Tom Murphy, top left in plaid shirt, owner of The Clean Estate, rushes Friday morning to get Nugget the dog, who escaped from Ann Butler’s home on Ware Street in Lewiston. People lined up to buy contents from the estate greet Nugget. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Dozens of people lined up in the cold outside Ann Butler’s home on Ware Street on Friday morning for an orderly sale of its contents.

Butler is looking to move and when she hired a Realtor and asked what to do with all the items she didn’t want to take with her, they suggested contacting The Clean Estate, an online company specializing in liquidating estates.

Company owner Tom Murphy, a retired Lewiston police detective, has been dabbling in buying and selling items for about 10 years and has streamlined the process, using social media to organize and advertise sales.

“We wanted to get away from the typical rush of people running in and grabbing things, pushing and shoving each other to get to the good stuff,” Murphy said.

Ann Butler holds the leash of her dog Nugget on Friday morning outside her home on Ware Street in Lewiston where people were lined up to buy the contents of her estate. Shopper Patty Annand of Portland, left, greets Nugget. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

To alleviate the chaos, he takes photos of what he thinks will be the highly sought items, which typically is about 5% of the merchandise and collectibles.

“It’s sort of like a silent auction. We take bids on those big-ticket items online before the sale to try and help keep the chaos to a minimum,” Murphy said.

About 45 minutes after opening the doors on the day of the sale, after everyone has had a chance to come in and see the items and submit a silent bid, Murphy closes the bidding and awards items to the highest bidder.

Other than the few high-value items set aside for bidding, the remaining goods are sold to those who show up at the home the day of the sale.

On Friday, a long line of people stood outside the house and cars lined Ware Street and side streets in the quiet neighborhood.

Patty Annand, left, and Kristin Phillips talk and share photos Friday morning while waiting in line for an estate sale at Ann Butler’s home on Ware Street in Lewiston. Tom Murphy, owner of The Clean Estate, posts photos online of what he thinks will be the highly sought items for people to bid on. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Patty Annand, who came from Portland, said she had a particular item she wanted.

“They posted about 60 photos of items, so I know what they have, otherwise I wouldn’t have come,” she said. “I found a lot of things I just can’t live without. The Swarovski crystal set caught my eye.” she said with a smile.

Kristin Phillips, who lives in the area, said, “It’s like shopping at Marden’s back in the day as there are a lot of things they don’t post, but I have my eye on a Big Bird cookie jar I did see online. My mom had one just like it and it’s her birthday, so I hope to pick that up.”

Murphy said that over the years he has found a lot of interesting items during the sales: live hand grenades, prehistoric skulls, glass eyes, prosthetics “and just about everything that can be taxidermied, we have come across.”

When all the shoppers have left, whatever is left goes to charity, he said.