldered. Those are all silver plate and have little value. If, however, you have English or European silver, you may see symbols like lions, and roman looking heads. These are all marks used in England, France, and Austria to signify silver content. Again use a loop to spot them and do a google search. Numbers like 800, 900, 925 and 950 all refer to the amount of silver content and are valuable. These lessons hold true for bowls, platters and other serving pieces.

After jewelry and silver, move onto the furniture.

Unless your house is filled with hand-made antiques that may require an expert to review, look for labels and stamps inside drawers and cabinet doors to reveal the makers. The best Post War furniture will have names that are easy to evaluate. Baker, Kittinger, and Henkel Harris, are among the best makers and do sell in good condition, but don’t be sad if you only get 10% of what you paid for your brown furniture and upholstery.

Then look in your china and display cabinets, and start flipping things over to look for maker’s marks.

Again, unless you’ve got really old stuff, it’s going to be marked. All your china, vases, collectibles and bric-a-brac can add up in value. Names like Baccarat, Lalique, Royal Crown Derby, Herend, Steuben, Spode and Wedgwood are good starts and easy to look up on eBay.

When you get to the art, check the signatures against auction databases like liveauctioneers.com. Most good art has some auction record and can be easily found.

Remember virtually everything in your house is trying to tell you what it is. You just need to “listen” to the clues.

Pro Tip:

When trying to find value in an estate it’s important to imagine yourself as a total stranger in the house–with absolutely no emotional ties to anything. Once you pull yourself away and look at your possessions as nothing more than used stuff, it will be easier to divide your things into treasure or trash.

The experts at Hunt and Peck Estate Services can help you get the most value from your estate or downsize.