How to Approach the Onerous Task of Clearing a Deceased Relative's Home
When an elderly relative who was living alone passes away, traumatic times follow. After the initial period of mourning and grief, it's time to consider how their estate is going to be handled and what to do with their old house. Some older people are inclined to keep a lot of stuff (less politely known as "hoarding"), and sometimes this means that their property is chock-full of furniture, boxes and other possessions. Where do you even begin when presented with such a challenge?
Don't Go It Alone
For most people, this is not a job that they can tackle alone. Apart from the emotional upheaval attached to this kind of task, it's likely to be physically exhausting as well. Make sure that you have got people on your side before you begin, or you are going to find it a very tough job indeed.
Wait for It
Don't start to clear the home until after the will has been read. Certain items may be earmarked for individuals or may have been bequeathed to a charity or other institution. Everything contained in the will has to be accounted for first before you begin the work.
Personal and Charity
When you first enter the premises, zero in on any items that have any emotional connection, and make sure that they are separated from the pack and taken out. You then need to make a list of items that could be of particular value to charities and should get in touch with your favourite institution to see if they will send somebody out to assist with this. Often, a charity has people on hand whose job it is to look through possessions in a deceased person's home, and it may be comforting for you to know that these items are going towards a good cause.
Selling
If any items of significant value are left over after this stage, start listing them for sale online or in social media groups. Make sure that you make it easy by specifying that the buyer must pick these items up at their expense, but this should enable you to gather some valuable money together to help offset some of the costs involved in cleaning and other removal. Just make sure that you tell whoever is in charge of executing the will what you're doing and how much money you've raised in case it needs to be accounted for within the estate.
Disposal
You will probably have to hire a few different rubbish skips when it comes to the task of consigning items that have no other home. This will depend on just how professional a hoarder your relative was, but make sure that there is enough room outside the property and away from any public right-of-way to situate these skips.
Bringing in the Troops
While there is no doubt that you will have to handle some of this task yourself, many people find this too emotional and way too physically demanding to completely tackle by themselves. In this case, make sure that you bring in a cleaning service that has experience in dealing with a deceased estate cleaning to take off some of the pressure.
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