Trying to clear my mom's house and move her. I need help moving things out of a basement and taken to dump or goodwill. Who can I hire?

Do you know the rules of the local garbage collectors for the area this house is in? When we sold our NY house in 2019 we were able to put out a good amount each week. My husband and I are both only children so we got both our mothers things and then some other furniture we had used for a previous rental we had. Often furniture would be picked up by people before the trash collection. Then we were fortunate to have a relative of our yard guy take furniture for his used furniture business. We didn't get money for it but it wasn't that great and it didn't cost us anything to get rid of it.

This may not work for your situation but you might check out the garbage rules where this house is. I could not do this where I live now in SC but it was a great option in NY especially as that state tends to be overly expensive. I appreciated our property tax costs working in our favor. We also went to our recycling center the town had frequently. Hopefully some of the suggestions will work. I wouldn't pay a large amount just to haul away a few pieces of furniture if you can avoid it.

When my husband and I cleaned out mommas house before she went into assisted living with no help from siblings we basically moved in until we had to give up the bed and kitchen to a hotel. We stayed two weeks. Since we lived out of state it was the only way we could do it. Alot of hard work in short amount of time. We also had to clean it before we put it up for sale. Hiring somebody is a great option if you are able too. Don't use your money use theirs. We did hire a uhaul truck and paid for it with mommas money.

You have my sympathies. We had a similar situation with my MIL who lived 8 hours away. We went up once a month for 4 days and worked 12 hours a day. It took us 6 months. Plus making repairs in order to sell it. Fortunately she didn’t have a basement. She had a stroke and is now in assisted living.
It sounds like you need help moving things out of the basement. We contacted my MIL’s church. Through them we found a donation center that moved items out for us.
This problem is more common than you might think. One thing is for sure. I’m not a hoarder but I’m going through my things. I don’t want to put my family through anything like this

There are companies that will pay you for the contents of her home. They will empty everything and you also get some money in return.

What do you expect to find in the basement that requires you to go through it all? Is it sentimental items? Items of value? In the year and a half you’ve been doing this, have you found anything that you would be devastated to have not found?

My husband drown down to FL from WI twice to do my parents house spending about a week each time hauling things to goodwill, to the dump, etc. he hired 1800junk for the things that didn’t seem to have any value. He gave things away to the folks that cared for their lawn or other workers that expressed an interest. He brought a few boxes of things home for me - which I still haven’t opened 9 months later, if I’m honest, and I would not have cared to not have. Great ideas above about how people how managed to get rid of it all. I’d focus there … on getting rid of it all vs bothering to go through it. If it’s hoarding, you and your parents don’t even know what they have so how will you know what’s gone missing?

Luvmama: Look for an organization who can do a ONE TIME deal to haul things away. Is it really worth it for you to look at things x2 since perhaps items won't be worth a charitable contribution? There are always companies advertising, i.e. Got Junk, etc.

I hired an estate sales company, They left a clean house. They even swept the floor. The total sale price after they took their cut was $17,000. Most of the money was from my late husband's tools which I had no idea how to price out. I interviewed several companies, before settling on one who had a retired machanist on staff. They even got rid of the spices and used soap.

My parents were severe hoarders. I hired an estate sales person and a local guy who hailed junk. Between the three if us we were able to find and secure and save the important items including documents.

It cost them money but there is no way I could do this myself. With help it took over two weeks just for the clean out. The house was infested with mice so I had to hire a company to clean and sanitize. I also had to sell the home.

Start local and don't beat yourself up over this. Cleaning out a home is bad enough without the hoarding aspect

There are companies you can hire that will haul everything away . TaskRabbit look there it’s a app

My sibling and I were left with a hoarded house complete with vermin infestation. I thought for sure we would pay thousands for clean out but my sibling found an estate sale company with a special interest in the type of things our dad collected and we ended up actually making money. I still can't believe it. The house was so awful, with entire rooms closed off due to the infestation.

The estate company emptied the house (we both lived in other states so we just let go of control) and separated everything into sell, donate, and trash. When they found something they thought we might want they emailed us pictures. They held sales and left us with an empty house except for the literal shovels they used to do the final cleaning. It was a nightmare but God bless that estate company.

I don't know where you live. Personally, I'd rather hire local 'small truck' handyman people vs nationwide commercial companies. Depends on how much you have though -

Find cleaners, movers, haulers:

To get into back yard first: hire kid(s) from high school or college.

Then hire more professional people once you know what / how you want to get rid of things.

* Check days/times when dump and Good Will/SalvArmy are open.
- Some places will NOT take furniture, etc. so check beforehand.

Use: and get references:

* Next Door (if you have)
* Facebook
* Post at church or activity centers
* Get referrals from friends
* Ask for references (do not leave anything valuable unattended)
* If drivers / truck needs, ask for copy of insurance (or consider it)

I believe there are professional 'hoarding' situation cleaners
I hope that you are able to recoup your time and travel expense, if your mom could reimburse you.

Gena/Touch Matters

I used a company named Caring Transitions for cleaning out and donating items in my mom's house. They were great, and I know the donated items went to people who were in need.

Alternately, they could have done an estate sale if it had been worth it. But there was not a high value on many of the items in the house, so I'm just as happy that people who are trying to establish or re-establish their homes are getting use from the items.

There is a fee for their services. You'd need to check their website or call to see if they are in your area. They were great to work with.

JDog Hauling. They are a veteran run group. Reasonable pricing. They are nationwide, maybe one near you.

College Hunks do haul aways. Very hardworking and compassionate guys. They will take everything except hazardous materials and offer the good items to local charities for donation. You get a receipt for taxes if any items are taken by a donation partner. Your fee is based on amount of space taken in their truck, not by hours of labor, stairs, etc.

My friend found an individual who would clear out all in exchange for enough of the valuable things to make it worth his while. That was for a small condo. The man had a trailer and a helper.

It all depends on what and who is available in the area where she is located. Also how much you will be willing/ able to pay .
Look in yellow pages for services that may offer different approaches and fees for this.
Most will want to come and assess the need on site before quoting a fee.
You may want to check with Habitat for Humanity...they will pick up some items and move some from inside a dwelling. Others like Kidney Foundation require the items be left outside and then they pick up ..must schedule first and determine IF they want the items.
Downsizing and cleaning out a house can be distressing and debilitating to say the least.
Take it slow...and take care of yourself !!! Good luck

Uhaul.com
they haul and clean. I have used them several times. I go by ratings not hourly charge. Some hustle and some don’t.

I called GOT JUNK to haul some flooring boards left after a DIY project to the dump. They were ridiculously expensive, but they won't give you a quote until they are standing there with a truck next to your junkpile, and I am not a good negotiator. It was like buying a car, he had to call his "boss" before lowering his bid. I should have called a local handyman or asked around for anyone with a truck.

Another option could be to reach out to any local organization that may be a part of establishing refugees in your area. Refugees are often legal to work and are eager to find jobs. Due to language barriers, at times, they have a hard time getting work and need cleaning and odd style jobs.

It will be a win win.

Had a similiar situation with my parents who had been in their house for 56 years. I made trips for many years, driving 4 hours each way and cleaning out things (although it would get worse again between visits). When it finally became time to move them out, estate sale companies wouldn't touch it. We ended up calling an auction house. They went through everything and auctioned off saleable items and that paid for their services and the dumpster rental. We had a little bit left over, but the real benefit was the reduced wear and tear on me!

Rather than paying double to haul to the yard then to a dump. Find a junk hauler but be present on the day that they work to go through the contents

You can ask some high school or college kids that are on break now. Definitely less expensive than professionals

Contact a few top selling relators in your area. Many have long lists of trusted and well-priced resources they use/work with to clear, prep and stage homes; as well as junk removal, repairs, pkg/storage and downsizing help services.

Do you know the neighbors well? Enough to give them a key? Or do u plan on being there? Its Summer, a couple of big teenage boys could do it. They would be glad for the money especially if saving up for college. Go thru a local Church asking if they know of a couple of guys. What you don't want set up tables in the front yard and put a big Free sign up. Go onto the local Facebook yardsale site and post items for free, they will come.

I feel your pain. My mil is a pack rat and I don’t look forward to this, but she lives 10 minutes away from us. My friend’s MIL is a hoarder too so we have agreed to help each other when the time comes.

I hope your mom’s house is in a big city, as there should be services. At least maybe call a cleaning service and ask if they have any resources.

Maybe call the local council on aging? They might have people to refer you to as it seems this generation is the pack rat children of the depression generation. They also had a lot of walls in their houses so that adds more stuff (though I know hoarding is a different mental condition from just stuff to fill walls).

When I see programs out there they always have the 1-800-junk trucks pulling up one after another. I cannot imagine them to be the only haulers so check online in your area and know you WILL be paying for this. So sorry you're dealing with all this.

There are junk haulers in my area that will do this, especially if you just want the stuff hauled away and you don't need to sort through it. Go on-line and search for junk haulers, basement cleanouts, etc and see what pops up for the area you need. You should re-think you need to "go through it". If you don't know what's down there then you don't need it. It will only add time, cost and work to go through all the junk for the couple of items you "may" want to keep. Make this easy on yourself. Or, if you just MUST go through it, hire some high school/college kids to haul it up from the basement. Then when you have the junk pile sorted call a trash hauler.

Look for people who do a contractors clean out. Often you can find them through a builder or real estate office.