Your Job – Bereavement House Clearance

This page explains how the work goes once you have accepted our quote. For a general description of the service, see our Bereavement House Clearance page.

A slower pace, by design

The practical work is much like any house clearance: we sort the contents, load them and take them away. The pace is often slower. A family may need time to decide what to keep, and a small item can mean more to someone than anything else in the room. We plan the days with that in mind, rather than working to a rush.

What we agree before we start

• Our point of contact. One person we speak to, so that we are not taking instructions from several people.
• What is staying. Furniture, keepsakes or rooms that are not part of the clearance.
• What you want us to look out for. A particular photograph album, a ring, a set of papers, a key, and where you think it might be.
• How you would like to be kept informed. A call at the end of each day, a message, or photographs of what has been set aside.

Relatives with different wishes

Relatives may live away, or may not agree on what should happen to everything. Agreeing one point of contact and marking the items to keep before we arrive helps avoid decisions being made in a hurry on clearance day. If you can mark things with a note or sticky label, we will leave them alone.

How we work through the rooms

We go through the rooms carefully, one at a time. As we go, we set aside things we find such as photographs, letters, jewellery, keys and personal paperwork. A drawer, coat pocket or biscuit tin may hold something that matters. If there is any doubt about an item, we put it aside and speak to the agreed contact rather than guess.

Practical issues we look at

• Keys. Who holds them, how we collect them and how we hand them back when the work is finished.
• Parking. Where the van can go, and how far we have to carry things. See Your Job – House Clearance for how this affects the time.
• Access. Steps, stairs, narrow doorways and any rooms that are hard to get into.
• Time. A property that has been lived in for decades usually holds more than it first appears, including in the loft, garage and cupboards. Tell us about every area you want included so that the survey and quote cover it.

Charity and items set aside

When you agree to it, suitable items are sorted for charity where they are accepted. For more, see our charity donations. Items we have set aside are kept safe, and we arrange their return with you, whether that is handing them to your contact on the day or another time that suits. See also Valuables & Personal Items.

What you can tell us beforehand

• Who our contact is, and the best way to reach them
• What is staying, and what is to be kept
• Anything you are hoping we will find, and where it might be
• Who holds the keys, and any limits on when we can go in
• Any areas we might not see at first, such as a loft or shed

Ready to talk it through?

Arrange a free survey or call us on 0151 733 3355. You can also go back to Your Job to see the other services.