How to organise a house clearance
Believe it or not, organising a house clearance requires some project management skills. But if you’ve never organised a house clearance before, where do you start? How do you compile a checklist of things that need doing if you don’t know what those things are?
We’ve been helping with house clearances across Worcester and surrounding areas for longer than we can remember. We thought it would be useful to pass on some of the essential things you need to consider when you’re organising your own house clearance.
You could be a landlord having to clear your tenant’s belongings, a family member who has just sadly lost a loved one, or you may be taking the exciting step of moving abroad and clearing your property before doing so. Regardless of your circumstances, this article should help in getting you started.
1.Confirm the moveout date
If you’re clearing a property, chances are, you’re getting ready to sell or let it out to someone new. In order to start planning your house clearance efficiently, you need to get an idea of the date that you’re working towards before you hand over the keys. We know that these dates don’t always go to plan, but if you’re starting to think about clearing your property, you’re probably quite close the move.
Also, it’s worth questioning whether you clear the property any sooner. Just because the move out date is March 4th, it doesn’t mean you have to wait until then. If you have the facilities to move sooner, that will leave more time in case anything doesn’t quite go to plan.
2.Make list of everything you’ll need and how much it’ll cost
If you’re new to house clearances, you may be flying a little blind as to how much it’ll cost you. There are lots of things to consider when clearing a property, some of these important considerations are:
- Hiring a moving van
- Fuel for the van
- Ensuring you have someone who can legally drive the van
- Hiring people to help with the heavy lifting
- Hiring a rubbish skip
- Purchasing a skip license
- Rubbish tip license
- Hiring a cleaner
- Purchasing of cleaning products
- Purchasing of boxes
- Purchasing of packing tape
- Asking friends for help
- Ensuring all services are licensed and insured
- Hiring painter/decorators if needed
Not only will you need to source and find these services yourself, you’ll need to coordinate timings so that their tasks complement each other. For example, it’s no good a cleaner arriving before items are cleared, because they won’t be able to do their job fully. Likewise, it’s no good hiring a van if you have no one to help you get things into it. Don’t underestimate the amount of organisation a house clearance requires.
3.Keep a diary
With all the different services you’re using, do yourself a favour and keep a diary to remind you who’s coming and on what date.
4.Start packing with plenty of time to spare
If you know you’re soon to be clearing a property, it’s never too early to start packing. If you’re still living in the property, start packing non-essential items far in advance. Separate things you don’t want to take with you from the items you’d like to keep. We’d advise you to do this room by room to keep things organised, and also to label things carefully (for your own sanity later on).
5.Look for charity shops accepting donations
If you’re clearing someone else’s property, or are generally down-sizing, you probably won’t need to keep all items in the property. Additionally, a lot of the items you don’t need will probably still be fit for use. Rather than contribute to landfill, source some local charity shops and check that they’re accepting donations. A trip or two to the charity shop can help the planet and also make a difference to someone else’s life.
6.Confirm dates & times
You may have booked services far in advance, or you may just be worried about being let down; either way, it won’t hurt to just ring and confirm dates and times a week or so before your clearance day.
7.Have a plan of action for clearance day
If you have the luxury of being able to clear your property over a period of time, things may be more relaxed for you. However, if everything is happening on the same day, you’ll need a plan of action.
Everyone should know what they’re doing, where they need to be and at what time. Making sure that things runs smoothly will ensure that the property is complete on time and you can hand the keys over to whoever needs them.
8.Take photos
Once everything is complete the property has been cleared and cleaned, make sure you take lots of pictures. This will ensure you have evidence of the quality which you left the property in.
9.Hand the keys back on time
If you have a deadline for handing the keys to the new occupant/estate agent/whoever, be sure to keep that time in mind. If you’re running slightly behind for whatever reason, it’s a good idea to keep them as informed as possible.
10.Save time, effort, stress and money
If all of this sounds like a lot of effort, have you considered using a professional house clearance company? In many cases, people who are clearing a property have careers too. Meaning it can be hard to find the time to get everything done, let alone the finances.
We’re a professional, family-run house clearance company based in Gloucestershire. We undertake all sorts of house clearances through Cirencester and surrounding areas on a daily basis.
Our house clearance packages all include organisation of the items in your property, full clearance and professional cleaning. We’re 3 services in 1, so you get the best value for money. We’ll fully coordinate your house clearance, liaising with other services/family members where necessary. We’ll also segment all items that you no longer require and take them to charity shops, recycling centres and so on. Our mission is to avoid landfill.
We also work with clients if their property is in our area, but they themselves don’t live there. We can liaise with neighbours, estate agents etc. to get things sorted and then send you photographs of the completed property.
We have years of experience providing a kind, caring and efficient house clearance service to the people of Gloucestershire. We have an array of testimonials to prove it too.
If you’re new to house clearances, or you just have a few questions, please give our Director, David a call today on 07909 846679 or 01452 290086. He’ll happily chat you through our process and give you a free, no obligation quote to consider.