A four-week plan that works
The mistake almost everyone makes is leaving the clearance until after the move, on the theory that you'll see what's left. What actually happens is you pay a removal firm to transport things you don't want to a house you haven't got room for, and then deal with it there under more pressure.
Clear before you pack, not after. It makes the packing quicker, the removal quote smaller, and the new house immediately better.
- Week 4 — walk every room and decide
- Week 4 — book the clearance and the movers
- Week 3 — sell or list anything of value
- Week 2 — donate what charities will collect
- Week 1 — clear everything that's left
- Moving day — only what's coming with you
What removal firms won't take
This surprises people on the day. Most removal companies won't take paint, aerosols, gas bottles, garden chemicals, petrol or anything flammable — it's an insurance issue, not awkwardness. They'll also usually decline to empty a loft or a shed, and many won't take a fridge or freezer that hasn't been defrosted.
So you're left with a garage of half-used paint tins and a shed of garden chemicals on the morning of the move. Paint has its own disposal route, covered in our leftover paint guide, and the rest of the garden and shed contents we can take in the same visit.
Old appliances are worth planning for too — anything with a plug is WEEE (anything with a plug or a battery) and can't simply be left at the kerb. Our appliance removal service covers fridges, washers and cookers.
Move creeping up on you?
One photo per room and we'll price it today — same or next-day clearance where we can.
If you've left it late
It happens constantly, usually because a date moved. The fastest route is one photo of each room, garage and loft sent on WhatsApp; we'll come back with a fixed price the same day and can often be there next day. Our same-day rubbish removal service exists more or less entirely for this situation.
Don't sort it first. People lose a whole evening making neat piles that we're going to load anyway. Leave it where it is and let the crew work.
If it's a rented property and you're up against a check-out inspection, clearing everything is the single biggest factor in getting the deposit back — items left behind are the most common deduction. What a landlord can and can't charge for is covered in our end-of-tenancy guide.
Getting value out of what's going
Give yourself three weeks if you want to sell anything. Marketplace and local selling pages work well for white goods, garden equipment, tools and anything mid-century; they work badly for large brown furniture, which has almost no market now regardless of quality.
Charities will collect usable furniture free, but they need notice — often two or three weeks in busy periods — and they'll refuse upholstered furniture without a fire label. That fire label rule catches a lot of people out.
Whatever's left, we'll offer usable items for re-use and recycle the rest, with over 80% diverted from landfill.
