Pro edition
Cleanout Plan.
Written for whoever is clearing a whole house, usually under time pressure and often after a death. The order matters far more than the effort.
Work in this order
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Paperwork first, before anything moves
Deeds, titles, insurance, tax records, photographs. These turn up inside furniture and they are the only irreplaceable category in the building.
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Then the small valuables
Jewellery, coins, tools, anything with a serial number. Do this before any helper, hauler or estate buyer walks the house.
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Sort by destination, not by room
Keep, donate, sell, recycle, landfill. Sorting room by room means handling everything twice.
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Stage donations by the door
Charities collect from one point. A pile spread across four rooms is a pile they will decline.
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Book the truck for the end
Not the start. A hauler who arrives to a half-sorted house either waits on the clock or takes donatable goods to the tip.
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Empty top-down
Attic, then bedrooms, then ground floor, then basement. Everything moves downward once instead of twice.
What charities actually take
Four they want, four they will refuse. The refusals are the useful half.
| Accepted | Item | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Solid wood furniture, structurally sound | The most reliably accepted category. |
| Yes | Working appliances under about 10 years | Must be clean and complete, with cords and shelves. |
| Yes | Building materials, unopened or reusable | Habitat ReStore takes doors, fixtures, cabinetry, tile. |
| Yes | Books, kitchenware, tools, linens in good order | Washed and boxed, not bagged. |
| No | Upholstered furniture from a damp space | Refused almost everywhere. Charities pay to dispose of it, so they will not take the risk. |
| No | Cribs, car seats, helmets | Safety-recall liability. Universally refused regardless of condition. |
| No | Mattresses, in most areas | A few programmes take them; most do not. Check before loading a van. |
| No | Anything with a missing part, a stain, or a smell | The blunt rule: would you take it into your own home? If not, do not make it someone else's problem. |
The deduction
- Non-cash charitable deductions require a receipt from a qualified organisation
- Itemise: a list of goods with condition noted, not "one van of household items"
- Fair market value is what a thrift shop would charge, not what you paid
- Over $500 in total non-cash donations pulls in additional IRS reporting
- Over $5,000 for a single item or group generally requires a qualified appraisal
- Photograph the load before it leaves — the cheapest evidence you will ever collect
General guidance, not tax advice. Rules change and circumstances differ — ask your accountant.
Timing
- How long does a full house take?
- Sorting is the work, not hauling. A three-bedroom house is typically two to four days of sorting and half a day of truck. Anyone quoting a same-day whole-house cleanout is planning to landfill it.
- When should the hauler come?
- Once, at the end, with everything staged. Two half-full trips cost more than one full one and diversion drops, because sorted piles get mixed under time pressure.
- What about the estate sale?
- Before the cleanout, always. A buyer walking a sorted house pays more than one walking a stripped one, and what does not sell becomes the donation pile.