When the time comes to complete a house clearance, it can be a stressful task, especially when sorting through personal belongings. Mr.Rubble, who provide skip hire in Sheffield, has put together some top tips to help you make plans to reduce the stress a house clearance can cause.
1. Be strategic
To make the whole process more structured, be strategic with how you will be completing your clearance to avoid being overwhelmed. For example, personal items can be much more distracting, especially if you are going through a loved one’s belongings in a property.
To get started, write or draw a plan of attack to help decide which rooms you will begin with. Knowing which rooms you will be clearing and in what order will help create an estimation of how long it will take. Lists are another great way to keep on top of what you have already cleared and what is left.
White goods, including fridges and bulky items such as cabinets, will need extra planning to save you time if you want to dispose of them. Fridges and freezers are considered hazardous items and will need to be specially disposed of. Not knowing the right location for these to be sent to in advance could cause possible delays for your project. Do your research and maybe get a commercial waste collection expert to assist.
2. Donate where possible
According to a recent study by LABFRESH, the United Kingdom produces 206.456 tonnes of textile waste in a year. To help reduce this statistic, we recommend trying to donate and recycle as many clothes and toys as possible during your clear-out. Electronic items can also be recycled if they are in good working condition.
If your home has antiques or items with significant value, we suggest contacting a reputable auction service in your area. To make sure you get a trustworthy valuation of your items, using an auction house can give you professional quotes on how much they are worth and often can auction the items for you if you do not have the time to try and sell them yourself.
Items that have less sentimental or price valuable would still be well received by charity shops, as long as they are in good condition. Or, if you’d prefer to make some money from the items still, you can easily take photos and upload them to online selling apps such as eBay and Depop. Facebook has also been a great way to buy and sell items in groups and on the Marketplace in your area. It’s become increasingly more common for these groups to give away things for free, too.
3. Prepare for rubbish
Unfortunately, house clearances are bound to create rubbish in some shape or form. Therefore, it’s best to prepare yourself for this in advance to avoid any stress. Make the overwhelm more manageable by separating items into piles. Start by creating keep, throw and donate piles. You are clearly seeing what things will be going where, and it will make your life a lot easier when it’s time to dispose of it!
As well as this, we recommend investing in heavy-duty rubbish bags as you will need lots of them! Vacuum packs are also a convenient way to reduce space and keep things such as clothes neatly packed away.
Hiring a skip for your house clearance could end up be a massive time-saver. How much waste you need to dispose of will determine what size skip you need to hire. After placing your skip order, it will be delivered to your door and once you are finished with it, simply let the company know, and they will take it away for you, too. You are saving you lots of time having to make trips to the skip!
When you order your skip, it is best to speak directly to the skip hire company and tell them what waste you will be disposing of. Doing this will help avoid any issues with putting the wrong waste into the hired skips. For example, mattresses are a common item removed from house clearances, but these can not usually be put into skips.
4. Be open to needing help
After going through your belongings and choosing what you’d like to keep, you need to dispose of what is left correctly. If you have bulky items such as sofas and white goods, Man With a Van services can help with the lifting. It’s common for these services to include their labour in the cost, removing lots of stress and hard work for you and saving you time.
