How to prepare for a house clearance

Decide what is staying before the house clearance

Preparing for a house clearance is mostly a sorting job. The clearance itself goes quickly once everyone knows what is leaving, and most problems come from items that were taken by mistake or left behind by mistake. Go through the property room by room and put everything into one of four groups. Coloured stickers, or a sheet of paper taped to each door, work well if several relatives are involved.

• Keep: items going to you or to family
• Sell: things with resale value that you have time to list or send to auction
• Donate: clean, usable furniture and household goods
• Clear: everything else, for the clearance team to remove

Be realistic about the sell pile. Listing items, answering messages and waiting for buyers all take time, and ordinary second-hand furniture often sells for very little. If the property has to be empty by a set date, keep that group small and move anything unsold into donate or clear a few days before the clearance.

Paperwork and valuables to find first

Small, important things hide in ordinary places, so check drawers, coat pockets, handbags, books, tins and the backs of wardrobes before anything is bagged. Set aside a box for anything you are unsure about and decide later. Unwanted papers that show names, addresses or account numbers should be disposed of securely so nobody else can read them.

• Wills, deeds, insurance policies and bank or pension paperwork
• Passports, driving licences, and birth and marriage certificates
• Jewellery, watches, cash and medals
• Photographs, letters and family keepsakes
• Keys for windows, sheds, garages and meter cupboards
• Laptops, phones and memory cards that hold personal data

Clearing a property after a bereavement

Where the owner has died, check who has the authority to deal with their belongings before anything leaves the house. That is normally the executor or administrator of the estate, and a solicitor can explain what may be removed and when if you are unsure. Once you have the go-ahead, a probate clearance can be booked, with the things the family is keeping taken out beforehand or clearly marked.

Take your time over this stage if you can. Sorting a relative's home is tiring, and decisions made in a rush are the ones people regret. It helps to agree with other family members who is keeping what before the clearance is booked, and to photograph anything that might be disputed later. Keepsakes can always be boxed up and gone through at home.

Lofts, garages and cellars

The spaces you rarely enter hold more than you expect, and they change the size of the job. Look in each one before you ask for a quote, and take photos. A loft clearance means carrying everything down a ladder and through the house, so mention the size of the hatch and whether the loft is boarded. Old paint, chemicals and gas bottles tend to turn up during a garage clearance, and it helps to point them out in advance.

Cellars are often damp, low and reached by steep steps, which makes a cellar clearance slower than the same amount of waste on the ground floor. Check sheds, outbuildings and the garden too. If you come across anything you suspect is hazardous, leave it where it is and send a photo so we can advise. Some hazardous materials, such as asbestos, need a specialist contractor.

Ways to reduce what needs clearing

Clearances are usually priced by volume, as our guide to rubbish removal costs explains, so it pays to move on what you can. Charity shops and furniture reuse projects take good quality items, and some collect, though most are selective and upholstered furniture usually needs its fire safety label. Many councils offer a chargeable bulky waste collection for a few large items. Your household waste recycling centre accepts many things from residents if you have transport, although rules on vans vary by council. Auction rooms and online marketplaces handle anything worth selling.

Getting the property ready for clearance day

1. Move everything you are keeping out of the property, or into one clearly marked room.
2. Empty fridges and freezers, and defrost them if you can.
3. Tell the team about parking, stairs, lifts and any narrow doorways.
4. Make sure someone with keys can be there, or agree in advance how access will work.
5. Point out anything fixed that should stay, such as carpets, curtains or fitted appliances.
6. Walk round at the end and check each room, cupboard and outbuilding.

For rented and leasehold properties, check what the landlord or managing agent expects the place to look like when it is handed back, and ask about parking or lift bookings in blocks of flats. Take meter readings and your own photos of each room once it is empty. They are useful if questions come up later about the condition the property was left in.

Booking the house clearance

Send photos of each room, plus the loft, garage, cellar and garden, and you will get a more reliable quote than from a description alone. We provide a full house clearance, from a single room to the whole property. The team collects from wherever the items are, does all the lifting and loading, and tidies up afterwards. The price is confirmed before loading, with no hidden fees, and around 90% of what we collect is recycled.