Do It Yourself house Clearance Advice
If you've ever done your own house removals, you'll know just how long it takes and how much work is involved packing up a whole house worth of furniture and many years of personal effects.
Clearing a house is slightly easier, only in so much as you don't have to be so careful with things if you're just taking everything to the dump or putting it in a skip. If you want to donate items to charity or a local 2nd hand furniture shop, more care needs to be taken to avoid damaging the items so they are still usable.
Things to think about
First things first - is it your property you are clearing? If its for someone else, are you insured if any damage occurs to the property?
Perhaps you are thinking about using skips as a quick way to get items removed. How many skips can you have outside at a time? How many will you need? What's the turnaround getting a changeover of skip? How much do they cost each? (currently average prices in Hampshire for a standard builders skip approx £270).
Check with the skip provider what items incur additional charges (mattresses for example) and what you can not put into a skip (paint / food etc).
If you're going to dispose of items yourself...
What consumables will you need to transport the items in?
Most of us use standard thin, household bin bags that don't take much weight. If you're removing lots of books or heavy clothing, sturdy, thick rubble or garden sacks are a much better option than general household bin liners. How many will you need?
For breakable items - storage tubs are a good option. What do they cost? can you borrow any? Consider how much crockery, bric-a-brac, mirrors, paintings etc are to be removed as they all have glass / breakable parts. Using tubs for these kind of items minimises breakages while transporting them, if using bin bags, any broken shards will split the bags causing a mess and potential injury.
Dont forget crockery is heavy, use medium size tubs so you can lift the container safely when loaded. The large tubs are great for standing pictures and mirrors in, or china lamps.
Its not just the paintings and items on display you'll need to pack up. Cupboards, sideboards, dressers, wardrobes and chest of drawers will need to be emptied before they can be lifted safely, make sure you factor in time for this activity before you start. If you're taking items to a charity shop, it makes sense to sort items at the same time rather than just stuffing everything into a bag. Check with your charity shop what they can and cant take.
Remember to check whats up in the loft too! And check behind doors for mirrors on the walls and clothes on hooks.
What large items need to be removed?
Were they built in situ and need to be dismantled first? What large items are upstairs? Do you have any recliner chairs to remove? Do you have someone suitably strong to help you with the heavy items as you don't want to damage the walls and door frames when trying to navigate an item outside. Mattresses are a good example of an awkward item to move. Does your mattress have handles? Consider purchasing a mattress sling to help.
White goods
Are they hard wired or plumbed in? Do you need an electrician or plumber to disconnect anything for you beforehand - how much will this cost, how soon can you book someone in?
Consider buying, borrowing or hiring a set of sack trucks, these make transporting items like fridges and washing machines much easier and safer. Try to get stair specific ones if there are lots of stairs at the property (front steps for example).
Outside / Garage
Make sure you have adequate bags and boxes for all this too. If you're selling the property, you'll want these areas cleared as thoroughly as the house.
Tools
Do you have a good set? Allen keys are always useful for modern furniture. Make sure you have an electric screwdriver for items like beds or wardrobe dismantling. A lump hammer is always a good standby option for breaking up items that are too large or awkward to get down the stairs if you cant get the screws undone (or don't have the time).
Transporting large amounts of clearance items
Depending on the amount to be removed, you might consider hiring a van for the day - how much will that cost? Are you taking a day off work? Vans are usually more expensive at the weekend. Do you need a van with a tail lift? These make getting very heavy items loaded much easier as you don't want to hurt your back. Are you comfortable driving a larger vehicle than you're used to? Plan your route to the disposal site carefully to avoid low bridges and narrow lanes if you're hiring a luton sized van.
If you're not just taking everything to one place, What order are you dropping items off? remember to pack items in a luton van back to front (so the first bits you're dropping off go in last).
If you're not hiring a van, how many trips in your car will it take? How much will that cost you in time and fuel? How near is the local dump / charity shop from the property? Will you need someone with you to help with heavier items?
Where will you take everything once you've loaded it all up?
Household Waste Recycling Centres (local dump / tip) are the best option. The items you take there are disposed of into large container bins and recycled where possible, most also have clothing banks for clothes and shoes if you don't want to take those to a charity shop. If you're hiring a van, check your local dump allows large vehicles / hire vehicles - check your local council website for this information, and make sure they don't have a height restriction barrier if using a luton van.
Finally
A note about windows - if the property is empty, we would always recommend leaving window dressings in place, purely to make the house look lived in from outside. If you can, leave a couple of lights on timer, or a radio on as well.
A DIY house clearance is certainly an option many people choose and we hope the above advice is helpful if planning to do this yourself. However, it is an expensive, labour intensive and time consuming process for a novice to undertake. When you factor in all the above, its well worth considering using a professional house clearance company - its a lot cheaper than using multiple skips or hiring a van and doing it yourself. We provide fully insured, experienced clearance staff and have all the right tools and equipment to get the job done in a fraction of the time. And with our recycling guarantee, you can be sure that all the usable items will be re-homed and recycled for you.
For a free, no obligation quote, for any size or type of clearance, contact us:
