Clearing a house after a bereavement: a gentle, practical guide

There's no right timetable

Some families clear a home within the week, because it's rented and the keys are due back, or because being in the house is too hard. Others leave it for months and go through a drawer at a time. Both are completely normal. Unless there's a deadline attached to the property, a tenancy ending or a sale completing, there's no clock on any of this. Go at the pace that suits your family, and don't let anyone hurry you.

One thing worth doing early, even if the clearance itself waits: make the house secure and gather up the important paperwork. Everything else can happen when you're ready.

The legal bit, in plain English

First, plainly: we're a clearance and cleaning company, not solicitors, and this isn't legal advice. For anything you're unsure about, the executor of the will or the estate's solicitor is the right person to ask. With that said, two practical points come up again and again.

If the estate is going through probate, check before clearing anything of value. The contents of the house can form part of the estate, and some things may need to be valued before they're sold, given away or cleared. A quick word with the solicitor or the executor before anything valuable leaves the house saves awkwardness later. Ordinary household contents are rarely a problem; jewellery, antiques, art and collections are the things to ask about.

Check the insurance on an empty home. Many house insurance policies reduce or end their cover once a property has been unoccupied for a set period, often 30 or 60 days. A call to the insurer to say the house is empty, and to ask what that means for the policy, is worth making early. It's a dull job on a hard week, but it's a five minute call.

A gentle order of work

You don't have to do everything at once, and you shouldn't try. This order works for most families.

1. Documents and valuables first

   The will, property deeds, bank and pension paperwork, insurance policies, passports, certificates, plus jewellery and anything obviously valuable. Gather it into one box and keep it with you or the executor. The estate will need it, and it's the one part that shouldn't wait.

2. Things the family wants to keep

   Give everyone a chance to say what matters to them, in their own time if you can. It doesn't all have to be decided in one visit, and the small things often matter more than the valuable ones.

3. Photos, letters and personal things, set aside

   You don't have to decide what happens to these now. Box them up, label the box and take it home. Deciding can wait a year if it needs to.

4. Then the clearance itself

   Once the paperwork, the keepsakes and the personal things are safe, what's left is furniture and belongings. That part is a practical job, and it's the part where help makes the most difference.

Doing it yourselves or getting help in

Plenty of families do the whole thing themselves, and plenty don't. There's no right answer, and no prize for struggling. What most people actually do sits somewhere in between: the family goes through the house first, at their own pace, and takes out everything that matters. Then someone is called in for the heavy remainder, the wardrobes and sofas, the loft, the garage, the shed, and the boxes of ordinary things every house gathers.

If you're doing the first pass yourselves, a few honest tips. Work one room at a time and finish it before starting the next. Take breaks, because this is tiring in a way ordinary work isn't. And some families like to take good clothes and books to a charity shop themselves; it can feel better than watching them carried out.

What a good clearance company should do for you

If you do bring someone in for this kind of clearance, you're entitled to expect a few things, whoever you use.

• They take their lead from you. You say what goes, what stays and when. If something looks personal or valuable, they stop and ask rather than guess.
• Family things are set aside, not swept up. A list of things to keep should be followed to the letter.
• The price is clear before the day. A firm price in writing, from photos or a visit, with nothing added afterwards.
• No pressure. A quote should never come with a countdown attached.

That's how we work on every bereavement and probate clearance, and it's a fair test to put to anyone you're considering.

If you'd like a hand

We arrange bereavement and probate clearances across Surrey, London and the Home Counties, and we handle them gently. Send a few photos when you're ready, or we'll come round for a quiet look first, and either way you'll get a written price with no pressure to book anything. Smaller clearances start from £120. If it helps, we can follow the clearance with a full clean, so the house is ready to sell or let in one booking. There's more about how an ordinary house clearance works if you'd like the practical detail.

And if you're not ready, that's fine too. Keep this guide, take your time, and get in touch when it feels right.