Estate sale or cleanout: which comes first?
The short answer: the sale comes first, if there's going to be one. The longer answer is that a lot of houses shouldn't have one at all, and figuring that out early saves you weeks.
The order that works
- Family takes what it wants.
- Paperwork and valuables come out.
- The estate sale happens, if the contents justify one.
- The cleanout handles everything that's left.
- Repairs and prep come last, in an empty house.
When an estate sale makes sense
Estate sale companies work on commission, so they take houses where the contents will sell: good furniture, tools, collections, jewelry, a full kitchen. Ask two companies to walk through. If both want the job, you probably have a sale.
When it doesn't
If the companies pass, or the family has already taken the good pieces, a sale costs you time and brings in little. That's most houses. In that case, skip straight to donating what's usable and clearing the rest.
Don't clean out before the sale
The most expensive mistake is hauling things away before a sale company has seen them. What looks like junk to a tired family is sometimes the best thing in the house. Sort first. Haul last.
After the sale, there's still a house full
Even a good sale leaves a lot behind, and most sale companies don't empty the house. That's the part we do: donate what's still usable, haul what isn't, and leave the house ready for whatever's next. There's no minimum.
A practical place to start
Tell us what needs to happen at the house.
You don't need to know which services to ask for. Tell us what's happening and where you need help.