The first month after a loved one passes away can be challenging and busy. You find yourself suddenly overwhelmed with a huge list of tasks, many of which have strict dates, as if the loss itself weren’t bad enough. Even if managing an estate cleanup is a difficult undertaking, you don’t have to do it by yourself.
Learning how to navigate your own sorrow is a necessary part of cleaning out a home when a loved one passes away. There is no one method that works for everyone to deal with these feelings. Be as nice to yourself as you can, give yourself permission to take breaks whenever you need to, and rely as much as you can on those around you for support. To assist you complete the task with the least amount of stress possible, we’ve provided a step-by-step guide for cleaning out a loved one’s home, along with advice from estate cleanout and junk removal professionals
Protect Their Belongings
Even if you might not instantly clean the house when a loved one passes away, you must promptly secure the home and property. You never know who might have their house’s keys. Change the locks as soon as possible after their passing to secure their possessions. If they were a tenant, get in touch with their landlord to figure out the best way to secure the property.
Sort The Items
Don’t immediately let the entire family loose on the house when starting your estate cleanout. Start by performing a rough sort in each room. Even if you’re unsure of their value, set aside any goods that might be of high value for appraisal. Fine art, antique furniture, silver, jewelry, and antiques may have value and it is worth the effort to bring in a professional to appraise them.
Hire A Professional Appraiser
It will be much simpler to decide which objects are valuable enough to sell and which should be shared among the family if you hire an appraiser. Most of us lack the necessary skills to decide what constitutes a valuable asset on our own. An appraisal gives the executors a detailed visual inventory of every object in the house. It can be used to distribute assets among heirs fairly. In some circumstances, the appraiser might also be able to reveal previously unknown details to the family regarding an heirloom, such as the artist’s attribution or market value.
Family Discussion
Meet with the family so they may make their claims for the things they want to keep. You may decide on a day to have everyone arrive at once if your family members get along well and there haven’t been any significant disputes regarding the estate or the home cleanout procedure. If more than one person is interested in the same item, they may quickly work things out and keep the process rolling.
Bringing in smaller groups of relatives at a time can make the procedure less contentious if there are family conflicts. Start with the deceased’s close family members and friends, then move on to the rest of the family. Permit each group to wander through the house and attach their names on everything they like with sticky notes. Put individuals who selected the same goods in touch with one another and remind them that they must reach a consensus by the deadline for the estate cleanout.
Charities Value Unclaimed Items
After everyone has submitted their claims and there are still usable items in good condition, identify an acceptable charity and get in touch with them to set up a pickup. If your relative resided in a nursing home, think about giving some of their possessions to the staff members who may have grown particularly close to your loved one.
Get Rid Of Unclaimed Stuff
It’s time to rent a dumpster to remove what’s left, if you haven’t already. This is the quickest and most straightforward method of doing an estate cleanout. If this feels overwhelming, keep in mind that the things you’re throwing away aren’t the things your relative valued or the things you have pleasant memories of them being. Your relative would have probably been pleased to get rid of the common stuff.
Hire An Estate Sale Company
Selling the precious goods completes the estate cleanout process. Employing an estate liquidator is your best option if you have a lot of stuff to sell if you want to complete the task fast. They know the market, the values, and the best technique to sell personal stuff. If you only have a few treasures to sell, get in touch with a consignment store or an estate buyout specialist.
There Is Help Available
It can be physically and emotionally taxing to clean up a relative’s home; don’t be hesitant to ask your loved ones for assistance. If you have a solid support network, you can allocate and delegate certain duties to divide the responsibilities. For example, you might ask one person to manage the invoices and vital paperwork, another to hire the appraiser, and a third to handle lock changes.
Keep in mind that there are experts available to assist you at every stage of the estate cleanout procedure; hiring them can help you save time, effort, and stress during what is already a trying time. Contact a local estate clean out or junk removal company if you’re feeling overwhelmed or physically not up to the task.
Logan Triebold is the owner of River Valley Junk & Demo that proudly serves the Saint Croix River Valley and Eastern Minnesota. To learn about how River Valley Junk & Demo can assist you in a Estate Cleanout, please call (715) 781-9795.