Cheapest ways to clear a hoarded house?

Mikela78

Hi,
I need to clear a 3 bedroom property, it belonged to a couple that lived there for 50+ years so there is a lot of things to sort and clear.

I work 6 days a week, so only really have sundays, and Im no good at organising, does anyone have a link or advice for a good methodical way to clear a house?

Council charge £19 per 5 items (and 6 week waiting list for collections)
Skips are £250 for a mini skip, I could easily fill 10 skips.
The local recycling centre is only 10 mins away, so this will be cheapest for a lot of things, but everything has to be sorted even down to cds into case, cd, booklet etc. (As it should be I guess) "general " household waste is not allowed.

Paperwork can be burned, it is allowed here, and I can make room for a bonfire.

cattie

Have you tried any of the house clearance companies? Not sure how much they charge but they tend to clear everything & keep anything they think they can sell, on so costs might be reasonable, depending on how they see the items.

xylophone

Check the house for any items that you want to keep then get a clearance firm in?

If there are saleable items, they might pay you!

Cakeguts

If this is a truly hoarded house you will find that 99% of the hoard will be rubbish. Hoarders keep everything including the plastic wrapping from yesterday's lunch.



At the bottom of the heap you will probably find evidence of mice or rats so don't expect to find anything much worth keeping.



For paper work shred and then recycle.

getmore4less

There are a number of strategies and it also depends on how much time you have, with only 1 day a week that could be a while.

Another factor is will it be occupied and is it to be kept or sold on.

Im no good at organising, does anyone have a link or advice for a good methodical way to clear a house?

One standard approach is an initial sort into.

1. Rubbish
2. Someone may want it.
3. needs looking at more carefully.

It helps if you can clear a room first and then move stuff to one of the piles, a corner each, if practical the rubbish goes closer to the outside doors or even outside to be collected

A collection of boxes can be useful for stacking.

As the rubbish goes in makes space for other sorting.

what really helps is more hands, rope in friends/family to help so much easier to move stuff.

Charity shops will collect if there is a decent amount for them

Freecycle can work but really needs someone in the place and it not looking empty/abandoned.


on the first pass avoid the temptation to look at stuff that is in category 3, you just end up taking ages to get anything done, sort it into sub piles like paperwork might be valuable might be sentimental(eg a box of photos).


Sometime the unemotional clearance firm approach is what is needed.

bouicca21

I may have to face a similar task. I have already decided that the strategy will be do one area at a time. That way it will take longer, but I will be able to sort stuff into what is worth keeping/selling and what goes into the skip(s) or local recycling çentre. There is a load of stuff that would be suitable for charity shops but I’d need to find several dozen virtually empty ones to clear the place out.

ACG

Call some charities to take a look around and take what they want.
Then you have a choice of house clearance/tip runs/skip for the rest.

MoneySeeker1

Maybe a pizza party.

Invite all likely friends, designate a specific day and all friends come round to help. The incentive for them is you lay on the pizza and some cider/lager to go with it and they get "first dibs" on anything they want (after checking with you first in the unlikely event of encountering anything valuable).

ACG

MoneySeeker1 wrote: »

Maybe a pizza party.

Invite all likely friends, designate a specific day and all friends come round to help. The incentive for them is you lay on the pizza and some cider/lager to go with it and they get "first dibs" on anything they want (after checking with you first in the unlikely event of encountering anything valuable).

Thank god im not your friend! You can come round help me clear a load of rubbish which you are free to take unless it has any value? So you are basically saying to your friends they are free to take a load of some old couples rubbish?

If I get an invite to a "pizza party" I know where that invite will be going. :rotfl:

sheramber

We also sorted into piles- 1. keep ( personally or may be of value) ,

2. good enough for charity shop, bagged, boxed etc. We have a charity that will collect stuff to be given to people who are in need, such as homeless getting a flat. They take all usable household goods. But some charity shops will arrange to collect if it a sizeable load.

3. rubbish.

Just make sure you mark the bundles clearly as it is easy to get mixed up.

FreeBear

Cakeguts wrote: »

For paper work shred and then recycle.

Most councils will refuse shredded paper in the recycling bin, so it would need to be taken to the local recycling centre. Alternatively, it can be composted assuming it doesn't contain plastic.

If there is a lot of paper that needs doing, a garden shredder makes quick work of the job