How to make a full home clean out a smooth and drama-free affair.
Cleaning out the home of a relative is never an easy process. Often it means that a loved one has passed away, is incapacitated, or had some other significant life event happen which requires help in preparing a house to sell. The most common scenario is children having to clean out their parents house after they pass away or need to go to an assisted living facility of some sort. In these situations there are often multiple parties involved including siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. Each of these parties will have their own ideas about how things should be handled and will have different interests in the items in the property. In my years as a professional junk hauler, I have helped many families clean out properties. Here are some of the things that I have learned about the best way to navigate a full home clean out with all of the items and people involved.
The first step in a whole home clean out is to always make a timeline. The biggest pit fall I see clients struggle with is allowing family members and friends to take as much time as they need to get the items they want out of the house. As that process drags on, it pushes all of the other steps of the clean out and sales process back. The main things that need to be on the timeline are as follows: schedule the property listing, identify personal items with stickers, remove personal items, estate sale, donation crew, junk crew, and cleaning crew. These are the main things that need to occur to make a whole home clean out happen and prepare the property to sell.
I always recommend that clients consult with a great real estate agent and schedule the date to list the property that you are cleaning out. This is a critical step because it puts the end of the project in mind and it solidifies the timeline. While this is not my area of expertise, it is a critical step in the home clean out process. In any home clean out situation, the value of the property is always in the sale of the home. The value of the items in the home is very small in comparison to the value of the home itself so it is imperative to schedule the home listing before getting into the weeds of the contents of the home.
The removal of personal items in the most time consuming step in the clean out process. Personal items are anything that belonged to the home owner that the family or friends now want for themselves. I have seen family members decide they want nothing from a house and I have seen families fight over who gets great-grandmas antique wrapping paper. The difficulty of this step will 100% be determined by the number of people involved, the timeline, and what I call the enforcer. The enforcer is the friend or family member who is in charge of making sure everyone sticks to the timeline. Scheduling the house listing first helps the enforcer move things along without being perceived as a jerk. The best way to handle removing personal items is to have everyone walk through the house and mark which items they intend to take with colored stickers or tape. Once this is done, the other removal crews (estate, donate, and junk) can begin work even if family members still have not removed their desired items. It is my recommendation that the enforcer makes sure that every personal item is removed before the donation or junk crew arrives. That allows these two crews to remove any unclaimed items so that the enforcer does not have a headache right before closing.
Estate sales are a great option for properties that have a significant amount of antique items, high quality decorative items, or high quality furniture. Estate sale companies will come into a property and conduct the sale for the homeowner or the enforcer. I always recommend people hire professional companies and do not do a yard sale themselves. Estate sale companies know how to market estate sales and will really help with assessing the market value of items in the house. Some situations may not be ideal for an estate sale but could warrant consulting an antique dealer or a specialized collector depending on the contents of the house. It is also a good idea to do this because often family members have an over-inflated sense of the value of items. It is good to have a professional come in who can help maximize and clarify value.
A good donation crew is so wonderful for a house clean out. After all personal items are identified and/or removed and the valuables are sold, the donation crew can have free reign to take the items that could be of benefit to other people. It is best to find a local charity that supports a worthy cause who sends out box trucks with two men in them to collect donations. In the Cobb county area my favorite donation crew is the team from Rezoned, which is a thrift store in Marietta that supports those in addiction recovery. A donation organization that sends a two man crew also ensures that all big items worth donating can be moved without having to be a burden on the homeowner or their family. If these high quality organizations do not exist near you or are too busy, junk removal companies will often have a way to remove full loads of donate items as well for a small fee. This step also allows the homeowner, friends, and family the confidence to know that whatever is left in the house really is junk. At this point, the remaining items were not wanted by the family, did not sell, and could not be donated. That means it is time for the junk crew.
The junk removal part is, as you might expect, my favorite part of the clean out process. At this point, all valuable, donate-able, and personal items have been removed from the property. All that is left is to get the house ready for the cleaning crew. The scope of work in this stage varies wildly depending on how much is in the house and how much has been removed by people in the previous steps. We have done up to 25,000 pounds of trash and recycle removed AFTER personal items, donate, and estate sales have all been completed. We also will come by and pick up a half load of unwanted items in order to finalize the emptying of the house. A good junk crew will be prepared to handle cleaning out the remaining items in the house no matter what it takes. It is imperative that every inch of the house be empty so we have a specific method by which we empty every cabinet, closet, attic, crawl space, and every other area of the house. At this point, if family members have not removed the items they claim to want, the junk crew needs to take them because otherwise the family or the enforcer is stuck with having to deal with those items themselves. A junk crew is the final bridge from a full house to the closing table.
The cleaning crew is an important part of the clean out process, however they do not come into play in all situations. It just depends on what is in the contract. Some buyers demand that the house be deep cleaned and some only require all items to be removed. However if a cleaning crew is to be coming to the house, it is always best to have them come last. This allows them to not only clean every inch of the house, but it also makes sure that any dirt or debris tracked in from the other people moving items is cleaned up before closing. Sometimes this step is as simple as vacuuming and wiping down countertops, but other times it can get as complicated as air vent and carpet cleaning. Just make sure you know these details well ahead of time so there is no wrench in the plan as the closing table approaches.
In whole home, family member clean outs emotions can run high and the task can seem insurmountable. Having a solidified timeline, a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be done, and professional partners can help all the moving pieces to land smoothly. The biggest pitfalls to watch out for are the family members that will not comply with the schedule. Having the home listing looming is a great way to help keep the process moving. Having a set schedule and timeline is a huge help to getting a property cleaned out, now all that has to be done is roll up your sleeves and get to it!
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