How to Clear a House After the Death of a Loved-one In Melbourne

Clearing out an elderly relatives home following their passing can be extremely taxing. Emotionally, physically, and even financially, it takes a lot out of a person during an already upsetting period.

First, you’ve had the bereavement to cope with, then there’s a sudden list of jobs to do which may come along with tight deadlines and legal implications.

There are also other family members to consider and perhaps to support along the way – the idea of getting rid of a lot of your loved-one’s belongings is extremely upsetting.

However, it’s usually something which has to be done and often quite quickly. The property will usually need be placed on the market for sale and someone must empty it to get it ready for that.

This can feel upsetting – it’s as though you’re erasing your relatives’ life and dealing with things sensitively and carefully is important – after all, your relative lived in and probably loved their home and belongings for many years.

Remember however that the things inside the home are indeed just things. They’re not memories – nothing can erase those.

Plan – delegate

This is step one – the most important step you can take in arranging to clear out the home of a loved one who has passed away.

You cannot possible manage all of the tasks alone, so it is important that you allow other, trusted family members to assist.

One family member might take care of all utility bills and communications. Someone has to stop direct debits for electricity and gas for example. Another person might be asked to deal with pets which need rehoming and another to manage informing far-away friends or relations of the passing.

Whatever you do, don’t try to do it all.

Find and sort out the paperwork before you dispose of household goods

Here is a list of important documents which you should find and secure in a safe place.

• Homeowners insurance policy – ensure that this stays effective until the day the house is sold
• Recent bank statements – should be checked and filed
• Birth certificate and passports – keep these in a safe place
• Will – ensure you have this safely stored or that you know where it is
• Medical letters – keep these safely alongside bills and bank statements
• Letters and cards from the friends of the relative who has passed – some may be elderly and rely on letters or phone calls to find out about the passing of friends, you’ll need their contact details
• Receipts from bills paid during life – keep these in case of any mix-ups

Remember, not everyone is organised with their paperwork – some people keep everything neatly filed and easy to find whilst others may have them in random boxes hidden in wardrobes or cupboards or they may be on files in their computer.

Shred any letters or bills which you don’t need to keep avoiding the details falling into the wrong hands – identity theft can occur even after death.

Start the clearance

Once you have all your paperwork secured, it’s time to begin clearing the property. It’s at this point, that you may need to hire a skip bin.

Clearing a house is tricky – there’s a lot to deal with and a lot of things to dispose of. Making dump runs isn’t sensible as not only will there be a lot of unwanted furniture and random household goods, but there may also be a mess to deal with in the garden.

Skip hire is a great way to deal with those heavier, bulkier items or with garden waste.

Obviously, some things can be donated to charity or may be wanted by family members – so it’s important to make sure before disposing of things. If you want to, you can ask close family members to take some time to choose some mementoes of their loved-one. Many people will want to take an ornament or two or even a favourite lampshade! It’s surprising what good memories can be attached to the most random things.

Once you’ve made sure everyone has something to remember their relative by, you can begin sorting things out.

Skip bins can be used for almost anything that you don’t want to keep.

• Furniture
• White goods
• Garden tools
• Garden waste
• Papers like old magazines and newspapers
• Crockery
• Pots and pans
• Carpets and rugs

The list goes on – if you have a shed to empty, be careful about paint cans and chemicals. Some of these things require specialist disposal.

Speaking to a reputable skip bin hire company can make things simpler – they will advise you about items you’re not sure about and the size of skip hire you need.

Go room by room

By dealing with one room at a time, you’ll keep yourself from being overwhelmed, remove larger items first; if they are going into the skip bin, you might want to take them apart first if possible – this helps maximise the space in the skip bin.

Stow the big things into the skip bin and pack smaller items around and on top of them. 

Bag or box up things which are going to charity – keep linens and bedding in bags together and decorative items in boxes which can be neatly stacked until it’s time to remove them.

Once a room is empty, don’t be tempted to clean it yet – move on to the next room. Cleaning can be done in one big push at the end of the project.

Cleaning

If you don’t want to hire professionals, doing it yourself can be quite cathartic and many people feel better having given their loved-one’s home a thorough cleaning.

Start in each room from the top and work your way down. That means dusting the ceilings where cobwebs may have congregated and then wiping down walls and fixtures as you go.

Floors can be done at the end. Once the house has been cleaned, it can be put on the market and sold.

Gardens may need either a professional to sort them out or it might be a good idea to organise a working party where everyone pulls together to ensure lawns are mowed, verges are weeded and paths are clear.

Again, this may necessitate extra rubbish removal so skip hire is a great way to manage additional green waste if there’s too much for council bin collection.

Hiring skip bins throughout the process of house clearance is a great way to keep your stress levels down – who wants to make multiple dump runs when there are so many other jobs to manage? More info can be found here on the Skip Bin Finder website about booking a skip today.

Essentially, clearing the home of a loved-one is never a pleasant task but it’s one which must be done. It’s much easier to cope if you approach things in an organised fashion and ensure suitable systems for the removal of waste are in place. Hiring a skip bin is one of the best ways to manage this. Once you’ve booked your skip, the operative will deliver it and remove it when you’re ready some days later.

Enquire about skip hire today – getting an idea of cost and availability is just another step in the process of house clearing.