We have recently moved to The Villages and have completed the process you are discussing, getting rid of stuff.
First, I contacted a local auctioneering company. They arranged everything I wanted to sell (including 5 sofas!) into lots. They photographed the lots and put the items up for auction on the internet. No one in our front yard calling out bids. It was all done online.There were two in-home visiting periods of two hours each for folks who wanted to inspect a possible purchase. The auction folks came to our home on pickup day and supervised people taking their purchases. They also collected all the money (mostly credit cards), kept track of finances and we got our check in two weeks. We actually got more money than we had expected. Enough to buy a new golf cart!
We donated lots of stuff to Goodwill. The most fun was to give gifts to our friends. Something we knew they would use and enjoy. One other fun thing we discovered is that we actually found items that we loved but had forgotten about.
We started this process in November 2011 and completed it the day we moved, September 10, 2012. So I guess the bottom line here is to start sorting, selling, donating, discarding waaaay earlier than you might think. Take your time. Enjoy the process. How about one drawer per day? Small tasks add up.
It will never be a fun process but you will get through it and be rewarded with a wonderful life here in The Villages. Good luck!
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