Most people arranging one of these is not the person who lives there. It is usually an adult child, a sibling, or somebody holding a landlord's deadline, and they are dealing with the situation and the feelings at the same time.
So this is the practical part, written plainly.
Nothing leaves without being looked at
Cash, documents, photographs and jewellery turn up inside things in these houses — in books, in coat pockets, taped under drawers. It is common enough that we treat every container as something to open rather than something to carry.
That is slower. It is also the difference between a cleanout and a loss nobody can undo.
Pace, and who is in the room
If the person who lives there is present and able to make decisions, the job runs at their pace, and that pace is usually slower than a family member expects. Pushing it produces a stop, and a stopped job is worse than a slow one.
If they are not present, agree beforehand exactly who decides what stays. One person. Two people with different views in a hallway costs hours.
Conditions we will tell you about honestly
- Biohazard — human or animal waste in quantity — is a specialist trade with its own licensing. That is not us, and we will say so rather than take the job.
- Structural damage under the piles. Floors that have been loaded for years sometimes should not be walked on.
- Mould behind the stacks against exterior walls. Common in Florida, and it changes the scope.
- Asbestos in pre-1980 flooring, which stops the job until it is assessed.
Discretion
Unmarked where we can be. Trailer positioned to block the view from the road rather than advertise. No photographs of the interior beyond what is needed to quote, and none of it goes anywhere.
Neighbours notice a cleanout. They do not need to know whose or why.
How it is priced
By volume and time, and quoted after somebody has seen it. A hoarding job cannot be priced from a description — the same square footage varies enormously — and any number given over the phone before a look is a number that will change.
We will walk it, give you a figure, and stand by it.