How to clear a house after a bereavement

Clearing a house after a bereavement works best in three stages: first secure the paperwork and valuables, then decide as a family what is being kept, passed on, donated or sold, and only then bring in a clearance crew for everything that is left. Give yourself as much time as the circumstances allow. Unless the house is rented or already sold, there is rarely a reason to rush.

This guide is for Dublin families doing this for the first time: the practical order of things, and what a professional bereavement clearance day actually looks like.

Where do you start when clearing a parent’s house?

Start by doing nothing for a while, if you can. The first weeks after a death are for the funeral, the family and the immediate paperwork, not for emptying wardrobes.

When you are ready, make one visit with no intention of clearing anything. Walk through the house, open the cupboards, look in the attic and the shed, and get a sense of what is there. Take photos of each room; they help when discussing things with siblings who cannot be there, and they are what a clearance company needs for a quote.

The one thing to do early is check the house is secure and that insurance, heating and post are looked after; an empty house in winter needs the heating ticking over.

Do you need to wait for probate before clearing the house?

We are a clearance company, not solicitors, so the honest answer is: ask the solicitor handling the estate before anything of value leaves the house. In broad terms, the contents of the house form part of the estate, and the executor is responsible for them until the estate is dealt with.

Clearing genuine rubbish, perishable food and your own belongings is one thing. Disposing of furniture, jewellery, cars or anything that might need to be valued is another, and the timing depends on the will and what the solicitor advises. There is a clear explanation of the issues in this guide to whether you can clear a house before probate, but it is not a substitute for advice on your own situation.

Rented homes are different again. A private landlord or the council will want the keys back within a set period, and that deadline, rather than probate, usually decides the pace.

What should you look for before anything leaves the house?

Paperwork first. The will, property deeds or lease, bank and credit union books, pension and insurance documents, PPS and tax letters, passports, medical cards, bills in the deceased’s name, and anything from a solicitor. Put it all in one box and keep it with you.

Then the things that matter but are easy to miss. Jewellery, cash, and important items are often kept in places that made sense to the person: the hot press, the back of a wardrobe, a biscuit tin, an old handbag, inside a book, under a mattress, in a coat pocket. Check every pocket and every container before a bag is tied.

Photographs, letters, medals, a wedding dress in the attic, a child’s school report kept for fifty years: these are the things families regret losing. Nobody regrets keeping a box of photographs for a year while they decide.

How do you decide what to keep, share, donate, sell or clear?

Five piles, and a system that everyone agrees to. Coloured stickers work well: one colour per sibling for items they would like, one for donation, one for sale, and anything with no sticker is cleared.

Be realistic about selling. Brown furniture, china sets and ornaments that were valuable thirty years ago often have little resale value today, and photographing and listing them takes time you may not have. A few genuinely good pieces are worth an auctioneer’s opinion; the rest is usually better donated.

Donation is also where most of the comfort comes from. A good coat, a working fridge or a shelf of books going to someone who needs them is easier to live with than a transfer station.

How do you involve brothers, sisters and the wider family?

Set a date for a family visit and ask everyone to come. Decisions made with the whole family in the room are far less likely to be argued about later than decisions made by whoever lived nearest.

If someone is abroad, video call them from each room and let them pick. If two people want the same thing, agree a rule in advance: toss a coin, take turns, or let the eldest choose first. The rule matters less than having one before the argument starts.

Agree a cut-off date too. “Anything not collected by the end of the month goes to the clearance” is a hard sentence to say and a kind one in the long run, because it stops the house becoming a storage unit nobody can bear to visit. A written bereavement clearance checklist is a useful way to keep track of who has agreed to what.

How does a professional bereavement clearance day work?

Once the family has taken what it wants, send photos of each room and ask for a quote. A good company will quote from the photos alone and price by van load rather than by the hour.

On the day, a two-person crew arrives at the agreed time. Anything you have set aside and labelled stays where it is; everything else is sorted as it is carried out. Items in good condition go for reuse or donation, recyclables are separated, and genuine waste goes to a licensed transfer station.

You can be there or not. Many families prefer to hand over the keys and come back to an empty house; others want to be present for the first hour and then leave. Both are normal, and the crew should take its lead from you.

We leave the rooms swept and return the keys to whoever you name. As Anne from Sandymount put it after her father’s flat was cleared: “Junk Removal could not have been more helpful during what was a challenging period, simplifying the task of clearing my late father’s flat to the fullest extent.” Our bereavement clearance service page explains how we approach these jobs.

What should you expect emotionally?

More than you think, and at odd moments. People manage the wardrobe fine and are undone by the handwriting on a shopping list stuck to the fridge. That is normal.

Do not do it alone if you can help it, and do not do it in one go if you do not have to. Bring someone who did not know the person as well as you did; they can keep moving when you cannot.

If you reach the point where every remaining object feels impossible to decide about, that is usually the point to stop deciding and let a crew take what is left. Keeping everything is not honouring someone; keeping the right things is.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to be at the house during the clearance?

No. Many families hand over a key, let the crew work, and return to a cleared house. If you would rather be there for part of the day, that is fine too; just let us know in advance so we can plan around it.

What if we find something important after we thought we were finished sorting?

Tell the crew straight away. Anything found during the clearance that looks personal, valuable or important, such as documents, jewellery, cash or photographs, is set aside rather than loaded, and we will show you what has turned up before it goes anywhere.

Can you clear a house if the family lives abroad?

Yes. Photos can be sent from anywhere, quotes are agreed by WhatsApp or email, and a neighbour, solicitor or relative in Dublin can hand over the keys and check the house afterwards. There is no need for anyone to fly home for the clearance itself.

What should we do with our parent’s clothes?

Go through every pocket and handbag first, because cash, keys and letters often turn up there. Clean, wearable clothes can go to a charity shop, and anything too worn can be recycled as textiles rather than thrown out. Many families keep one favourite piece, a cardigan or a scarf, and the crew can bag the rest on the day if you would rather not do it yourself.

How long should we hold on to our parent’s paperwork?

Keep anything to do with money, tax, pensions or property until the solicitor tells you the estate no longer needs it. Old bank statements and bills can be needed to settle the estate’s affairs, so box them rather than sort them in a hurry. When you are told they can go, shred anything with a name or account number on it.

What should we do with medicines and medical equipment in the house?

Return medicines to a pharmacy rather than putting them in the bin. Equipment such as a hospital bed, hoist or wheelchair may be on loan from the HSE or a supplier, so check with the public health nurse or the supplier before it goes anywhere. Sharps are clinical waste and not something we carry, so ask the pharmacy or GP how to dispose of them.

What should we do with religious items such as Mass cards, rosaries and holy pictures?

Take your time with these, because they often matter more to someone in the family than you expect. Mass cards and memorial cards are usually kept together in a box, and rosaries, medals and pictures can be offered around relatives first. If nobody wants a religious item, some families prefer to bring it to their local parish rather than put it in a bag for clearance.

Should the house be cleared before it is valued or put on the market?

Ask the solicitor and the estate agent before you book. The solicitor may want the contents seen or valued as part of the estate first, while the agent will usually prefer an empty, swept house for photographs and viewings. Once both are happy, book the clearance for just before the photographs are taken.

The landlord or council needs the keys back and we are not ready. What can we do?

Ask for a little more time and explain the circumstances; it is always worth the conversation. In the meantime, take out the paperwork, photographs and the handful of things that really matter, and keep them somewhere safe. A crew can then clear the rest to the deadline, so the hardest decisions can wait until you are ready, even if the house cannot.

What should we do with a parent’s phone, tablet or computer?

Keep them out of the clearance for now. They often hold photographs, contacts and details of accounts and bills that the family or the solicitor may need. Once everything useful has been saved and the solicitor is happy, wipe them before they are donated or recycled, because we do not wipe data.

What should we do about post that keeps arriving at the house?

Keep collecting it, because letters are often how families find accounts, policies and bills they did not know about. If nobody can call to the house regularly, An Post offers a paid service to redirect mail to the executor or another family member. Post piling up behind the door also shows that a house is empty, which is worth avoiding.

Next step

When the family is ready, take photos of each room and send them for a free, no-obligation quote; there is no pressure on timing from our side. You can also read how we handle a bereavement clearance in Dublin, or our guide to preparing for a house clearance.