Pamela Martin, Moving Life Forward

It is never easy to close up the home of a loved one.  Pamela provides soup to nuts solutions that save you time and stress.  No need to go it alone, she is the partner for this job.

​Two of the top five most stressful things in life include moving and losing a loved one.  If they happen simultaneously, like losing mom or dad, or moving them into other living arrangements, closing their home can be a double whammy.  It can be particularly difficult if adult children live out of state, have too many professional or familial obligations, or just cannot bear the sadness of closing up a beloved home.
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To the rescue is Long World Services, founded by Pamela Martin in 2018.  Long World Services specializes in working with families to find the perfect places for the material things that are accumulated over a lifetime.  Sell, consign, donate, and/or remove, depending on value or desirability, is part of the service that LWS provides.  In addition, once the home is emptied, they can help facilitate repairs in the home for potential renters or for the sale of the property.

When Pamela suddenly lost her dad, “Mr. Toledo,” at age 62, she and her siblings found that emptying his home was emotionally and mentally draining.  His death was sudden so there wasn’t time to prepare for and process the loss. Going through his personal and household things was very difficult.  Eventually everything was distributed and the house was sold, but the personal experience was very painful.  At the time Pamela wanted to hire a service like Long World Services, but was unable to find anything online.  Ten years later, Long World was born!  Like many entrepreneurial ventures, need became the mother of invention.

Pamela is a teacher and editor. She has a Master’s in Linguistics and a Bachelor's degree in American Studies and Film.  She taught ESL for many years, most recently for University of Chicago incoming students and faculty.  She continues to help students by editing papers and theses.

Pamela and her husband, Evan Hydzik, manage Long World Services together.  They are most often hired by the adult children of someone who has passed or is moving to an enhanced care facility. She encourages families to remove sentimental items and items of value, like jewelry, first.  Pamela guides her clients and can provide resources for appraisals and/or storage.  She  documents the remaining possessions with photographs while communicating frequently with clients.  LWS works closely with its clients to make sure they approve the disposition of items, whether  it is a sale, a consignment, a donation or a removal.  

Pamela has amassed a significant roster of resources, including buyers, collectors, antique dealers and stores, vintage shops, consignment stores, charitable organizations, and removal companies.  LWS facilitates the sale of all salable items in the home. They sell items directly to the buyers, collect the money and give 100% of the proceeds to the client.  When there are high-value items that are unable to be sold to private buyers, LWS transports them to an appropriate auction house, who will typically take 20% of the sale price. (LWS does not take any portion of the proceeds.)

My conversation with Pamela eventually led to the following question, “What can we do to make this process easier on ourselves and our loved ones?”  She had some great tips, including:

• Start discarding now.
• Ask your children which items they are most interested in, and leave a list detailing who gets what.
• Be realistic with regard to the value of items. Believe it or not, most crystal, china, and Hummel or Lladro collections are not worth much.  Large, formal pieces of furniture are also difficult to sell.  While our parents spent a great deal on these items, there isn't a market for them now. (Millennials and Generation Z shoppers don't entertain in a formal way; they often live in small spaces and choose to spend their money on experiences and travel.)  Ironically, it's often easier for LSW to sell items that their clients think are worthless.
• Receipts and appraisal paperwork are critically important for valuable items in order to prove authenticity and maximize their resale.
• Have your paperwork in order and make it easy to find.  Pamela has been called upon many times to help locate insurance policies, wills, deeds, and other important documents.  Pamela and her husband have a “call everyone” binder that includes specific instructions, locations, and passwords!

Long World Services works with families all over the country. To connect with Pamela or to obtain more information, please email her at pamela@longworldservices.com.