Written on: September 8, 2021
When a loved one has died, or needs to go into long-term care, you may find yourself in charge of emptying their home.
It is a demanding experience, not just emotionally but in terms of time and effort. PRO Hauling has extensive experience in working with both families and estate clean-out companies, so we understand what you’re dealing with.
Before you need a dumpster, you need a plan. We’ve put together some tips to make this process as easy as possible.
You don’t know who else may have had access to your loved one’s keys. Changing the locks lets you control access to the house. Have the mail forwarded to your home and cancel newspaper subscriptions.
You’ll be going through a lot of paper in the coming weeks. Focus on finding the important stuff first. This includes:
You will probably cancel some services, such as cable TV and landline phones. You will, however, need to keep utilities such as electricity and gas in effect to keep the house safe and get it ready for sale.
There are many ways you can handle the sorting of belongings such as clothes, knickknacks, jewelry, collectibles and furniture.
Go one room at a time. Empty all the closets, drawers and shelves. Everything is to be designated as Keep/Sell, Donate or Trash. Use piles or color-coded stickers.
If there is any dispute or uncertainty about the distribution or disposal of items, set them aside for now. Their fate can be decided once the big sorting and purging are done.
Estate-sale companies can help you determine what items have value, and they’ll work with you to get them sold. They may also be able to point you toward nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, which will take the items you want to donate.
PRO Hauling’s dumpster-rental services make emptying the home less stressful. Our rates are competitive, and we have a wide range of dumpster sizes to suit your needs.
Contact us to learn more about our dumpster-rental services and to get a FREE quote