Estate cleanout checklist

Before you start

Clearing out a loved one's home is hard work and often emotional. Take care of the important things first, before anything leaves the house. Tick them off as you go.

• Find the paperwork. Look for the will, and know who the executor is before deciding what goes.
• Gather documents. Deeds, titles, bank and insurance papers, tax records and anything with account numbers.
• Secure valuables. Jewelry, cash, heirlooms, photos, keys and anything irreplaceable should come out first.
• Photograph every room. A quick photo inventory helps with the estate, insurance and family decisions.
• Walk through as a family. Let everyone mark the pieces they want to keep, with tape or tags.
• Check your deadlines. Note any lease end, listing or settlement date, and work back from it.
• Set a cleanout date. Give yourselves time to sort, then book the crew for after sorting is done.

Sort everything into five groups

Once the keepsakes are out, everything else goes into one of five groups. Working room by room keeps it manageable, and you don't have to sort the donate, recycle and dispose piles perfectly. That's part of what a cleanout crew does.

1. Keep

   What family members are taking. Move it out or clearly mark it.

2. Donate

   Furniture, clothing, linens and household goods in good shape.

3. Sell

   Anything with real resale value, if the family wants the time.

4. Recycle

   Metal, paper, plastics and electronics.

5. Dispose

   Broken, worn-out or unusable items.

Know what haulers can't take

Every house has a few things a hauler can't put in the trailer. Set these aside early so they don't slow down cleanout day.

Donation and recycling

Most families want as little as possible to end up in the trash. Kingdom Haulers donates usable items to local charities where it can and recycles metal, paper, plastics and electronics. What's left is disposed of according to local regulations.

On cleanout day

With the keep items marked and the hazardous items set aside, the cleanout itself is mostly carrying and loading.

• Clear a path to the door and park cars away from where the trailer will go.
• Double-check that every keep item is out or clearly marked.
• Point out anything you're unsure about before the crew starts.

If you can't be there, Kingdom Haulers can arrange a contactless cleanout once you've told us what stays. Whole houses often take more than one trailer load, and that's normal.

After the cleanout

1. 1

   Broom-clean

   Rooms emptied and swept, ready to list, settle or re-rent.

2. 2

   Final walk-through

   Check closets, the attic, the basement, the garage and any sheds.

3. 3

   Utilities

   Once the house is empty, arrange final readings or transfers with the utility companies.

4. 4

   Keys and access

   Collect keys and change or remove any lockbox codes you set up.

Get help with the heavy part

Kingdom Haulers is a small, Christian-owned family crew based in Felton, and we clear homes across York County for families, agents and landlords. We treat your property like it's our own. Read more about our estate cleanouts, or call or text for a free, no-obligation quote.