Clearing a house after a death? 4 tips

Clearing out a house after someone has died is often a difficult job, especially when you have lost a loved one. The property has to be handed back empty, but what do you do with all those belongings? Fortunately, there are some tips to make clearing a house after a death a little easier.

There may be some things you would like to keep. Perhaps because you like them or find them beautiful, but they may also have sentimental value. This applies to you, but also to family, friends or neighbours. Get in touch with them and ask whether they would like any particular items. They may even be happy to help with some extra decluttering. That saves you a bit of work already.

If there are still lots of nice, usable items, you can give them away. Perhaps to an organisation, a charity shop or to people in the neighbourhood. You could set a time when people can come by and take things from the house, like a kind of open house. You might want to start with a round for family and friends so they get first pick, rather than others clearing the house before they have even had a chance to choose something. You could put notes through doors to invite the neighbours to come and take things.

Charity shops are also happy to take belongings. Many of them offer a collection service too. They come round with a small van and take away all the usable items you want to give them. That way you help the charity shop with stock, and the charity shop helps you clear the property.

Perhaps you simply don't have the time or energy to keep or give away everything. Or perhaps you have already done that and there is nothing usable left. In that case, you can throw things away. That saves a lot of work, and if you dispose of it properly it can be recycled into new products. Is that a lot of work? Not at all. You can hire a household goods skip that is placed right outside your door. You simply throw everything in and the waste processor turns it into new raw materials. The great thing about a skip hire is that you can also throw in any other waste you come across.

When you clear out a house after a death, there are lots of household goods. But there is often also waste from old, broken items or leftover materials. A bulky waste skip is ideal for this. It can take household goods, but also other things such as wood, rubble or plants. Always check exactly what is allowed, as some things aren't. Clearing a property usually produces a lot of belongings and waste. Don't underestimate how much comes out when you clear a house after a death: people collect a lot over a lifetime, and you will come across all of it. If you are clearing the entire house, it is better to invest in a large waste skip. For house clearances, people often choose a 20m3 bulky waste skip or even a 40m3 skip. Don't underestimate how quickly the waste adds up – even a 20 cubic metre skip fills up in no time.

There are specialist companies that clear houses after a death. For a set fee, they empty the property and hand it back empty. Some companies take usable items and sell them, in which case you may get a discount on the clearance if there are lots of usable items. Others take everything and bring it to the waste processor themselves, or have a skip delivered and fill it. In the latter case, you often pay a lot for something you could easily do yourself. A skip hire is arranged in no time, and with a few hours of hard work the house is empty. That saves you a lot of money.