No one really wants to clear an estate, but after a loved one has passed, it’s usually necessary to remove everything from the home and prepare the home for selling. This can be a difficult task, but going into it with a plan will help you manage the process better.
Step One: Hire a Skip
You may need more than one skip, depending on the contents of the house. However, it’s much easier to have a skip in the garden so you can quickly eliminate any rubbish that is found. You can take a walk through the home first to determine the size of the skip or whether you will need multiples. Most companies will take away the full skip and leave you with another fresh one.
Step Two: Find Important Papers
Before you do anything else, identify important papers, such as birth certificates and bonds papers, etc. so you can be sure to set these aside in a safe place. All of this information could be valuable in the future, so you want to make sure it’s saved.
Step Three: Remove All Rubbish
The next step is to go through the home and quickly take out anything that is obvious rubbish. This should go directly into the skip, but be careful you don’t miss an important piece of paper in the midst of a pile of junk. You will see a lot more space this way and it makes the next step easier.
Step Four: Sort the Remaining Items
Grab some coloured sticker dots and go through the house to mark the items that you want to keep. You can use one colour for keeping, one for selling, one for donating, and another for throwing away. Once you’ve sorted all the big things, move each pile into a separate place and go through the drawers and cabinets to ensure you haven’t missed anything.
Step Five: Final Homes
Now you’re ready to take everything to its final home. Rubbish or items that you don’t wish to fix can be put into the skip. The donations should be picked up or taken in to drop off as soon as possible, to get them out of the house. From there, you can begin to sell the items that you want to get rid of but don’t wish to donate. A yard sale can be a good way to sell things quickly.
Step Six: Clean the House
At this point, you may find it simpler to have a cleaning crew come in and detail the house so it’s ready for selling. However, if you do it yourself, be sure to clean from top to bottom so the whole place is squeaky clean.
Need a skip for your estate clearing? Batesy Skip Hire is here to help.
