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While moving house and grieving a loved one are two of the most challenging and stressful scenarios you’ll ever encounter, there’s one that can be even more so. Cleaning out the home of a loved one who has passed can push you to breaking point, especially when you’re grieving while trying to prepare their house for a new owner or tenant.
It can be difficult to know where to start, especially when their home is exactly how your loved one left it when they passed. While cleaning out a deceased estate will never be easy, these tips below might make it easier:
Get Charities Involved
Many charities are always looking for donations they can sell to fund various charitable activities. Research local charities in your area to see who would be interested in items from a deceased estate. You might even like to read online reviews, like a Red Cross pickup review, to learn more about who is the best to work with.
Many charities will visit your home and pick up items that can be useful to them. This can be a weight off your mind, knowing that you don’t need to pack or move an entire house a lot of furniture on your own.
Don’t Do It Alone
Emptying and cleaning an entire house alone can be a mammoth undertaking. That’s without considering your grief. Make the process a family affair to unite everyone and get the job done much faster.
You can assign everyone a room to work on and put processes in place for what to do with the possessions that are cleared out. If you don’t have family members to help, consider involving your friends. They’ll likely be more than happy to assist and support you.
Have a Process
Cleaning out an entire property is no easy task, especially when it contains a life’s worth of possessions. In such a situation, having a process is essential. Organize items into five piles or areas: keep, sell, donate, recycle, and throw away. An organizational system like this one might help speed up the cleaning process.
Once you have your five respective piles, you can take action with them. You might transport the ‘throw away’ items to a landfill facility, take the recyclables to a recycling center, and request a pickup service for your donatable goods. Anything you plan to sell can go home with you to be listed on various platforms, and you can distribute the ‘keep’ goods among family members.
Order a Dumpster
Clearing out rubbish can be a time-consuming task that greatly hinders your progress. This can be especially true if there are no landfill facilities nearby. Knowing you’ll have plenty of trash to throw out, consider ordering a dumpster.
Most dumpster companies will deliver them to your property, leave them for you to fill, and collect them when full. They also accept a broad range of goods, including odds and ends, household rubbish, and yard waste.
As challenging as cleaning out a deceased estate can be, it might also be easier than you anticipated. Take these actions above, and you might have your loved one’s property empty and clean faster than you thought possible.