We worked with two sisters who lived out of state, to clean out their parents home after they had both passed. They shared with us that their mom was very organized and even had one of my business cards tucked in her files for downsizing!
We realize estate clean outs are tough and it's even harder for family with memories surrounding every item they touch.
We ask family to take some time to identify everything that they want. This is crucial. When we go to disperse of the rest of the items, if an auction or tag sale company is involved and family starts changing their mind, it can throw the whole auction/sale off or even cause it to be cancelled (if there isn't enough to sell to be profitable for them it's not worth their time.)
In most cases, by the time family identifies what they want, we can coordinate a consignment company that is a good fit (even with consignment companies it may not be worth their time to pick up if family changes their mind on high dollar items.) We work with some buyers who will buy outright as well, and work with charities that can carefully pick up items in a timely manner. In the photos you will see a truck with items getting loaded on - that's ReStore, one of our industry partners.
Once family has identified what they want, we start sorting out items for trash and donation. We always tell family that even though they tell me they have everything they want, things will pop up. It's not unusual to find money, jewelry, family items tucked into long forgotten places or under or in furniture.
We take pictures at every work session of the progress and items we find and send links to those pictures to our clients to keep them involved in the process.
It's always rewarding to send those final pictures of an empty, clean home. Our services allow family to keep working their jobs yet know what is happening with their loved ones' clean outs.
We are more than happy to work with realtors on getting the house ready. In this case we followed their realtors wishes and hired a handyman to pull up carpet and show off the hardwood floors in two rooms. We work efficiently and have those parties show up while we are working so we don't waste time and we can oversee the work. When we partner with other industries we get to know each other and they understand that when they come pick up items, move items, clean etc we are ready for them and they can do the job they need to do and stay on time.
Another layer of our services is to document donations, we make sure family gets copies of all the donation inventories and receipts for their records.
We also have a confidentiality standard that we hold to - making sure confidential papers are properly handled, not letting people come into the home that are not approved by family or working with our team.
We understand that some items found in homes are private and meant to stay that way.
Client Feedback:
How satisfied were you: Absolutely
What did you like most? Personalization. Clear, transparent communication. Wide variety of support.
Areas where we can improve? I honestly can't think of any. We were so grateful for your support! It was an overwhelming project and time in our lives and you made it possible.