Someone you loved has died, and now you’re tasked with selling off their personal items. This can be an overwhelming process, but one that can be done with grace. Here are a few tips in successfully undertaking this task.

Keep what you’d like

Immediate family should decide if there are any items of the deceased that will not be sold. Whether it’s a special dress, family jewelry or an important china set that has been handed down in the family, there are items that will not be presented to the public for sale. Different things have meaning to different people, so do your best to let everyone in the immediate family decide if there’s something they’d like to keep.

Hire an appraiser

There may be things thought completely worthless, but are actually valued at quite a bit of money. Boxes of dusty books or old records may, in fact, be collector’s items. A piece of jewelry you thought costume might, in fact, be solid gold. Don’t throw things out or give things away before an appraiser has had a chance to access them.

Consider hiring an estate company

Estate companies can help sort through items, clean them up if need be, price them out and place a price tag on them as well.

Estate companies can also host the sale—which usually lasts two to three days—and help dispose of remaining items as well, through recycling, donation or trash. Estate companies can clean the house, add up the sales proceeds and, after deducting their fee, present to the family the total amount of earnings. Estate attorneys are always great sources with recommending experienced estate companies.