An estate clean-out is usually a difficult process because you’re unhappy still grieving about losing a loved one. During this time, it’s critical to your well-being that you take your time to settle before you begin the estate clean-out.
If you have the responsibility of cleaning out the place where someone your deceased loved one once lived, it’s normal to feel confused about where to begin. Through this blog, we hope to help you through the clean-out process, so you can keep their memories and valuables safe with you.
Gather and Arrange All Important Financial Documents
Find out and keep all financial and personal documents of the deceased in a safe. These documents may include, insurance policies, bank statements, wills, property deeds and certificate of ownership of the property, stock certificates, and tax receipts. These documents will be helpful in legal proceedings and for filing incomes tax returns (if any).
Take a Tour of the House and Let Your Mind Process It All
You may feel restless and just want to dive in and begin with the clean-out process to get hold of items that remind you of all the times you had with your loved one. However, it’s extremely essential for your well-being to start slow.
Take your time, walk around the house, take a close look at every corner, and let it all absorb. It’s not unusual to feel bad and guilty about having to clean out the space that belonged to your loved one. Allow your overwhelming emotions to diffuse, tell yourself that it’s just the property
that’s going away; you’ll still have their memories.
Begin the Clean-out Process
Your tour of the house gives you an idea of everything that needs to go out, dumped, sold, and donated, and that you want to keep with you.
Begin with the food storage or refrigerator. Throw away expired edibles and keep the rest in a cooler to donate or to take home. For the usable food items, you can even call your local food rescue authorities, who can help you with food donations.
Call Other Family Members for Help
When you’re halfway through the clean-out process, invite other immediate family members and close friends for help and divide all the tasks. You don’t have to invite every relative, because everyone would be emotional, and there could be disagreements.
In the living area or any other spacious room of the house, assign zones for items that have to be donated, sold, and dumped. Also, designate a zone for heirloom and other sentimental items that will be kept by you or someone else in the family.
Donate or Sell Unclaimed Stuff
Belongings that are not claimed by any family member, but are in a good condition should be put up for sale or donations. Here are some organizations you can consider for donating unclaimed items:
Tech for Troops for used old cell phones, laptops, computer systems, other tech hardware. Catholic Charities for donating cars, trucks, grass movers, used clothing, appliances, and a variety of other items.
Habitat ReStore for donating furniture and electronic home appliances. For things that can neither be sold nor donated, hire a junk removal service or bin rental service that will recycle or dump the items through proper channels.
Reach to a Professional Estate Clean-out Service for Help
Estate clean-outs can be overwhelming for most people. You don’t have to feel bad if you don’t think you’re strong enough to deal with it on your own. The Junk Guys can take the burden off your shoulders and perform this task for you. We offer reliable house clean-out service in Edmonton and surrounding areas.
To learn more about our services and pricing, call (780) 695-4226.