It’s a hoarding situation. I live 3 hours away and have gone to work on clearing her house twice a month for a year and a half. 6 hours round trip and 8 hours of cleaning in one day. I’m tired. I have the first floor cleaned up but the basement is full and I just can’t do it. I need to hire someone to bring everything out of her basement and put it in backyard so I can go through it, then dispose of what will not be kept.
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The estate company emptied the house (we both lived in other states so we just let go of control) and separated everything into sell, donate, and trash. When they found something they thought we might want they emailed us pictures. They held sales and left us with an empty house except for the literal shovels they used to do the final cleaning. It was a nightmare but God bless that estate company.
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It will be a win win.
Alternately, they could have done an estate sale if it had been worth it. But there was not a high value on many of the items in the house, so I'm just as happy that people who are trying to establish or re-establish their homes are getting use from the items.
There is a fee for their services. You'd need to check their website or call to see if they are in your area. They were great to work with.
It cost them money but there is no way I could do this myself. With help it took over two weeks just for the clean out. The house was infested with mice so I had to hire a company to clean and sanitize. I also had to sell the home.
Start local and don't beat yourself up over this. Cleaning out a home is bad enough without the hoarding aspect
Find cleaners, movers, haulers:
To get into back yard first: hire kid(s) from high school or college.
Then hire more professional people once you know what / how you want to get rid of things.
* Check days/times when dump and Good Will/SalvArmy are open.
- Some places will NOT take furniture, etc. so check beforehand.
Use: and get references:
* Next Door (if you have)
* Facebook
* Post at church or activity centers
* Get referrals from friends
* Ask for references (do not leave anything valuable unattended)
* If drivers / truck needs, ask for copy of insurance (or consider it)
I believe there are professional 'hoarding' situation cleaners
I hope that you are able to recoup your time and travel expense, if your mom could reimburse you.
Gena/Touch Matters