Unbiased. Nonprofit. No ads or money from businesses we rate.
Find, rate, and compare home-improvement contractors, health-care providers, repair shops, financial services, veterinarians, stores, dentists, and more than 100 other types of service providers.
Boston area
Chicago area
Delaware Valley area
Puget Sound area
San Francisco Bay Area
Twin Cities area
Washington, DC area
Ratings of Primary Care Doctors, Specialists, and Surgeons
Ratings of Hospitals
How to Find an Estate Sale Company
The best estate-sale outfits employ staffers with accurate appraisal skills and that will widely advertise your sale to bring in lots of buyers (remember, you get paid only for stuff that sells).
How Estate Sales Work
After you hire a liquidator, its staffers will come in and appraise, price, and arrange the house’s contents. Here’s what to expect from the experience, from contract to after-sale check.
Auctions, Online Estate Sales, Buyouts, and Other Options
Traditional, in-person sales aren’t your only option for liquidating a house’s worth of possessions. You can hire a company to hawk your stuff online or via auction or just accept a lump-sum payout.
Decluttering Strategies: Ways to Shed Your Stuff and Simplify Your Life
From a toss-out-almost-everything approach to hiring a pro organizer, here are concepts and resources for deciding what to keep and what to toss.
How to Get Rid of Stuff: Our A to Z Guide, from Apple Cores to Zillions of Books
Garages so stuffed they won’t hold cars, black hole-style closets overflowing with clothes you never wear. We’ve got strategies on clearing the clutter and cleaning out everything from toys to old dishes to Granddad’s ugly recliner.
Clothing Resale Options
You can hawk your past fashion at brick-and-mortar consignment shops or at online resale sites. We’ve got tips and tricks for getting the most money out of last year’s shoes and shirts.
Selling Clothes at Local Consignment Shops
Brick-and-mortar resale stores either take your stuff on consignment (you get paid when it sells) or offer you cash up front. You stand to make a bit more money with consignment, but the money now option offers instant gratification.
Selling Clothes Online
In the past 10 years, more than a dozen online clothing resale sites have cat walked onto the scene. Some do all the work for you; others make you into a virtual boutique owner. You might make more money than at a traditional brick-and-mortar store.
How to Get the Most Money for Your Clothes
No, you won’t get a large return on your original clothing investment (think 20 percent or less). But consigning in-season, clean, up-to-date items by recognizable brands ups your success rate.
Can a Personal Organizer Help You Clean Up Your Act?
If you’re like many Americans, you have so much stuff you can’t control it. It might be time to call in a professional organizer. These specialists can help clear out and clean up garages, closets, dirty dens, even your computer’s hard drive.
Case Study #1: Laundry Room Horror Show
This mess was years in the making. A few years ago, I worked with “Sally” to bring order to my family room and mud room. I decided to hire her again.
Case Study #2: Compact Kitchen Needs a Heaping Serving of Zen
Our house’s open floorplan serves my brood well, but our limited kitchen storage space had become a disaster—and I didn’t know how to fix it.
