There was a time, after I'd done this twice in a short span, that I considered doing it for money. Ultimately, lazy won, but I did write up what worked for me when clearing out the home of a relative who'd died or gone into a skilled nursing facility. Later I added a little regarding doing it for money.
SECURITY
Change the locks. You don’t know who
has a copy. A friend or family member with a key can enter and take
valuables or that one item they admire and get away undetected. Keep
one key for yourself and a spare to someone who can be trusted and
who is usually available during the time you expect to do the work.
If the place is a rental, give the landlord or management company a
key. Take pains to ensure windows are locked and doors dead bolted
each time you leave.
Notify the landlord you will be there
emptying the place for a period of days/weeks/months and that you are
authorized to do so. Be prepared to show a copy of your contract, if
any, or to show ID proving you’re a family member. Consider that a
neighbor might call the police if they know the resident cannot be
there but they see someone is inside.
Make sure the rent or mortgage,
electricity, gas, water, and taxes are being paid. Phone, internet,
and cable can be discontinued. Stop mail delivery to the house and
have it forwarded to the responsible party.
If there is a vehicle and you are a
licensed driver, take it around the block or on a brief errand a few
times a month.
SUPPLIES
Bring with you and leave there on your
first visit: wide tip magic marker, regular marker, trash bags,
sandwich and gallon storage bags, lots of cardboard boxes, packing
tape, blue masking tape, old newspapers and/or bubble wrap, two or
more timers, an opaque container with a lid (like a coffee can),
notebook and pen for notes to self, questions, etc.—and a roll of
toilet paper.
GETTING STARTED
Use your computer to make large
readable signs:
TRASH
RECYCLE
TAKE
DONATE
SELL
GET APPRAISAL
KEEP FOR FAMILY
UNDETERMINED
Do not make a sign for money, jewelry,
collectibles, or any other valuables.
On the first visit take two or more
pictures, or a short video, of each room so you have a record of what
it contained. Don’t worry about its appearance and how it reflects
on the former occupant. Open cabinets, closets, and drawers and take
more pictures. You’re documenting all you dealt with.
Bring a helper and move large furniture
items to the edges of rooms, creating space to work. (Don’t block
closets or vents.) The nearer to an exterior door each item is, the
better. Leave yourself at least one place to sit in comfort and one
place where you can sit at a table. Don’t block shelves or drawers
unless they’re empty.
Once the furniture is moved, decide
where each category will be collected and use masking tape to stick
your signs to the wall. This works best if the sorted areas are all
in one large room with (or near) an exterior door, often the living
room. Both Trash and Take should be near the exterior door, emptied
each time you depart. Place the recycling bin below its sign. Make
sure the area where items of value or potential value go is far from
any category that might get it mistakenly removed, such as a
different wall. If space is tight, use masking tape on the floor or
carpet to clearly define areas and be careful about observing those
lines. Usually you’ll be filling boxes or bags away from the area
where items are sorted, but it can be helpful to have a few left
below each sign, too.
Set up timers in two or more rooms to
mimic the lights and a TV or radio (not too loud) going on at times a
person would be likely to use them. Each time you visit, set the
timers to a slightly different cycle. Change the positions of blinds
or curtains. Pick up flyers and other indicators no one is there.
Have the yard mowed, leaves raked, the driveway snowplowed. You want
the place to appear occupied.
WHAT TO TAKE
With the family’s permission, usually
whoever cleans is free to take things like house plants, perishable
food from the refrigerator or freezer, opened packages of food (and
sometimes alcohol that’s been opened), bottled water, snack foods,
and soft drinks. Depending on your relationship to the former
resident, you may be free to take items of little value that you can
use, like small office supplies, candles, batteries, gift wrap, light
bulbs, empty hangers, aluminum foil, coffee filters, plastic wrap,
and other miscellany. If you’re clearing out the home of a stranger
in a contractual relationship, don’t take anything without
permission. It’s all right to group such items together and
photograph them (without a Take sign in the frame) to inquire what
you are supposed to do with low-value items thrift stores don’t
want. It’s okay to say that rather than throwing them out, you can
make use of them.
VALUABLES
Most people have items of value in the
house that are not on display, either intentionally hidden or simply
forgotten. As you empty drawers and closets, check inside boxes and
envelopes, all the pockets of garments, within shoes and boots, every
pocket of every purse and piece of luggage, and other potential
hiding places. All cash, from pennies to bills, can go in that coffee
can you brought. If anything is special about it—wheat stalk
pennies, two dollar bills, foreign currency—put it in a sandwich
bag to keep it separated.
Costume jewelry can go in a sandwich
bag tucked into the money can or in a separate can if there’s a
lot. Take the can(s) with you when you leave once it’s no longer
just a little, or find out what the family wants done with it.
If you find other items of value, such
as coins or stamp collections, furs, precious jewelry, or
collectibles, photograph it and secure it off the premises if
possible. If not, notify the family and ask what they want you to do
with such items. Set them well out of sight and away from any items
soon to leave the premises.
If you happen to know an item that
appears ordinary is in fact collectible, treat it like any other item
of value. If it’s something you collect, ask the family if you can
buy it.
WHAT TO SET ASIDE FOR THE FAMILY
In addition to cash and other items of
obvious value, family members may have specific items they want you
to be on the lookout for, from furniture to paintings to Mom’s
wedding dress. As you find them, photograph and confirm with the
family that you have the correct item. It’s up to the family to
evenly divide what has been set aside, so the fact that the expensive
jewelry is going to the daughters while the son is getting old hand
tools is not your problem.
There are many other things that are
the family’s to deal with that need to be separated from the rest.
Set aside all financial papers, from
wills to bank statements. Include insurance policies, deeds to
property, birth certificates, marriage papers, uncashed checks, stock
certificates, financial account statements, tax documents, mail from
brokerage houses, and similar items. Organization is not your job.
Set it all aside for the executor of the estate or for whoever is
managing the affairs of the person. Box it all up and label it with a
wide-tip marker.
Set aside unopened mail, sorted by
Clearly Junk and Could Be Something. Put the items you believe to be
bills or payments in a gallon plastic bag. Find out how the executor
or person managing money wants to handle such items.
Set aside all photographs and other
memorabilia like postcards, playbills, autograph books, journals and
diaries, letters and greeting cards, handwritten recipes, souvenirs,
etc. Box them up and label them. The lone exception might be what the
family may prefer not to know about, such as pornography, sex toys,
or Neo-Nazi or other hate-related items. If you’re doing this as a
professional, your contract should reflect your client’s
preferences, whether you have discretion to dispose of such items or
are to sort them like all other possessions.
Set aside heirlooms. Ideally, you’ll
know what’s an heirloom, but don’t count on it. If an item could
be an heirloom, save it for the family. This includes fine china,
crystal, silverware, sterling serving pieces, barware, art, display
items, oriental rugs, antique furniture, and lots more. You’ll know
most of it when you see it.
Set aside any computer, cell phone, or
other electronic device, with cords and chargers.
Set aside any address book or file.
People who exchange Christmas cards often keep just the envelopes to
note the current addresses.
WHAT’S UNDETERMINED
Set aside items that are clearly
incomplete. The cookie jars without lids, Chinese teapot separated
from its cups, the plate that holds the matching pitcher, etc. often
turn up to be reunited.
Bag and tape (or otherwise keep
together) any broken parts to other items. Is it worth the repair if
you have the broken bits? Not your decision.
Set aside things that you’re not sure
the family will want to keep, but they might. This might include
saved magazines and newspapers, display items that are clearly not
expensive, incomplete projects, refrigerator magnets, vinyl records,
and all sorts of things.
ROOM BY ROOM
Arrive with your phone and take a
picture or video of the room where you will work and the sorted
items, even if they’re boxed or in bags. Plug your phone into its
charger and do the day’s sorting, then when you are done for the
day, take a second picture or video. This shows your progress and
proves what condition you left the place in. If you ever suspect a
break-in, you’ll be able to compare pictures. If anyone accuses you
of not doing the job, you have proof you did.
Start with the bathrooms. Nearly all
that’s in them will be discarded, and there’s little or no
furniture to deal with. Box up towels and shower curtains; if there
is such a thing, leave out a worn or damaged towel for hand-drying.
Leave hand soap, cleaning products and supplies, tissues, and toilet
paper, which you are likely to use before the job is complete. Nearly
everything else (except small appliances like shavers and hair
dryers) can be discarded unless it is unopened an unexpired, in which
case it can be donated. Dispose of medications safely, especially
prescription medications. You may have to bag it up and seek a safe
disposal event. You’ll be using the bathrooms every time you work
at the task, so it’s not a bad idea to clean once it’s empty.
There’s going to be a lot of trash.
Confirm whether you inconvenience others by filling a substantial
portion of a shared dumpster, whether bagged or boxed trash not in a
can or dumpster will be picked up, whether there are critters who
will rip it open and make a mess, and so on. You don’t want your
work on emptying the house to bother others.
Next is the kitchen, usually the worst
to deal with, with little chance of uncovering anything of value. If
it isn’t clean, wash the dishes first. While they dry, empty the
unopened, unexpired food in the cupboards into boxes. Be aware
donated items cannot be expired or past their Best By dates, even if
they are still safe to consume. Place the items in Trash, Take, or
Donate area. Pack up pots and pans, small appliances, utensils,
knives, tableware, and other unbreakables and move the boxes to the
appropriate area for disposal. Unless the family is hurting for cash,
most of what’s in the kitchen will be donated rather than sold.
When you box things up, label it in
wide-tip marker and stack so the marked sides or ends are all on
display. It’s very helpful when people can look at stacked boxes
and read what’s in each one, even if the box is in the Donate area.
Add notations like HEAVY and FRAGILE as needed.
Go through the items in the
refrigerator. Items requiring refrigeration or freezing cannot
typically be donated, but if you feel they are safe, you can bag them
up to take with you when you leave for the day, with the family’s
permission.
Pack up the breakables last. Liquor
boxes are great for glassware. Never place glassware on its side, no
matter how well wrapped. Pad between every plate or bowl (Styrofoam
plates are great for this) and set them flat in stacks no more than
eight high, even if they’re only headed to a thrift store.
Last are the junk drawers. Most of it’s
literally junk, but some belongs in Take or Donate, or Undetermined.
If you find product manuals that go
with small appliances, put them together. Manuals for major
appliances can be put inside each one or bagged and the bag taped to
its outside.
When the kitchen is fully empty,
surface clean it: wipe cabinet surfaces inside, clean counters, sweep
the floor. Unlike the bathroom, this cleaning is necessary to keep
vermin from finding anything to eat.
After the bathrooms and kitchen are
done, the rest is easy in comparison. Pack up books—keep an eye out
for photo albums, yearbooks, and books old enough to be of
value—without making the boxes too heavy. Separate any vintage
(pre-1965) or designer clothes or shoes for resale and pack the
remaining clothing, shoes, coats, hats, and umbrellas for donation.
Set aside sports equipment and musical instruments for the family to
decide on. In the living room and other rooms, carefully pack and
label display items, DVDs, CDs, etc. so all cabinets and drawers are
empty. Tape remote controls to the back of the thing they operate,
using packing tape. (Dust it first or it won’t stick.) Coil
electric cords and secure with twist ties. As dressers and
nightstands are emptied, move them into the living room if there’s
space.
THE END IN SIGHT
Eventually you’ll have only furniture
and sorted items, most in boxes you’ve labeled or bagged for
donation. The Take and Trash signs can come down.
Leave the house broom clean, working
around the boxes and bags of sorted items and the furniture. Your job
was clearing out the house. Family may hire a cleaning service, or
may hire you, but you don’t owe deep cleaning as part of emptying
the house. It’s common for the family to gather to make decisions
about the items you’ve set aside; they can all clean together.
The family may choose to gather to deal
with the items you have sorted or to send a representative. That
person must arrange for the disposition of everything remaining, from
shipping the heirlooms to scheduling pick-up by or delivery to a
thrift store for the Donate items. That isn’t your job.
The family may ask you to be present
for Craigslist sales, to take items to thrift stores, or to host a
garage sale. You are not obligated to agree. Your work is done. If as
a professional you do anything more, it is outside your contract and
is paid for separately. If you’re part of the family, ask that you
be compensated for the time and effort you’ve already put in that
they have not, and seek more if they ask more of you Being the
nearest relative doesn’t obligate you to do it all.
When you clear people’s homes for
money, you need to be bonded, to have a contract in place before you
begin, and to be paid at certain points of completion, not at
completion. A family intending to pay for your work when the house is
empty may learn there is no money in the estate before you finish and
refuse to pay from their own funds.
Arrange for payments by automatic money
transfer, rather than waiting for a check in the mail. You prove a
portion of the work is done by photographs. You do not proceed until
you have been paid.
