After a loved one has died, it’s sometimes hard to know what to do with all their possessions in their house. Here at Junk Hunters, we can help you with removing all of this, but you could decide to take matters into your own hands. Below is a helpful guide on what to do with all of your relative’s possessions.
Make an plan
Set a date for when you are going to clear out their home (it’s a lot easier if you can find family members to do it with). Then, set yourselves a plan for the day and do one room at a time together. It’s important to pace yourself as well. Clearing out a whole house can be an overwhelming process. Take breaks and don’t be tempted to do it all at once.
Five categories
Keep five categories in mind when you are sorting through the house. 1. Save for me 2. Save for others (or family members with you) 3. Sell 4. Donate 5. Throw away. A good idea is to use colour coded sticky notes to place on boxes and on large items that can’t be boxed.
If you believe some items have significant value, then put them to one side and have them valued by an expert in that field. You could make an extra box entitled ‘not sure’ for miscellaneous items that you don’t know what to do with or items that you think could be worth something.
Be realistic
When sorting through the items, be realistic about what’s worth keeping. If you start to see your ‘keep’ pile overflowing, sort through it again, this time asking yourself if you are really going to need or use something.
Keep a receipt book
If you decide to sell anything, agree with family members on how the proceeds are to be divided before you sell anything.
Call the waste clearers
After sorting through the house, if you’ve decided that there are a lot of materials that need to be thrown away, why not call on a waste clearance company? When you hire a house clearance company, you can ask them to remove all, or most of the items within the property, and they dispose of it all for you.
Unlike a skip, waste clearance companies will sort through all of the junk to decide the correct facility it needs to be taken to. This is better for the environment and it also makes for an easier home clearance.
They can also just help with the boxes of items that you have decided need to be thrown away, making your job a lot easier and less overwhelming.