A house full of things. A family’s worth of decisions.

The Great Sort is an independent guide to downsizing a home and settling an estate — what it’s worth, how to sell it, and how to leave things in good order.

What we cover

Three questions, answered without a sales pitch.

What it’s worth

Honest valuations, including when the honest answer is “not much.” What the market pays for furniture, china, jewelry, and collections — before anyone quotes you a price.

How to sell it

Estate sales, online auctions, consignment, and outright buyouts — their fees compared side by side. We name the costs and pick no favorites.

In good order

The executor’s side of the work: organizing an estate so whoever comes after isn’t left with chaos, and so the decisions that remain are clear ones.

The Dossier

A free tool for documenting what you own.

Before anyone can tell you what your things are worth, they have to see them clearly. The Dossier is a free tool that guides you through photographing and describing the contents of a home, one piece at a time, and builds a record you own outright. It puts no price on anything and takes nothing to sell; it simply gives an appraiser, an auction house, or an estate-sale company a clear place to start.

See how the Dossier works →

The Sold Index

What downsizing items actually sold for.

Asking prices are easy to find. Sold prices are the ones that matter. The Sold Index is a quarterly record of what real downsizing items — the dining sets, the silver, the mid-century pieces — brought at sale, so you can price your own with your eyes open. The Pilot Edition is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Get the first edition →

Our promise

Independent, and plain about it.

  • We name the fees — every commission, buyer’s premium, and cut — so you can compare them.
  • We disclose any referral relationship on every page it touches.
  • We take no payment for coverage. No company can buy a recommendation.
  • We’ll tell you when something isn’t worth selling.

Start here

The real cost of emptying the house.

Clearing a family home costs more than most people expect — in fees, in time, and in the pieces that turn out to be worth less than the memory of them. Our first guide walks through the numbers before you commit to anyone.

Read the guide →