A graphic of a woman working with a professional organiser

Episode 249 – Clearing the home of someone who has passed away

When a loved one passes away and you bear the responsibility of dealing with their belongings it can be stressful, time consuming and confronting. In this podcast we’re going to talk about something we like to call sensitive house clearance and how it might help you in this situation

Prefer to read rather than listen?

Transcript of this podcast episode

[00:00:00] Ingrid: When a loved one passes away and you bear the responsibility of dealing with their belongings, it can be really stressful and time consuming and confronting. In today's podcast, we're going to talk about something we like to call sensitive house clearance and how it might help you in this situation.

[00:00:22] Voiceover: You are listening to the Declutter Hub Podcast, bringing you tried and tested, no nonsense tips and advice from the lead in experts in decluttering and organising your home. Now here are your hosts, Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman.

[00:00:53] Ingrid: Hello and welcome listeners. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley. If you're new to the Declutter Hub Podcast, you are so welcome. What you'll find here is reality, empathy, and advised by the bucket load. And if you've been here for a while, thanks so much for listening. 

[00:01:10] Lesley: If you'd like the added bonus of watching us, as well as listening, you might want to find our podcast on our YouTube channel.

Search for the Declutter Hub, and you can see us chat each and every week. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel so it pops into your notifications each Friday too.

So, Ingrid, we're going to get started in a moment talking about sensitive house clearance and what that entails and what it is to explain it a little bit more fully. But before we do, let's start on our new little segment, which is our. Review segment. And so we've started now to look at people who are very kindly leaving us reviews and talk about those reviews and what they mean to us and what they mean to other people as well. Because obviously reviews, you know, reflect things that lots of people think. Hopefully. So Ingrid, let us read it out, the review and then we can talk about it. 

[00:01:56] Ingrid: Yes, this is a review sent by EG and she says, I discovered your podcast and it's so lighthearted, gentle, and funny. I would listen to a podcast and then carry out that contents clearing.

I followed each podcast and over the months managed to clear the house of two thirds of belongings. It was so emotional, baby clothes, et cetera, but it felt as though I was going to be okay because of all you both said in your podcast. So thank you for your support. Hope you're both keeping well, and keep up the good work.

How nice is this, Lesley? What a lovely comment. 

[00:02:38] Lesley: Yeah, it's so nice and I think there's so much in there that's so relevant to a lot of people. I think, you know, it's nice for us to hear that people consider it to be lighthearted, gentle, and funny because that's everything that we set out to do. It's one of our missions right at the start.

When we set the Declutter Hub, wasn't it? We're like, let's kind of try to bring the lightheartedness and the fun factor back into decluttering cause it's hard anyway. And just to have a little bit of fun along the way with it is a good thing whilst recognising that it's a very serious business alongside it.

So thank you for recognising and noticing that that's really important. And congratulations on managing to clear your house of two thirds of belongings that you no longer need. How amazing is that? 

[00:03:18] Ingrid: I know that it, that's a lot. I was like, wow, that is a lot. But I mean, you know, it's just amazing that by listening to the podcast, she could do this and she's taken our advice on board.

And of course when we set up the Decltter Hub with this podcast, with the Facebook group, with our membership, we were hoping that people will go, you know what? Actually decluttering, yes, it's tough, but it can be fun too, and I want to learn something along the way. I want to change my mindset and it's, it's just absolutely incredible.

[00:03:51] Lesley: Yeah, so thank you so much EG for sharing that with us and us then sharing it with our listeners, which is also lovely. And um, keep those reviews coming. I think it's so nice Ingrid to get reviews cause I think it's nice for us. Of course it is. We always like hearing nice things. But I think the more important thing is to know that the podcast that we are recording that, that we are broadcasting out there are helping you guys to get towards your decluttering goals.

Cause that's what this is all about. So thank you so much for sharing and of course, if you'd like to leave as a review, we would love to hear them. It's nice for us, it's nice for other people, and we can read it out on the podcast. So do pop into Apple podcast or your standard podcast player or on our website, declutterhub.com/ the number of the podcast, 249, this one. And, um, leave as a review. Let us know what you think and how our podcast has helped you. So Ingrid, sensitive house clearance. I think we have some explaining to do because I feel that that's a term that I potentially made up myself. I'm not sure it's actually a term that's out there in the decluttering world.

It's just something that I felt happened when I did a few jobs as a professional organiser and I felt it truly encompassed the work that we did. And that's what we want to talk about today. So what is Ingrid, sensitive house clearance? 

[00:05:06] Ingrid: I think Lesley, I think we need to set the scene a little bit first.

So what happens is someone passes away, the house is full of stuff, the house needs to be cleared. And then what? You know, it's like people call us, don't they like in, in a bit of a state, in a bit of a panic. For lots of different reasons, maybe because they find it very hard, or maybe because they're all by themselves that they have to clear this house, or they do have family, but they live very far away, so it kind of falls on their shoulders.

It feels a bit brutal to just call a company and go, right, well, uh, my aunts or my mom or dad's house, um, they passed away. Just clear it all and, and throw it all away. That's, it's far too brutal. But then what people are looking at this house going, oh my words, where do I even start? And this is all stuff that belong to people that I loved.

[00:06:06] Lesley: I think it's hard because of various factors, isn't it? As you said, the ones that you've mentioned already, I think often there's a timescale involved and so quite often, and we're talking, this is very much talking really about a scenario where you need to take action. Not super quickly, but you need to move things forward because this is the kind of thing that can take months, if not years, to get through if you don't have a plan to execute on something properly. So I think that's really hard Sometimes when time scales are involved. If you've got the time to do this over several months or several years, then sometimes that can be a good thing. It can also be a negative sometimes as well, but I think time scales are very relevant here.

I think, you know, as Ingrid said, if you've got the responsibility, so even quite often in a family, even though there might be three siblings in a family, there's typically one or two that take the lion share of the work that might be geographical. There's many reasons why that happens. Um, but often there's one person who it feels that they're probably the best person to manage the task or lead the task, let's say.

So if that's you, it, but it's tricky because you know, people might be quite happy to go, okay, you do that with my mum and dad. You do that. You do all the caring, and you do all the looking after, you do all the shopping, all that kind of stuff. But actually when it comes, and I'm being really honest here, but when it comes down to pounds, shillings and pence here at the end, that's when people start to sit up and take notice, and then have an opinion on things that they have kind of often let you get along with for so long. I'm right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm, it sounds harsh, doesn't it? Mm-hmm. But I, I can't consider myself to be quite lucky actually, cause I'm an only child and so I know that when I'm in that scenario, really, I don't have other people to worry about. And so I can just make decisions for myself and not have to worry about that.

But when other siblings are involved or other people in the family, It becomes very contentious as well. Mm-hmm. So we've got timescales that are a problem that force you perhaps into a corner where you have to do something much quicker than you would otherwise want to. Mm-hmm. We have family members who quite often cause difficulty, or even if they're not causing difficulty, it's emotional for other people.

So you might have this scenario where it's awkward and people are being a little bit self-serving. You might also have the scenario where everybody is on the same page, but some people find it more difficult than others. And then you've got the fact that every single item that you are going to come across is probably going to have some kind of sentimental attachment because it takes on a whole new meaning when that person has passed away, even if it's a functional item.

[00:08:38] Ingrid: You said something interesting. Lesley though, because she said I'm an only child for maybe, so maybe for me it's easier, but I think there's lots of people who actually can find it, can find it really hard when they're a single child because they suddenly feel they have to do all of this alone and by themselves.

And of course you are like a super organised person, Lesley, and I've known you for a very long time, so you're probably going to go and you know, you realise it's going to be hard and you know, you know that it will, but because you're from nature, very organised and you've got all these experiences and you know the charities and you know the outlets and you know what needs to be involved to get this project done.

But I can also imagine that people who are by themselves go, I wish I had a brother or sister or somebody out there that could help me with all of this. 

[00:09:27] Lesley: I think, you know, I, I think that's an individual, as you say, you know, I'm in the business of doing this. Yeah. And so I know how I would, how I would carry out that, that task and so it's not straightforward from an emotional perspective. Of course it's not, but it's straightforward from a practical planning perspective. And if I can then take out the kind of. Input from other people. Yeah. Then that takes that problem away. Yeah. I'm not saying being an only child is easy because it absolutely isn't in those kind of scenarios because you know, I've not, I'm, well, I have, my mom died several years ago.

While my dad was still around, but I think when times are tough as an only child, you've got no one to share it with, and so you are the only one who has to deal with all of that. So there's a flip side to it. So there's kind of pros and cons to being an only child, but in this scenario, I think that just based on what I have seen with the way that things unfold in families, I, you know, I've, I've never seen a scenario where it's straightforward. I know. Do you know what I mean? And that's why, you know, we've spoken about that many times where it's a good idea to have decisions made about this kind of stuff long before it happens. You know, the kind of Swedish death cleaning scenario where you think about what you might want to leave behind and you make it very clear to those that are being left behind what's going to happen and what your wishes are.

Mm-hmm. But I think if you've not done that, Then people are just making it up and hoping for the best and talking about conversations that they had with somebody and said, oh, Mum said I could have that. And somebody's like, did they, do you know what I mean? So there's, it's tricky, right? 

[00:10:58] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. I think as well, Lesley, I think everybody's got their own agendas and everybody deals with grief in a different way, you know, and, and with the tasks that need to be done. And of course you've got normally funerals that need to be organised and you need to have then the house and then, and the money and the paperwork and the whole estate of stuff.

And there's so much to do. And I think when there's different siblings, everybody feels, I think probably a different responsibility, feels that there may be different and good things that they can offer to the table. There's always probably somebody who kind of wants to take charge but without really communicating that really well with, with the other, the other family members that are involved.

And it can be quite contentious pretty quickly without, because everybody is still suffering the loss of losing somebody. How do you go through that? Because things have to be organised and sorted whether you want to or not. 

[00:12:01] Lesley: Yeah. And it, you know, we we're talking a lot about somebody passing away here, but it might be a situation where somebody is very much still around but is not capable and can no longer have their home.

And so yeah, a scenario. There are many scenarios and we're talking about siblings and we're talking about the standard order of things where your parents die before you. That's not always the case. Right. But, We also have dementia coming into play a lot more these days where people having to go into nursing homes and the house is there, that's even harder sometimes.

Mm-hmm. As well, because you don't want to do things as if they've passed away. Do you know what I mean? This is complex and our standard advice normally when it comes to dealing with people's belonging to have passed away. Is take your time and don't do anything that you don't want to do before you are ready because of the grieving process.

But what we're talking about today with sensitive house clearances, if you have a scenario where you have no choice, where time scales are involved and that house needs to go on the market, or some of the things needs to happen, this is where sensitive house clearance comes into play. So that's the scene. So now we'll need to talk about what sensitive house clearance is and how we think it unfolds. 

[00:13:11] Ingrid: Yes. So, um, I think what happens a lot is that, okay, somebody's, let's just say somebody's passed away. The house is either a rental property and you've got, uh, just only a couple of weeks to empty the house, or due to circumstances, the house needs to be sold quickly, for whatever reason, and you don't have a lot of time, you don't have months or years to do, to do this. You need to have it done quickly. Like I said, there are companies out there who can clear the house for you. Here in the UK, they're called clearance companies. You call them, they come in with the truck, they take stuff out of the house, and they either sell it, they donate it, they bring it to the tip for you, and lots of stuff happens, but they don't go through anything. They basically just empty the house, basically, like when you move house, people don't say, it doesn't matter, we just box it up, or we're going to move it from one place to the next. Then what happens with the clearance company? But when you want to do it sensitively, a k a, you want to go through things because you, there are certain things you can't immediately do there and then there are trickier items in a house. One of the things you can do is hire a professional organiser. Right? 

[00:14:29] Lesley: Yeah. And that's the, and that's what we wanted to talk about, really. It's about, you know, recognising the task ahead with all of the things that we've spoken about and thinking, right. If the job, if the job here is to try and get the house sold as quickly as possible. Maybe what I need to do is invest in having somebody to help me that's going to be able to do the groundwork. And this is what this is really somebody that is sensitive that will do the groundwork for you. So what I, I, I worked for client her a few years ago. What we did, she came to me, um, she didn't have the option of moving her mum's stuff.

So her house, her house was too small. She was obviously going to take some key things, but in general, she couldn't start bringing boxes and boxes of stuff because she didn't have the space. The house had to be sold quickly she was given the responsibility. I think she had a, a brother as well, but he was like, you just do whatever.

Um, so I think he was overseas or something like that. So she had the responsibility. She was working full-time. She needed to execute on this time scale. She's like, how am I going to do this? So what we did was we went in as a team of declutters and we did the groundwork with parameters in place, and we're going to talk very much about how to set those parameters.

The benefit of that is that you're going to get to your goal much more quickly. You're going to take out a lot of the really tough things, the repeated, seeing sentimental things over and over and over again. And you're going to going to get, be able to get to a stage where you're just looking at some key pieces that you can make decisions on and not everything. 

So I think it's really worth it for sure. It might not be a, a professional, it might be somebody else who's offered to help, who could do something for you. It doesn't necessarily need to be a paid scenario. Um, it could be a friend who's offered to help as well, but whoever it is, it needs to be somebody who has very, very, very, and I can't emphasise it enough, clear boundaries, guidelines, and has got your best interests at heart.

That's why professional is a fantastic idea, but a professional's going to cost money. I definitely think by getting a professional in, she could, you know, the difference is she's still paying a mo. You're still paying a mortgage every month while the, while the the house is there. But you can invest that money from the mortgage into a professional organiser and move things forward a little bit more.

So it's definitely worth thinking about as an option. You know, don't be scared. It's about getting the right person in place. That's what we're going to talk about. So it was really well done. So I think I had a team of people, I think there was three of us in the house. We took different rooms. We'd already predetermined what those criteria were.

And then the client used to come at the end of the day. So this is one of those scenarios, very, very, very rare scenarios that as professional organisers, we worked independently most of the time. The client has to be there all the time, but she gave very strict criteria on what she wanted and was able to just come in for an hour or two a day to start making some of the more tough decision on some of the items that we had said these are the kind of things that you really need to look at. You know, we're going to, we're going to empty the kitchen. You know, you've already told me that you don't want any of your mum's crockery or you don't want any of the food, or you want that to go to a food bank or whatever it is, so we had those criteria and then actually we did use a house clearance company with the things that we were clearing but we were just that middle man almost Ingrid.

[00:17:45] Ingrid: Yeah, I think it's so interesting. I think, you know, I was talking to somebody who I met for the first time, um, over the weekend, Lesley, and I was just telling her all the different things that we get involved in and why our job is so interesting and why it's so much more than, oh, we're just going to put some stuff in a bin bag, right? And I think this is exactly one of the scenarios that we really make a difference in people's lives. It's the same when we are helping a client unpack in their new house. It makes such a difference. They feel at home much quicker. You know, it's, it's just, one of the things that being a professional organiser, we work with so many different clients, so many different situations, and I think we really always have the client at heart of what we do and how we can help them best.

And I think this is a perfect example of that as well. Like you say, we're normally, we want the client there as much as we can. In this case, it wasn't possible because she was doing this around her job and about everything that she was doing, but you and your team made a massive difference to her for a job that she could have not done all by herself.

You were like the perfect middle person and you could ask her all the questions, but then also have contact with the actual clearance company to do all the kind of the logging and the carrying and the lifting and the, while you could kind of categorise for her and kind of go right this, you know, I think it's fantastic.

[00:19:16] Lesley: I think the problem is sometimes all of these things, you know, moving house, for example, you know, moving house, selling house, whatever, you know, it's not for no reason that it's one of the most stressful things that we do, right? And so I just think it's the same as packing when you move in, I. Honestly, if anybody comes to me, I'm like, just get somebody to pack your house up for you.

It's literally not that much money, um, to do it compared to everything else that you have to do. Literally get somebody to pack stuff up because the alternative is just so long winded, isn't it? And you know, with all, you know, but the problem is, we, we go at, it's expensive anyway, we don't want to spend any more money than we need to.

But there are some things that I just think is a, a good place to, to kind of invest some extra money. And this is one of them. So we wanted to talk a little bit about setting parameters. And so we've talked about, because some people would be scared to death, right? About, I, I can't just let somebody loose in my house.

Uh, you know, they're just going to throw things away and I know that there are some things around that I really want and stuff like that. So how are we going to, you know, get through that? And so this is going to be probably so as professional organisers when we do, um, jobs with clients, we do a consultation and we set guidelines and goals and all of those kind of things.

We're going to put these on steroids and go in and do a long consultation. Everything, every little detail is going to be written down into a project plan, and we're going to say, these are the kind of things, this is where it's going to go. They sit and, you know, get that signed off by the clients and say, this is what happened.

Maybe the client would then, you know, if we did have a scenario where there were siblings, they would say, you know, we've got a professional organising company. This is what I've agreed. I've agreed that all the food can go. I've agreed that all the kitchen stuff can go. Um, if they do see something that's more expensive or brand new in a box, that's the kind of thing that we would.

Say, you know what? This might be better than the one that you've got at home. Let's have a look and you can make a decision then. But if it's just an old plate that's been there for donkeys years with no sentimental attachment to it, then that will be the kind of thing that just goes and gets done to charity or whatever.

So I think that the project plan is huge in this scenario. Yeah. A to safeguard ourselves as professional organisers from not making, uh, an incorrect decision. And so that the client feels completely happy with what's going on, and I think trust is going to be paramount in this. So you have to have the right professional organiser that you trust to do the job well.

And so, um, I think it, you know, it's different. This is an unusual, I've done about four or five of these in 13 years. This is not something that comes up with regularity, but I do wish more people did do it because I think it can be really helpful. Mm-hmm. And it can, you know, stave off some of that, that that trickiness around this.

Yeah. So what, what do you, what kind of things do you think that you would want to talk about when you were doing this kind of goal setting, Ingrid and the kind of project planning? 

[00:22:07] Ingrid: Um, I think I would really want to get clarity about what kind of items I can expect to find. What is important? You know, wh who do they want things in certain categories so they can go through it, if there's siblings involved, you know, because everybody has got different things.

So I think if there's multiple people involved, I would want to get clarity of each of the people or through the one contact person within the family, what are the certain items? Because what can is special for one person might be not special for somebody else, right? So the key player in the family might say, oh no, everything in the kitchen can go.

And then the other one said, but I really would've loved to have mum's blah, blah, blah from the kitchen cupboard because I've loved it as I was a child. So I think you really need to have clarity about the key pieces. I think you need to have clarity about, um, ornaments and photographs and paperwork and things like that.

I think you have to really good clarity about who is involved when, who gets the real clearance company involved. How are they going to book that, pay that timeframes? Do they want to come up to the house and all be involved, or is one person going to be the key? Is there going to be a, a WhatsApp group? You know, there's, there's quite a lot to go through and kind of figure out. 

[00:23:32] Lesley: Yeah, it's a big plan cause it's a big project, right? So to clear a whole house, I mean we, you know, we talk about decluttering in small, manageable, manageable chunks. This is not something that can be done in small, manageable chunks.

This is something that's going to involve a professional organising team and. You know, working with the volumes of the whole house, which is a lot all in one go. So that's why, I mean, it's overwhelming for one person. You know, we see so many people doing this Ingrid, and it's just completely overwhelming and it can go on for months and months and months.

Yeah. And be so soul destroying for someone. Cause you know, we love doing that stuff. Most people don't, you know, most people don't love going through people's stuff, whether that's food or clothes or whatever that might be. And then once you add the sentimental side into it, then it adds a whole nother layer.

Yeah. I think I just wanted to talk a little bit about the bit that you talked about where you talk about points of contact, and I think this is critical. What you need to establish at the beginning is yes, ideally you would want one point of contact, but sometimes it makes sense if you are going to update people or to update the whole family, all of the kind of key players in this. Um, so I think that's important to establish that as well. Like who wants what and you know, have you got, if there are four siblings or whatever, do you know, you know, cause there can be a scenario one, but, oh it'd be fine. I'll do it, I'll do it.

You know, but you might want to involve the others. This is where it gets tricky as a professional organiser, because quite often we are party to kind of family mediation sometimes as well. We can only do what we can do, but that definitely forms part of what we're doing in these kind of scenarios. Whenever there's another person, even if that person is alive and we are decluttering with their mom, with their dad, whatever, it definitely, we definitely have to work out as professional organisers who we need to communicate with effectively.

Now we're talking a lot about working with a professional organiser here, but you can do this yourself. So all of the things that we're speaking about here, If you are doing this job yourself, you're doing it as a full family. These decisions need to be made anyway, you know, even if you're not getting a professional involved.

So if you are doing that set out, don't just jump in and go, okay, we're going to clear mum's house out on Wednesday or whatever, and I'll jump in and hope for the best because you need to have a meeting to set this criteria up. You know, maybe decide on where the contentious things are going to be. Take those out straight away, potentially get that ironed out, and then go do the bulk of the work.

So it is tricky. I'm not going to say, and that's why I think it's sometimes useful to get somebody who has no sentimental attachment, who can be completely objective about this, uh, to kind of media and, and be a middle man in it. 

[00:26:10] Ingrid: Yeah. Well, uh, Lesley, let's go to a break because there's much more to talk about. So let's go for break and we'll see you soon.



[00:26:23] Ingrid: Hi everyone. Welcome back. After your little break, we are talking about sensitive house clearance and before the break we talked about a lot about the emotions and that it can be really hard to sort this out and how you can do this all. But let's go into a couple of more practical things. What are the things you're going to see and that you're going to come up against when you're doing this?

And one of the things is, Where is all the stuff going to go, right?

[00:26:51] Lesley: Yeah, definitely. I think it's good to, you know, and this is where you can really honor the person that's passed away. They've got a charity that's very close to their heart. You can decide to do that, you know, so quite often people, I don't know, pass away of cancer or something like that.

So it's nice then to use a cancer charity or something like that. So that would be the kind of thing that we would suggest certainly as professional organisers, but often family members have already got somebody that they work with. Um, there will be loads of stuff. Donate as much as you can. That's what's really important.

Work out the logistics of how that's going to be taken off the property. You know, can we take stuff to a food bank? Who's going to do that? Can we do tip runs? You know, there, there are limits to how many times you can go to a tip, you can't go. I know it's different in every social, in every, um, council around the UK I don't know what it's like in other areas of the world, but we can't just keep on going like day after day after day.

And if you are, if you are clearing out a garage and stuff like that, often you need to go day after day after day, right Ingrid? And so those kind of things need to be thought about. So you might need a house clearance company. Is it logistically going to be easier for, to get somebody else to manage that?

Or have you got enough kind of manpower to do that yourself? So think about the practicalities of the exit plan. In a normal declutter, the exit plan is everything. And definitely part of our process, and this is really important cause we're talking about huge volumes. So when we are talking about. Book, storage areas, garages, lofts, all of these things that we will come across as part of this project.

We really need to think about those logistics and that exit plan, because that's when you come unstuck, isn't it? So you do all this decluttering, but all of a sudden you've got a backlog, like a kind of, almost like a bottleneck of stuff. Yeah. So we need to have the right cars, we need to have the right people that can help us, or we need to, um, use somebody who does that for a business.

[00:28:37] Ingrid: Yeah. Or, or we need to order a skip. And that's sometimes you, you can't, normally we think, oh, we just call a skip and we've got a skip within an hour. They're busy. You know, it sometimes can take days. You need to be really organised with that. You might need to book a clearance company. You need to think about timeframes and when have I got the right stuff for these people?

Maybe if you're like, okay, I want charity to collect a lot of this stuff. You need to book that. They normally also have a waiting list. They normally cannot come that week there, and then you need to book that in. Or maybe what we don't really have here in the UK, Lesley, is something called an estate sale.

But I know that they do that, um, in America, one of our members was um, um, helping her mom clear out her house. And, um, she did an estate sale and we're not really familiar with that, but we've read up on it and we've, we've talked about our member about this, and it's what we do is that as soon as a house kind of has all the kind of important things have been taken by the family, then the rest gets sold off.

And you can either do that yourself with garage sales or you can hire a company to do this for you. And they stage everything around your house and they put price tags on it. They have people coming around, they advertise it, and the company helps you by doing this estate sale. Less well known here in the UK. We, we do a lot with charity here, don't we, Lesley? 

[00:30:01] Lesley: Yeah. I do wonder though, you know, and, and it'd be interesting to know what it's like elsewhere in the world, so I'm pretty sure it'll be the same in Canada, right. But there's probably a state of sales and I think a lot of it might be to do with the weather, Ingrid.

Mm-hmm. I just wonder whether we don't have the, cause a lot of these, you know, garage sales and yard sales and all that, they happen because it's nice weather. Like we can't really get, rely on it not pouring with rain in the middle of our garage sale. Do you know what I mean? So I do, I do wonder whether that is because of that we have car boot sales here, which is different, but that's, everybody goes to a central point for those.

I think people are starting to do more garage sales and things like that here, but they're just not that common are they? Mm-hmm. Um, I think, you know, I've been talking a lot about, you know, I've been talking about the, the, the sort of jobs that I've done, which have typically been where it's more like, you know what, there's very few things that we actually want of mum's stuff.

We want the sentimental things, but mostly it's just functional stuff that was my mum's that I don't want in my house. Sounds very harsh, but you know what I mean, like it's not your type of thing. Yeah. And that's quite common. Um, And of course there will be some things that absolutely are, but I think, you know, the estate sales scenario, it, we might be jumping into a completely different type of house where there's a lot of very expensive items, a lot of antiques, a larger home, you know, things like that. And so all of this is going to be very dependent on the type of stuff that's in a house and you know, well, whether or not the house that you're dealing with has got things that are going to be valuable from a cost perspective, um, and a sentimental perspective as well or not to be clear, whether it's just kind of just general stuff. Yeah. Um, so it's sorting all that kind of stuff out, isn't it? 

So let's go and talk a little bit about the practicalities of it. So we've made a decision, we've gone right, okay, can't do this on my own. So I'm either going to hire a professional to do it, it's going to bring in a team, or it might just be one person. You can either be there with them or not. Okay. So the scenario that I was in was like, and that's why we brought a team in and we did it quite quickly, was that we had very clear criteria about what was going to happen. And then we offloaded that stuff out of the door and then the client came back later on in the day after they'd finished their day's work and went through the stuff that we had set aside and said yes or no to those things.

And as professionals, of course, We're used to knowing what kinds of things are sentimental. Okay. We see a letter. We see, you know, even if we see a magazine that's an unusual kind of magazine, our our minds will go, are they in the magazine or is someone special to them in the magazine? We're not just like, that's a magazine. And the answer is that it might not be special. But we would make sure that that was pulled out with a question mark over it, wouldn't we? Ingrid? Yeah, and that's what we're talking about, sensitive house clearing. We'll talk about somebody who knows the business of stuff, who knows what kinds of things are sentimental, and will pull those things to one side to just double check without just letting go of them.

Of course, you're going to have scenarios where we're going to find things, you know, hidden jewellery, we're going to find things that might be difficult. We might find ba, you know, things that we know might be a difficult memory for somebody. So we will deal with those very sensitively when the client comes back as well.

So there's all different kinds of scenarios, but ultimately our experience of dealing with people's stuff over the years means that we will be more likely to be able to find those kind of things and pull 'em out to one side rather than a house clearance, um, company that is just there to clear the house.

You know, it's a different remit at the end of the day. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I'll call it sensitive house clearance. Ultimately, what we're trying to achieve is that that house is clear, but we know there's a little interim step in there. 

[00:33:43] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. And I think Lesley, so would you say start with things like food and toiletries and, I mean, you do need some cleaning materials left, obviously, but there's normally l people have loads in their houses, right?

We find the cupboards full of stuff. It's probably, you know, the bedding, the pillows, the, the blankets, all of those things are not, are normally not super sensitive. You know, if, if they're in a linen cupboard and you suddenly see something that's smaller or with a certain pattern, you think, oh, that might be a special one.

This is the one we're going to put to aside and ask. So are those the categories that you would get started with? 

[00:34:22] Lesley: Yeah, I think so. And I think even, you know, talk about cleaning products and food because that can be useful to anybody, right? So you might make a decision, you know what? My mum did have loads of cleaning products.

So there is loads of food still in the cupboard, and yes, I am going to use that myself or I'm not. I'm going to send that to somewhere else and I'm going to put it on free recycle or you know cleaning products were a bit of a tricky one, so you needed to make decisions on that. So things like bedding and towels and stuff like that actually is probably more straightforward because you can't really have more of the same, whereas food you can, because it's going to start getting used and cleaning products are going to start getting used. So think about those kind of things in your project planning as well. Um, so yeah, I, I would probably take it, it doesn't really matter, but I think. I would probably, as a professional organiser, probably work in a very similar way to the way that we do our roadmap.

So I would talk about the, I would do the kind of kitchens, bathrooms, practical things first, and then build up to things that are perhaps more difficult at the end because this is not all going to be done in a day, so you can start with. Again, even with your client who's going to have to make a lot of difficult decisions quickly, we can present them at the end of the day with things that are simpler at the beginning and then start to build up to things that are more sentimental and more difficult at the end.

Yeah, and so I think I would probably work in a kind of, In, in a very similar way to we do our roadmap in the membership. Yeah. For the same reasons actually. 

[00:35:41] Ingrid: Yeah. It was interesting, Lesley, because actually I was talking, uh, I was, I went to my choir last Wednesday and I was talking to one of my friends and she was sharing that she was, um, um, sorting out her, clearing her friend's house who sadly passed away.

And, uh, she said, I just, so much work, you know, and it really resonates with me now hearing, you know, us talking about this, she really said, I can't even, and she even downsized already from a larger house to a, a flat. But still there's so much work to be done on top of organising the funeral because she didn't, that person didn't have any children.

So it all falls to her and her and her family to to, to sort her friend's house out and you know, being of course immensely sad that her friend has passed away trying to do all of this. And she said, I still got the books to go. And I went, oh yeah, it's a good thing you left that till later because that is a hard category to do, but make sure you check all the books because a lot of people put sentimental items in books, for example.

So be mindful. So I gave her some tips and I gave her some ideas and she was like, oh, I'm so thankful to, to just to talk to you and to talk through a little bit because it, it's a lot to take on and she's retired and her husband is as well. We all have, you know, a lot going on, but basically she has time to do it.

[00:36:59] Lesley: I think it's so hard and I think it's hard to do it yourself and sometimes that's what's required and, and we completely understand that. Yeah. But it just, every item, when somebody's passed away, everything item feels like them. Do you know what I mean? And that's the, you know, whether it's a really functional item like a towel or like a, like some bedding or a pair of trousers, it takes on a whole new meaning because that person's now passed away and you feel like you're doing them a disservice by doing something partial as to stick it on Olio or send it off to the charity shop and you feel like you need to honor that person. But what we are saying is you, you know, there's probably several thousand items in a home and you can't honor every single one of those items in the same way. So what we want to do is we want to try and take out the really, the, the things that are worthy of honor almost, don't we? Yeah. Yeah. And then, um, if you can sort of do it that way, it makes it a little bit easier.

Yes. Tricky. Really tricky. But I, I just knowing what I know about how difficult people find it and how it just keeps on going. Do you know that's the problem with it? It's something that holds people back on getting to that next stage of actually putting the house up for sale, which is the next stage, right, with difficulty. When you've got to go and people are looking at your, the house and picking it apart as they do, and you know, things like that. So there's a whole load of stuff that comes after that. But clearing the house of stuff is, um, is the first part of it. 

[00:38:22] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then indeed, exactly what you're saying, Lesley.

Uh, how are you going to get this house ready to be sold? You know, are you going to have it empty? Are you going to have just a furniture left? But no, you know, food in the fridge because you know that if somebody lives in the house, you can't leave that. All of that stuff, freezers, fridges, all of those things, it all needs to be dealt with.

And you know how, how are you going to get to the next step of getting this property sold and then all the paperwork that comes after that with the probates and all of that? 

[00:38:57] Lesley: I think that, um, and I think that, That staging element of it, like how are we going to sell the house? Are we going to sell the house with stuff in it, with just furniture in it with pretty much empty, but with a few key pieces that needs to be set out in the project plan?

Like what, what's, what's the goal here? Where do we need to get the house to? And then of course, once it's sold, there's going to be another push to get rid of the furniture or sell the furniture, whatever. So it, it comes in phases, but it's thinking that through. And I think a lot of people dread it. Know that they've got to do it and can only get, because of the grief can only get as far as on Wednesday, we need to get started and get stuck into mum's house.

And I think to try and have these difficult conversations and put this project planned together mm-hmm. Um, with your family members is going to be really helpful. Hard. Yeah. But helpful. 

[00:39:45] Ingrid: Yeah. And I think for us, the main aim here in this episode was just to really say, There is help out there, there is, you know, there are professional organisers that can help you, you know, if, if even asking your friend feels an ask too big, you know, it's something you know, because these are, you know, this is not something that you can do in ha, can you just help me this afternoon for a couple of hours? You know, if you're struggling by yourself or if your family is scattered all over the country, all over the world and you feel like you are the one here, just know.

You do not have to do all of this by yourself. You can really have an ally with a professional organiser to help you with this and. If you then do decide to take items home and you struggle with sentimental items, that's something you can then do later in our membership and go, how am I going to deal with all the sentimental items?

But if you're pressed for time, you know, spending this money on a professional organiser can be some of the best money you've spent. Also just to help you get through this and not let something drag on for years because it just eats so much of your energy away and your mental capacity and you know, when juggling with caring and jobs and family and children and, and your house yourself, it's a, it's a full-time job on top of everything else.

So don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to investigate your options. Know that you're not alone. And I think. There is really, there are fantastic organisers out there who can help you on, on a, on a local basis and, yeah. Yes. That's what we wanted to talk about. 

[00:41:22] Lesley: That is what we wanted to talk about.

Yeah. That we've spoken about before. Is it, but no. Something that's a really useful, um, addition to a professional organiser's portfolio. Yeah. And that help you along the way as well. 

[00:41:33] Ingrid: Yes. So I know, I, I'm interested to know from our listeners, has anybody dealt with, um, having to sort out a house of a family member or of parents?

How did that go? How did you find it hard? I would love for people to share a little bit of their experience if you're willing to. So leave us a comment. You can do that on declutterhub.com/249. There's a little comment section below on the page. You can leave us a comment and we read everything that you send us.

Or maybe you are feeling inspired or maybe this podcast has made you think and go, yes, I I have been. This has been on my mind. I've been dragging this. I've been procrastinating about this. I'm going to now, after talking to Ingrid, I, after hearing Lesley and Ingrid talk about this, I'm going to take action.

We'd love to know. So thank you so much for listening today and big one episode, Lesley next week. 

[00:42:32] Lesley: I know we got something special coming, haven't we? Yeah. We like to do something special when it's, uh, you know, key, what do they call 'em? Keynote, not keynote. Key. Key podcasts? Yes. 

[00:42:46] Ingrid: I don't know. We should know. I know.

Like special. I don't know. 

[00:42:57] Lesley: Exactly. We've got a lot of work to do before we record that one Ingrid because we can't even think of what we might call it, so I know. Yeah, 250 is quite a big thing. 

[00:43:04] Ingrid: I know I'm, I'm, yeah, I, I can't believe it, Lesley, that we've actually managed to actually chat for 250 episodes, but we still enjoy it.

We still love it. We still appreciate you listening in week in, week out. So come back next week for our big. Episode 250th episode listening. A

[00:43:23] Lesley: keynote or Key Mark. Key. 

[00:43:27] Ingrid: We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll think of something anyway, 

[00:43:32] Lesley: something special. 

[00:43:35] Ingrid: Thank you so much and we'll see you next week.

[00:43:37] Voiceover: Thanks so much for listening to the Declutter Hub podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to us in your podcast player so you don't miss an episode, and we'll see you next week.

Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode

Listen on

Apple Podcasts

Listen on

Amazon Music

Listen on

Spotify

Watch on

YouTube

Prefer to watch rather than listen? Watch on YouTube

Find out more about our membership by clicking below

A photograph of Lesley and Ingrid at a laptop smiling into the camera with words advertising the declutter hub membership on the right

Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode

Listen on

Apple Podcasts

Listen on

Amazon Music

Listen on

Spotify

Watch on

YouTube

Recent Posts

Episode 315 – 10 ways to declutter spontaneously

Episode 314 – How to declutter a storage unit with Margie

Episode 313 – My decluttering journey with Christina Rudes

Episode 312 – 10 clutter hotspots and how to fix them

Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]

First

Last

Veronica says:

3 January 2024 at 7:52 PM

I have been looking for a podcast discussing these topics as I am in the middle of cleaning out my house I shared with mom.

I am completely alone, no family at all. The biggest issue I am having is that I am unable to sell collectibles that are worth quite a bit but I do not want and are very large, I do not want to take with me to wherever I move.

All her clothes I washed and donated to appropriate places such as her good work clothes went to a woman’s shelter and casuals went to Goodwill.

I am not a fan of decorating for holidays so I have asked our friends if they are interested in taking anything they could use and would like.

Reply
1. Lesley Spellman says:
  
  4 January 2024 at 10:56 AM
  
  Hi Veronica,
  
  So glad to hear our podcast is helping you on what is a tough job to do. Are you struggling to sell the collectibles because of then logistics or the emotional attachment?
  
  We also have podcasts on collections so just pop that into the podcast search bar and they should help you.
  
  Best of luck and thanks for listening.
  
  Lesley
  
  Reply
  1. Veronica says:
    
    23 January 2024 at 4:27 PM
    
    Hi. It just seems no one wants to buy them. I am listing it for current value and willing to even drive a couple hundred miles to deliver and still nothing.
    These were my moms which she absolutely adored however I have no problem selling them for the fair value or slightly less.
    I am going to listen to the podcast now. Thank you.
Debbie says:

26 July 2023 at 9:45 PM

I was very thankful for this timely podcast. We recently lost our father who was 100 years old. He had lived in his house for over 60 years. My sister and I have luckily worked very well together, going through the contents of the house and choosing things that would work in our homes or could replace things in our home without overwhelming our homes. The rest of the contents we opted to do an estate sale auction so that the house could be sold. This is such a difficult time of life and time to go through. I think because it is so emotional there is often disagreements and anxiety which just makes the entire situation more difficult. I thank you for your thoughts. Congratulations on your 250th episode. I appreciate everything the 2 of you do.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  27 July 2023 at 9:05 AM
  
  Thank you Debbie for your kind words and so sorry to hear about your dad. What a relief you and your sister could work very well together, especially in such a difficult time. Take care, Ingrid
  
  Reply
Gail Harris says:

22 July 2023 at 2:27 PM

Thank you Ingrid and Lesley. You always make sense. I did help a team of friends four years ago to clear a mutual friend’s property after her passing. Whilst it was sad and I still miss her it was easier than clearing family items. Also those of us who wanted some of her items put in donations and this was used for her funeral costs.
However my lovely Mum recently passed and my brother and I are dealing with her retirement flat which is not such a huge task as it was when she left the family house seven years ago. Before that event my brother and I sat with Mum and made two lists of items we each wanted to keep after her death. We duly signed the lists at the time. Fine and dandy Mum and I thought! Unfortunately, my brother as executor has fallen out with me and taken over everything and has blocked me from entering her apartment without him. He also took control of the funeral service etc and didn’t allow me any input in the end. So I feel cheated of grieving for her. I live down south near the coast he lived near my Mum up in Cheshire so was keeping an eye on her and helping her a great deal in the last year and half of her life. She almost reached 99.
I used to go and stay with her for a few days every so often to give him a break but he was always very controlling and wouldn’t step back and take time out. So he resents the fact that I live down south not near her. I have lived down here since 1972/3!! Now he won’t let me have any part in emptying her apartment but resents all the work he has to do on his own. As a result he wants to change her wishes in the will too in his favour. I feel very traumatised by his treatment of me and have stood back for now for my own protection. It is so sad and I can see that it may be a good solution to have a third party helping. He will never go for that though! So I would certainly recommend for others clearing a loved ones estate to obtain some professional help before you start. Thank you for all your advice. I am in the membership but because of all the family ups and downs making slow progress. Hoping to get back into rhythm.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  24 July 2023 at 10:16 AM
  
  Oh no I'm so sorry to hear this Gail. What an awful situation. Grieving for someone who's passed is hard enough without all the trauma and emotions. Have you thought about getting some legal help with this matter or do you know it's not going to help you in any way?
  Just make sure you practise self care and grief for the lost of your mum in your own way. Thinking of you in this very difficult time.
  Do make sure you come to our live sessions in the membership. They are always so good for the soul and for support and motivation.
  Ingrid x
  
  Reply
Jean Wood says:

17 July 2023 at 8:52 PM

There are also estate sales where things are sold by auction.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  24 July 2023 at 10:06 AM
  
  Hi Jean,
  
  We've heard about these estate sales in the US, but here in the UK it is very unusual unless it's probably a stately home or something.
  
  Reply
  1. Jean Wood says:
    
    14 August 2023 at 2:19 PM
    
    Estate sales/auctions are quite common here in Canada.
Pamela Dawkins says:

11 July 2023 at 3:10 PM

I love the podcasts and this one especially resonated with me. My dad died in 2002 and 4 years later after several falls, my mum moved from their 3 bed house to a 2 bed small flat near us. Obviously she couldn't take all the furniture so we were given quite a lot as we couldn't bear to let it go and she wanted us to have it. In 2012 after more falls, she moved to the nursing home were I was working and needed to rent the flat out to help pay the fees. That was very tricky – she took a lot with her (to a small room!) and again wanted us to take stuff. By this time her paperwork was all muddled up and all over the place so that was difficult too. In the end some of the furniture had to go to house clearance people, but our house was filling up – nice furniture but too much of it. When she died in 2014, again loads to remove quickly and guess what? it's still in boxes in our 'room of doom'! She very kindly left me (only child) the shares that my father had but those have stressed me out so much over the years – I know I should be grateful but I find them so difficult to deal with – tax forms etc, Doing probate on my own took 6 months and was SO difficult. I wanted to let the solicitor do it but my husband said that was too expensive.

Last Easter 2022, my mother-in-law died (98) and still had her 4 bed house. Every week my husband went over (70 miles away) to empty the house with his sister and each time came back with piles of stuff – some went to charity. Finally the house was sold and emptied of furniture in December, coinciding with our daughter buying her first house with her boyfriend. They took quite a bit of furniture (Ercol) but the rest ended up in our garage (which my husband had finally managed to clear after 31 years). It's still there waiting for our 38 year old son to move out (that's another story!) and for us to clear a space in our house. Meanwhile we have 3 sofas in our sittingroom (not a big room) and another one elsewhere which I hate but he loves. That's the problem – because he let me have my parents' stuff, I have to let him have his. Our daughter's house is immaculate – because she has piles of her stuff here! The clutter really gets me down and it's so hard to deal with other people's stuff. My mother had a story about everything she possessed and I can hear her voice in my ear when I'm contemplating getting rid of things! I have been away and hope to get back to the roadmap soon (when I've sorted out the holiday stuff!!). I do realise that I'm in for the long haul now and will keep going. Thank you Ingrid and Lesley for eveything tht you do to keep us motivated.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  12 July 2023 at 5:57 PM
  
  Oh my word Pamela, that is a lot of hard situations you've been in and I'm not surprised that it's taken a toll on you and your home. I'm so glad you're in our membership so we can help you step by step. It's so important to do the emotionally easier rooms first before tackling those harder areas. Make sure you keep submitting your questions for our Live Q&A's so we can answer you with lots of detail. It's the mindset that needs changing alongside the clutter leaving your home.
  
  Reply
Tracy says:

10 July 2023 at 11:35 PM

I live in the US, and I was the only one of my siblings that lived in the same city as my parents. My brothers live 2000 miles away. We didn’t have the time, energy, or emotional capacity to deal with their large house full of stuff. We would have liked to have had an estate sale, but the people we met with determined that it would not be worth their time because my parents didn’t have a lot of things with great value. They had a lot of antiques, but there’s no market for that now. So we ended up auctioning off the house and the contents after we looked through everything and saved what we wanted. We got a lower price for the house, but it worked out so we did not have to sort through everything and empty the whole house ourselves. We just handed over the keys and the auction company set over and we were not even present on the day of the auction.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  11 July 2023 at 10:28 AM
  
  Hi Tracy, thank you for sharing your story. You did what you thought was best in the circumstances and there is no right or wrong way. I'm glad you had a chance to look through items before the house went up for auction. Ingrid xx
  
  Reply
Glorrus says:

7 July 2023 at 9:23 PM

This was a timely episode for me. My husband recently passed away and I know I will need to deal with all the things. The most helpful advice was to have a family meeting before making a plan. In my situation, I will be staying in our home at least for the near future. However, we were married for 45 years and have lived in this home for almost that entire time and his death was unexpected so you can imagine the accumulation of things. I appreciate your podcast and look forward to continue listening.
p.s. congratulations on #250!

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  10 July 2023 at 10:09 AM
  
  Thank you for your comment Glorrus and we're so sorry about your loss, especially since it was unexpected. We appreciate you listening to our podcast and are glad our advice has helped you in such a difficult time. Take care, Ingrid
  
  Reply
Nancy says:

7 July 2023 at 8:52 PM

Episode 249 comments – My mom passed away June 2022. Her house and garage were filled to the brim. She was not a hoarder, but kept a lot of items (paperwork, sentimental, photos, home movies, family slides, train collection, crystal and china collections, antiques, extensive tools, etc). My dad had passed away in 2004. Mom had let go of Dad's clothes, but nothing else. My brother and I lived in the area and started on the house early in July. The goal was to make the house ready to sell in one month. It took us 2 months. Looking back, I can't believe we were able to accomplish what we did in that timeframe; the more we processed, the more we found (items behind items behind items in the bookcases, closets, and garage)! There were still items in the house when it was listed for sale like furniture and some items in the cabinets and closets. The open areas just had the furniture, lamps, some artwork, etc. My family was also selling our house and moving 2 hours away so I was hesitant to bring home too many items. The items I brought home went into our garage. As I brought home more and more, I started to let go of more of the earlier things and stopped bringing home as much as I originally intended. During all of this, the housing market changed quite a bit and it took us longer than we anticipated to sell both houses. That was very stressful, but in the long run I am glad it turned out as it did. We were able to spend one final Christmas in our old house (we decided to downsize since our kids moved out since they are now on their own). With 2 out of the 3 kids on their own now, they moved out their items too. Along the way, we had a roof leak and many of our boxes in the garage got wet. Luckily, nothing too important was lost. In the end, both houses sold only a month apart so that was pretty hectic getting everything out by the closing dates. My brother and I divided up the responsibilities with the remaining items – digitizing the photos and home movies. During the cleanout of Mom's house, my brother and I communicated very frequently. In the beginning, we decluttered together. Once we got in a rhythm, we were able to go over when we could with our schedules. Since I am the oldest, I was the leader and drove the entire process. We had a plan from the beginning which changed a little as we went along, but basically stayed the same regarding what needed to be done and the order of execution. Mom had talked to us years earlier about what she wanted to leave each of us with our input so there were no conflicts over the household items. It was all written down in her will as well. Mom's grandkids are all grown and they each took some items. I was also in charge of the will and financial stuff. There were items with the house that needed to be repaired so that was part of the plan too. From the time mom passed until the sale of the house was less than 9 months. Looking back, I wouldn't change too much. I don't think I would have been able to turn over the process to professional organizers. I would have been too worried that things might have been discarded that we wanted especially since we found some hidden gems that we didn't even know existed. However, I can definitely understand why that is a great option for many people. If I had to pick the top things that contributed to our success, I would say that we had a plan and that my brother and I did a very good job communicating with one another.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  10 July 2023 at 10:13 AM
  
  Hi Nancy, thank you so much for sharing your story with us and I'm glad to hear you and your brother worked so well together. It's all about the communication isn't it? I can completely imagine how stressful it must have been to do 2 houses at the same time. Wow! That is a lot of hard work and decision making all in one. Well done for tackling these big projects and wishing you all the best in the future. Take care, Ingrid
  
  Reply
Helen Symes says:

7 July 2023 at 9:55 AM

Hi Lesley and Ingrid
I've been listening to your podcast for 2 years or so, and always find the podcasts useful, friendly, chatty, and full of top tips! My mother died in April 2021 so I have been through the decluttering of all her stuff left in her apartment in Oxfordshire. My sister lives in Toronto, so when she came over to the UK (despite Covid conditions) during mum's final few weeks, and also over the following year, she was a massive support in helping to sift and sort, bag up 'stuff'! This included probably around 300-400 CDs, around 200 books, various pieces of antique furniture and we're not finished yet, as the flat is proving hard to sell. 27 months after her death, I still have her antique dining room furniture, beds, some pictures and other things which we've kept to furnish the flat to make it appealing to a buyer. The whole process was overwhelming, relentless but in a funny way, therapeutic – my sister and I relived moments from our childhood and it was almost as if mum was in the room with us as the memories flowed in. One particular find was a box letters written between my mum and late father (he died in 1992 aged 50), written between 1962 and 1967, before they married, 2-3 letters per week whenever they were apart. Not only is it wonderful to hear their voices, but they are the voices of our parents when they first met, found each other; they also provide a social statement from the times, with theatre trips to the Black & White Minstrel Show in London (!), and they went to see the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964, and my father professed he didn't think they had much of a future! Sorry, I'm waffling. Anyway, I just want to share that your podcast this week resonated with me so much, it's inspired me to get the job done and declutter the final items we've kept 'just in case' and not touched or moved for 2 years.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  7 July 2023 at 12:24 PM
  
  Hi Helen, thank you so much for listening to our podcast and for sharing your story. I'm glad we've inspired you to take next steps and of course we hope it helps with the sale of the flat. We did a podcast about getting a property ready for sale (episode 79) and maybe it's worth re-listening to that one? Take care, Ingrid
  
  Reply

Episode 249 – Clearing the home of someone who has passed away

Episode 315 – 10 ways to declutter spontaneously

Episode 314 – How to declutter a storage unit with Margie

Episode 313 – My decluttering journey with Christina Rudes

Episode 312 – 10 clutter hotspots and how to fix them

Leave a Reply

categories

want to get started right away?