Clearing the family home

House clear outs in Kitchener-Waterloo, handled with respect and left ready to list

After a move or after a loss, we empty the home properly. Family pieces set aside, good things donated or sold, the rest removed, and the house cleaned.

When the house is still full

Sometimes the move has already happened and the house is sitting there with most of a lifetime still in it. Sometimes a parent has passed and the family is facing the house along with everything else. Either way the job is the same, and it is bigger than it looks from the front door.

A junk removal truck is the wrong tool for this. A family home is not junk. It is photographs, tools, good furniture, paperwork that matters and a lot of ordinary things mixed together. It needs to be gone through, not just hauled away.

How a clear out works

We walk the house with you and agree what the family is keeping. If you are out of town, we do this by phone and photos.
We set aside anything that looks personal or important as we go: photographs, letters, documents, jewellery, keepsakes. Those go to the family to look through, not into a bin.
Family pieces are labelled and delivered, to more than one address if needed.
Items in good condition go to a local registered charity partner, and you receive a donation receipt.
Valuables can be sold through our auction partner if you choose. The proceeds help offset the cost.
What is left is removed and disposed of properly.
The house is cleaned, top to bottom, so it is ready to show, list or hand back.

Want to talk it through first? Call or text (289) 670-3146, or book a free walkthrough.

The basement, the garage and the shed

Every family underestimates these. The main floor of a house is furniture and dishes. The basement is fifty years of paint cans, canning jars, skis, boxes of school projects and a workbench nobody has touched since the nineties. The garage and the shed are more of the same.

These are the spaces that break a family's weekend plan, and they are where a crew earns its keep. We clear them completely, including the awkward and heavy things.

Getting the house ready to sell

An empty, clean house sells better and faster than a full one. If the home is going on the market, we time the clear out around the listing so it is ready for photos and showings. Staging is available if it would help.

We work hand in hand with our real estate partner, a local brokerage. We handle the house, they handle the sale, and both run on one schedule. When the home is listed with our partner, clearing and cleaning the house is included.

Done with respect

Going through a parent's home is heavy work in more ways than one. Our crew treats the house and everything in it the way we would want our own family's things treated. Nothing is tossed carelessly, and anything that looks like it matters gets set aside for you to decide on.

One written price

We come out for a free walkthrough, see what the house will take, and give you one written price for the whole clear out before anything starts. No hourly meter and no surprise disposal bills.

Questions families ask

How long does a whole house take?

It depends on the size of the home and how full it is. A modest bungalow can be a few days. A large, full family home with a packed basement and garage takes longer. We give you a schedule with the written price.

We are executors and live elsewhere. Can you manage it all?

Yes. We can work from a key, keep you updated with photos, ship or deliver the family pieces, and hand the house back clean.

What do you do with important papers and photos?

We set them aside as we find them and hand them to the family. We do not make the call on what is important, you do.

Can you sell the contents for us?

Items of value can go to our auction partner if you choose. Most household contents have more donation value than resale value, and we will be honest with you about which is which.

Do you clean as well?

Yes. Clearing and cleaning are done by us, on the same plan, so the house is ready when we leave.