Dealing With A Lifetime Of Junk: Hauling Out The Accumulated Stuff Of A Deceased Relative
One person's treasure trove is another person's pile of junk. Certainly your deceased parent saw their stuff as treasure. You, however, do not. If your parent did not leave a will instructing you and your siblings to receive certain items, then it is time to clear out the family home and get rid of everything. As you begin this hauling out process, you may find the following very useful.
Rent Garbage Bins (aka, Dumpsters)
Rent two smaller bins to help you separate absolute garbage (e.g., broken stuff, papers, magazines, items with rot or mildew, etc.) from stuff you could probably donate. You might be inclined to throw everything, but you still have to fill out your deceased parent's final income taxes. Giving everything that is still decent and usable to a thrift store is a great way to deduct whatever you can get off of your parent's taxes and possibly get a refund to help with remaining bills and funeral costs.
Rent a really large dumpster if your parent was a bit of a hoarder. Letting go of one's collection of stuff becomes even more difficult for some people as they near the ends of their lives. If that was the case for your parent, then the large dumpster is a better option. All filled garbage bins can be hauled away by the hauling service company and taken either to the dump, or to a specified location of your choosing.
Cellars, Attics, and Basements
If the first and second floors of your parent's home was chock full of stuff, there is a very good chance that the attic, cellar, and/or basement is full also. Once you get the main floors and rooms cleared, set in on looking and sorting through less-common areas. Be careful of cleaning these areas, as the boxes may be loaded with pests such as roaches and mice, and pest control will have to address this problem before the items can be thrown into the dumpsters. Hauling companies may not appreciate having pests infest the garbage bins you have rented from them.
Check for Any Signs of an off-Property Storage Unit
Somewhere about the middle of one's life, people start renting storage units to stash extra stuff that they cannot fit into their homes anymore. If your parent had such a unit, you will need to contact the proprietor or company of your parent's storage unit(s). Then arrange to meet him/her at the unit to empty it and clean it out. Rent another dumpster from your hauling company for this project, or have the hauling company transport a partially filled dumpster to the storage unit and fill it with the junk you remove from the storage unit.
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