Clearing a loved one's home isn't really a logistics task — it's an emotional one with logistics attached. This 5-step checklist is the order we recommend on the Gold Coast: walkthrough, sort, donate, clear, handover. Take the steps slowly enough that nothing important gets lost.
Step 1 — Walkthrough
Before anything moves, walk through the property with a notebook. You're looking for two things: items with sentimental or monetary value that need to be set aside, and anything that ties to legal or financial admin. Will, bank statements, super paperwork, the title deed, photo albums, jewellery, watches, medals, hand-written letters. Take photos as you go — even a phone snap of each room, untouched, is useful later.
Step 2 — Sort into four piles
Sort, don't decide. Four piles, no in-between:
- Keep. Family items, anything sentimental, valuables.
- Distribute. Items earmarked for specific family members or beneficiaries.
- Donate or sell. Furniture, kitchenware and clothes still in good condition.
- Clear. Everything that's broken, expired, or has no path forward.
Keep keep boxes physically separate — a different room or labelled clearly. The single biggest source of "I wish I hadn't thrown that out" is a keep box that got mixed in.
Step 3 — Donate what's still useful
Vinnies, Salvos, Lifeline and the Endeavour Foundation all run pickup services on the Gold Coast for furniture and goods in resaleable condition. Booking ahead is essential — they're often booked 2–3 weeks out. Smaller items can go to Buy Nothing groups and local Facebook marketplace giveaways. We help with this stage too: anything we identify as donatable on a clearance gets pulled aside before disposal.
Sort first. Donate second. Clear last.
In that order. Once a clearance starts, decisions get harder. Get the keeps and donates out first.
Step 4 — The clearance
By the time a clearance crew arrives, the property should be down to "everything you don't want to deal with". A typical 3-bedroom Gold Coast estate clears in one or two days. We can work around the family's pace — pause for boxes to be checked, set things aside if a relative wants to take a second look, and skip rooms entirely if they aren't ready. We send photos as we go for interstate or overseas executors. Read more about how our estate clearance works.
Step 5 — Handover
After the clearance: a clean property, ready for sale, lease or family return. We sweep through, vacuum if needed, and leave the place handover-ready. If a real estate inspection or settlement is locked in, we coordinate timing. The final step on the family side is closing utilities, redirecting mail and notifying the strata or council if applicable.
A note on pace
There's no medal for finishing in a weekend. Most families do better stretching this over 2–4 weeks — a walkthrough one Saturday, a sort the next, donations the week after, then the clearance. The grief work happens in the gaps between the logistics.
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Frequently asked questions
How long does a deceased estate clearance take?
Most Gold Coast estate clearances finish in one to two days for a typical 3-bedroom home, plus prep time on the family side. Larger or hoarder properties can run 3–5 days. We work around your schedule and can pause if more items need to be set aside.
Do you handle estate sales or just disposal?
We focus on the clearance — sorting, donating where possible and removing the rest. For valuation and estate sales we can refer you to local auctioneers. Items the family wants kept or sold are set aside before any clearance work begins.
Can you do an estate clearance with the family not present?
Yes. Many of our clients are interstate or live overseas. With written instructions and a property contact, we can complete a clearance and send progress photos. We never dispose of any item flagged as "keep" or unclear without checking first.
How are sensitive items like medications and documents handled?
Personal documents, photos, medications and anything potentially sensitive (jewellery, cash, IDs) are set aside in clearly labelled boxes for the family or executor. Medications are returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal under the RUM scheme.