When can I start clearing my mother's house?

Flugelhorn

Glad you had a good night  makes such a difference!   Fab re neighbour - what a star, insurance should be fine if she is around. 

Hope day goes OK

Username03725

Soon after the second death of my parents there was a flurry of articles in the papers & on radio about dealing with an empty house after death, and the consensus (that I fully agree with) is to save some things of personal meaning, identify anything of high value for separate sale and then just clear the rest, the logic being that it's always a much bigger task than it initially seems and your life is taken over with selling on eBay and trying to get a few quid for what is essentially bric-a-brac.

A big skip seems to be the best way forward, so well done on sorting that out.

thegreenone

I'm sorry for your sudden loss, it must've been such a shock.

It took me months to clear my late Mum's house, which clearly isn't an option for you, so I understand re the skip.  Quickest and easiest solution, although do talk to the co. about a quick turnaround if you need another.  It sounds as though you might! 

Make sure you have the windows wide open and wear a mask when in there, if there is animal faeces.  Contact a cleaning co for them to go in, top to bottom when you've finished.  When my brother died at home, unfound for up to five days (the police had to break in), we employed one co. to strip everything inc. carpets and another that are usually known for pest control to thoroughly clean and spray disinfectant.  It does sound 'overkill' and it was £1k but he was a hoarder.  Brother was very clean himself but omg the flat!  We had to hand it back to the HA in perfect order.

Re: the tools - do you have one of these locally www.menssheds.org.uk?  They may be interested or a community garden.

Anything in reasonable nick, perhaps put at the end of the drive with a FREE sign on

Oh and don't forget to draw the curtains and put the upstairs landing light on when you leave at night.

Flugelhorn

Username03725 said:

Soon after the second death of my parents there was a flurry of articles in the papers & on radio about dealing with an empty house after death, and the consensus (that I fully agree with) is to save some things of personal meaning, identify anything of high value for separate sale and then just clear the rest, the logic being that it's always a much bigger task than it initially seems and your life is taken over with selling on eBay and trying to get a few quid for what is essentially bric-a-brac.

A big skip seems to be the best way forward, so well done on sorting that out.

so true! I think that one of the big things for people is accepting that most of the stuff, though purchased and treasured by the parent, is actually worthless in terms of selling on - can be particularly difficult if they were collectors of items and spent £££ on them, they often don't have the sell-on value that they had fondly believed. I remember selling some of Uncle's stamps - few hundred quid at auction, the auctioneer assessing them commented (rightly) that he was not so much a collector as an accumulator. 

CIS

getmore4less said:

Be aware that if you stay there you lose the class F council tax exemption.

Class F for is for upto 6 months after you obtain the grant.

Freecycle type options  are a good idea to get stuff collected but best to not let on the circumstances.

There may be a local group that helps people that would be interested in the tools.

The Class F specifically allows for executors to remain for a single period of up to 6 weeks to clear the property, without it removing the Class F exemption entitlement.

Savvy_Sue

https://www.tfsr.org/
Tools for Self Reliance: charity which collects and distributes all kinds of tools. If no Men in Sheds locally, they may have a local contact.

Another vote for paying for professional clearance. Our company did a first pass and 'staged' the house for sale. Then did a final clear a few months later. 

Can you find a local gardener to keep the garden looking tidy? Improves the "nobody here" look.

orchid2010

Clearing MIL's house was a nightmare it was packed to the rafters as well as numerous sheds in the garden .  We had five skips (someone asked if they could look through the skips and he filled a van twice), took stuff to the dump and some picked up by a local charity.  We put a cooker, chest freezer and exercise bike in the garden for collection by local council and two days later they had 'disappeared'.  This was after family had taken the bits and pieces they wanted.  Something I never want to do again.

[Deleted User]

orchid2010 said:

Clearing MIL's house was a nightmare it was packed to the rafters as well as numerous sheds in the garden .  We had five skips (someone asked if they could look through the skips and he filled a van twice), took stuff to the dump and some picked up by a local charity.  We put a cooker, chest freezer and exercise bike in the garden for collection by local council and two days later they had 'disappeared'.  This was after family had taken the bits and pieces they wanted.  Something I never want to do again.

I received delivery of a 12 yard skip today because the 16 yard wasn't available. But that would still have been way too small. Fortunately the house isn't packed to the rafters, but there is a lot of stuff. Also rubbish everywhere. It's overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. I went through and first picked up all waste and rubbish. Then smaller items. But it feels like despite filling 1/4 of the skip I hardly made a dent. There is no rush to clear the house immediately,  but I want to get as much done as I can while I am here (I live in germany).

Also I think I've done something quite stupid. I've been putting lots of personal documents with policy  numbers and bank statements  in to the skip without shredding.

I think I will have to use a company to clear the rest and deep clean after the skip is full. But I don't know how they will do it. Lots of vans or skips I suppose.

theoretica

If you have told the banks that she is deceased then a fraudster should have a harder than usual time getting anything out of the accounts.  So long as you have all the policy numbers you need I think that is less of an issue than normal.

Professional clearance companies work fast through practice - they don't need to spend much time wondering how to do things or what next. Many will offset their charges by selling whatever is worth selling, work with charities for what they appreciate and recycle where that is best.

Ms_Chocaholic

[Deleted User] said:

orchid2010 said:

Clearing MIL's house was a nightmare it was packed to the rafters as well as numerous sheds in the garden .  We had five skips (someone asked if they could look through the skips and he filled a van twice), took stuff to the dump and some picked up by a local charity.  We put a cooker, chest freezer and exercise bike in the garden for collection by local council and two days later they had 'disappeared'.  This was after family had taken the bits and pieces they wanted.  Something I never want to do again.

I received delivery of a 12 yard skip today because the 16 yard wasn't available. But that would still have been way too small. Fortunately the house isn't packed to the rafters, but there is a lot of stuff. Also rubbish everywhere. It's overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. I went through and first picked up all waste and rubbish. Then smaller items. But it feels like despite filling 1/4 of the skip I hardly made a dent. There is no rush to clear the house immediately,  but I want to get as much done as I can while I am here (I live in germany).

Also I think I've done something quite stupid. I've been putting lots of personal documents with policy  numbers and bank statements  in to the skip without shredding.

I think I will have to use a company to clear the rest and deep clean after the skip is full. But I don't know how they will do it. Lots of vans or skips I suppose.

What area is your mother's house in, even if you could give a vague idea people may be able to help with companies they may have used previously.

As I thought, the skip will fill quickly, try and join some FB pages and at least people will come and take the items away for free - do you have white goods that work (washing machine/fridge freezer etc), lots of people enjoy upcycling furniture so that might go pretty swiftly too.