How to Conduct an Efficient House Clearance

How to Conduct an Efficient House Clearance

Summary

Clearing a house is a hectic exercise, but following the right steps and taking precautions will enable you to conduct the activity smoothly.

Body

The need to conduct a house clearance comes up due to several factors like moving to a new home, feeling the need to declutter, or clearing a deceased person’s house. Occasionally, the process becomes challenging; therefore, you should utilize all resources and techniques to make sure that the process runs smoothly and efficiently while ascertaining that you save and make as much money as possible from the clearance. Here is a guide on how to conduct a fun and cost-effective house clearance.

Create time to plan the clearance

Occasionally, we procrastinate tasks, and before we realize it, we have little or no time to take them on. Eventually, we end up stressed due to working under unhealthy pressure, and in return, we fail to meet the expected standards or outcomes. To avoid this, plan the clearance in good time and allocate half a day for each room then, critically analyze the value of the items you need to sell, list down the ones you wish to donate, and decide what you want to keep. Additionally, make appointments and book all necessary services in advance, then inform all the friends you might need help from, so that they may spare the day.

Categorize your items

After planning the clearance, unpack all items in the house and put them in various boxes or containers. Also, involve your household in deciding what they prefer to retain or throw away. Afterward, place the items in multiple containers and use different colors of tapes or stickers to identify the boxes while ensuring that you do not dispose of items likely to earn you money.

Additionally, take caution when emptying drawers and check the pages of your books to ensure you don’t leave your valuables like jewelry, money, or personal documents. If you wish to get rid of some personal items, like health records, bank documents, bills, and credit card receipts, get a shredder to destroy the materials before you throw them into the bin. Moreover, if you are clearing the house of a deceased individual, consult with the executor to ensure you don’t get rid of any official paper needed for probate. Subsequently, set aside rooms to place your items while assigning a specific part of the building to a particular category of things then acquire help to relocate them. Not only will this help you save space and time, but it will also ease locating objects on the clearance day hence avoid confusion.

Estimate the value of your items

Once you have categorized your belongings, go through the lists, and estimate the price at which you will sell each. To ease the estimation, take into consideration the price you bought them at, their current state and the amount of depreciation, then research to see the rate at which other individuals sell similar items. For valuable items like jewelry, antiques, and works of art, please consult a professional like an auction house to ensure you do not underestimate their value and make sure to take a photo of the valuable and attach a brief description. Alternatively, you can select an interested party and sell these items to them instead of waiting for the planned sale day. On the other hand, advertise less valuable items to your neighbors, friends, coworkers, on your social media accounts, and on websites that market second-hand household goods like eBay, Gumtree, and Etsy.

Eliminate items you wish to donate before the sale day

Giving out some things before the official clearance day will help you reduce clutter in your house, hence ease clearance. However, it is wise to note that you will incur costs when clearing your home, depending on the sizes and value of the items you give away. Donating low-value items reduces the cost while donating expensive things will drive the expenses higher. Conversely, donating bulky things like furniture and electricals will lead to additional storage, collection, and delivery costs. Therefore, for cost-effective clearance, identify charity shops within your locality and donate less bulky some items like crookery, ornaments, records, pictures, books, and quality clothes.

Make use of recycling center in your locality

The most efficient way to get rid of any recyclable material is to dispose of it at the nearest recycling center. However, most of these centers have restrictions on the quantities they can take, especially on items classified as hazardous like paint, fridges, and televisions. Thus, visit the website of your council beforehand to get the information on the exact quantity of dangerous products they accept for free and the charges of any volume above that, then obtain means of transport your junk. Alternatively, you can have the council collect the items at your home address for free, but this process might take weeks, so you may need to book a collection day early.

Mobilize and hold a sales day

Once you establish that the information you initially passed regarding your clearance has reached the intended and adequate market size, organize a day to sell your items, preferably on the weekend. Moreover, invite people who can help you move the things outside and negotiate with your potential customers while ensuring that you do not sell your items at meager prices. Afterward, give away the things that did not obtain buyers to close the sale then get rid of rejected items.

Hire a clearance company to get rid of items you do not need

The final step to close a house clearance is to get rid of the things you neither donated, kept, or sold. One of the most convenient ways is to hire a clearance company to get rid of your junk at an affordable price while ensuring that they have insured their staff against injuries. Luckily, most of these companies handle the entire process by first removing the clutter from your house, categorizing it, loading it into dumpsters, and eventually transporting it. Moreover, most of these companies have various sizes of dumpsters to carry all shapes and bulk of the waste, and they charge clients according to the volume of the clutter. Also, ensure that you book the services of a clearance company in advance to avoid inconveniences like additional rent and moving the items back to the house.

Planning a clearance, obtaining help to move the items, properly disposing of them, and hiring the right company can make clearance cost-effective for any individual. Moreover, hiring dumpsters and bins of various sizes and shapes can aid an individual in categorizing their items and transport them to the nearest recycling center.