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The baby boomers, long known as the collectors of “stuff” are now learning how to get rid of excess “stuff” and downsize into smaller living quarters.  Children are helping their aging parents downsize with as little emotional strain as possible.

Here are ten tips to help you decide what to keep, sell, donate, or gift and when to call in professional help.

1.  Accept that downsizing is tough.

Dispensing of 50 or more years of collected “stuff” is not an easy undertaking.  There is emotional and physical strain on everyone  involved, especially the aging parent that is having to let go of keepsakes and memories.  It is  very personal.

2.  Find trusted experts.

Do-it-yourselfers who try to have garage sales and tag sales run the risk of under pricing items.  Hire a professional that knows what things are worth or knows where to find the information.

3.  Call in an appraiser.

If you have questions about the contents that you are dispensing of, call an expert.  They will come to your home and tell you quickly if you have a  house full of genuine antiques or a house full of garage sale items.  It might cost you a little up front, but it will save you money and peace of mind in the end.

4.  Be wary of family knowledge.

Just because grandma believed something was valuable doesn’t mean it is.  On the other hand, family members may have something that they use daily and don’t recognize that it is valuable.  Have it appraised.

5.  Don’t throw out items prematurely.

If you are not absolutely sure that the items have no value, have them appraised.  You might be throwing money away.

6.  Call an auction house.

Auction houses will also send out specialists to review your household contents and suggest items you might consign.

7.  Donate and deduct.

Either donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army and take the deduction or donate to a local charity that can use the item.

8.  Pass down heirlooms before you die.

You can give away up to $13,000 a year to as many individuals as you’d like without eating into your lifetime exemption from federal gift tax.  The $13,000 includes cash, stocks, or things:  your jewelry, furniture, rare comic books, etc. 

You can give away a lot of stuff, keep it in the family, and there are no tax costs.  says Carol Harrington, an estate lawyer with McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago.  Once you go over the $13,000 per person, Harrington notes, things get more complicated.  You must file a federal gift tax return.

9.  Watch out for capital gains.

Most personal items bought at retail depreciate enormously.  The upside to depreciation:  if you don’t have a gain, you don’t owe capital gains tax.

10.  Remember the estate tax return.

Under current law, on Schedule F of the Form 706 estate tax return, your executor has to list the value of your household goods (this includes jewelry, furs, silverware, books, statuary, vases, oriental rugs, and coin or stamp collections).  Any item valued in excess of $3,000 or any collection valued in excess of $10,000 must be appraised and listed separately.  That’s another reason for getting rid of stuff before you die–provided, that is, it hasn’t appreciated.

Think there won’t be a need to file an estate tax return because your estate is less than the $5 million federal estate tax exemption?  If you’re a surviving spouse counting on a provision known as “portability” where you can carry over part of your late spouse’s unused estate tax exemption, you need to file a return.  Plus, the values for personal items reported on the estate tax return are typically used by beneficiaries to establish their cost basis.

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