I don't know where to post this.

Erosgirl

My brother has died and I have to empty his house. He wouldn't buy anything new for himself, he was 78, so the furniture that is there is what my parents had for e.g. a sideboard of which a drawer was used to put me in as a cot, I am now 64. What would be the best to do, phone a house clearance company or contact an auction room, or can anyone else give me some idea? It is a council house, so it needs to be emptied asap. Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

angelsmomma

House clearance places usually give very little so I would try auction houses first for advice since time is of the essence. I'm sorry for your loss Erogirl.

jools27_2

If you don't need to sell it for financial reasons, whatabout asking some local homeless charity if they can use any of it? Just a thought, we did this last year when emptying great aunts house in a hurry when she went into residential care!

Fosterdog

My brother in law recently bought a house that came with quite a bit of old furniture in it, anything that could be properly cleaned was given to a residential home, having the style of furniture they are used to sometimes makes it easier for residents with dementia to cope with being in a care home.

peachyprice

Depending on the make and quality 1940/50's retro furniture can be very sought after. See if you can find any makers labels on it and have a quick google before giving it away.

There's a category on ebay for it to give you an idea of what is selling

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R2.TR10.TRC0.A0.X1950%27s&_nkw=1950%27s+furniture&_sacat=0&_from=R40

heretolearn_2

That older furniture sells like hotcakes on my local facebook selling site - a lot of people buy it to paint and then call 'shabby chic' and get a fair whack for it. Presumably they get most of their stock from auctions/charity shops, so I would call an auction house to see if they'll sell anything and get a clearance company in for the remainder.

CurlyTop

Hi

Condolences on your loss. Its never easy at the best of times, clearing a house moreso after a bereavement.

How you clear it is really dependant upon whether you want to see if you can get anything for it, which you may be able to use towards funeral costs, etc.

If money is no problem and you really just want shut as soon as you can, why don't you try the British Heart Foundation or Barnardos. Both by me, do clearances as they are happy to re-sell on and every little bit helps, or you can do any of the other good suggestions here.

Best of luck

RAS

Contact your local hospice shop as they may well have someone who does clearances. Ours took two van loads.

Also try the Furniture recycling network http://frn.org.uk/

NOTE: beds and soft furniture can be an issue because of the rules on fire retardant fabrics so you may have to use www.freegle.co.uk or freecycle depending on your area.

You could post up a "garage giveaway" for a Saturday and expect most of it to go.

sleepless_saver

Having been through this myself, it is tricky if speed is of the essence. Freegling etc takes time and energy if there are a lot of items.

My suggestion: first ask a local auction house to take a look. Then for what's left try a charity which will collect. Charities which help people set up house are a good start as they will take many household items. They probably will not take everything so use a firm like Justjunk to dispose of the rest. You will probably have to pay for that. (And check contents of cupboards, drawers etc for any valuables, people do hide things away. )

patchwork_cat

British Heart Foundation have furniture shops and will collect for you http://www.bhf.org.uk/shop/our-local-shops/whats-in-our-stores.aspx

allat

I second the opinion of sleepless saver. Ask Auction House to remove and sell anything of value and then your options are a) ebay b) ring a charity shop c) post it on freeycle or d) get in a company to do a house clearance. Sincere commiserations on your loss. I have been there myself recently. We put most of the furniture outside and people took almost everything. We then rang the council to take away the 2-3 items that were left. If you out out old metal items the metal men will come along and take them.