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At ASAP Clearances, we have many years of experience in home clearing in North London and the surrounding area. Although we aim to complete our work as quickly and efficiently as possible, the whole process can be made much simpler if you have prepared for our arrival. Here are our top tips on how to prepare for a house clearance.
Go Room by Room
It’s best to approach preparing for a house clearance on a methodical basis – otherwise it may take a lot more time than you think.
So, it's probably best to approach your preparation room by room. Being brutal is often the best approach when deciding what you want to clear out – you will feel better for it afterwards.
If you are looking for a good starting point, it may be best to start with the kitchen – there may be perishable foodstuffs which should be removed on health grounds.
Locate Important Documents
The house clearance you are responsible for may be for a family member who has passed away suddenly – or be a probate house clearance, in which case there may be legal implications.
If there are any important personal documents such as a passports, driving licences, bank and financial statements, or any guarantees and warranties for electrical items, put these to one side and mark them clearly; it may be useful to take pictures of them too just to you have an easily accessible record of what you’ve found.
If you can’t locate any important documents, but suspect they are around the property somewhere, tell us and we will be able to look out for them during our visit.
Pack and Mark Everything Clearly
The whole clearance process is a lot simpler if everything is packed up in advance and marked up as well – it saves us having to do it ourselves and it saves a lot of time, rather than dealing with individual objects.
Post-It notes are a good way of ensuring everything ends up where it should. You could adopt a simple three-way approach with your labelling, marking everything either ‘Keep’, ‘Bin’ or ‘Recycle’.
At ASAP Clearances we like to recycle as much as possible anyway, but if there’s anything you are not sure how to dispose of, such as potentially hazardous items like paint cans and batteries, let the team know when they arrive (if you haven’t alerted them already).
Don't Forget the Big (as Well as the Small)
While it is easy to overlook the smallest item, such as the odd book or CD, equally there are some items which might normally considered too big to be part of a house clearance – such as sofas, mattresses and dining tables.
However, don't leaves these items out of your home clearance preparation. Think about whether you need to keep them or not, as we have a lot of expertise in moving larger items as well, so are well equipped to clear furniture big or small.
The same applies to fridges and cookers (as well as the paint cans and batteries mentioned above) – we have a Waste Carriers’ Licence and know how to dispose of these within the current regulations.
And don’t forget things which might be thought to be part of the house itself, such as mobility aids such as stairlifts – we can dismantle these as well.
Don’t Forget the Outside
House clearances can also apply to the outside of the house as well as the inside.
Here we are talking more about items in your garden shed – will they form part of the clearance as well? If there are a load of tools, and garden equipment, follow the same methodical approach as you would inside the house in respect of packing and labelling.
We can clear sheds and greenhouses, as well as garden equipment such as lawn mowers.
At ASAP Clearances, we can also offer specialised garden clearance services in Hampstead, Barnet, Cockfosters and across North London and Hertfordshire.
Give the Place a Light Clean Beforehand
We wouldn’t expect the house to be completely cleaned beforehand – for one thing, there are likely to be a lot of boxes around. However, lightly cleaning any exposed surfaces and vacuuming any particularly dirty spots should make the whole process even quicker.
If there are any boxes to pick up or collect, make sure they don’t obstruct access points or make it difficult to open doors.
House Clearing in North London from ASAP Clearances
If you would like to know more about our house clearing services, follow this link and fill in the online form; you can also call us on 020 3475 0508.
Remember, we can also clear block management and office waste; and whatever service you need, you can be assured of a sensitive, professional approach from all our staff.