what to do with all the furniture etc?

A question about : what to do with all the furniture etc?

hi guys

I am after a bit of advice/help please

basically,my dad who is 79 and who is on his own,since mum passed away in June had a stroke a few months ago,and has been in hospital ever since,it has taken his left side and according to the physios it is very unlikely there will be any improvement as he had various other things wrong and had to keep being taken from the rehabilitation place back to hospital which hindered his physio.

he can't do anything for himself,not even get out of bed,so upon doctor/social services recommendation he has to go to a nursing home,which he is fine about as he understands he can't manage at all.

he lives in a 3 bed housing association house and a little savings.I am an only child so it falls to me to empty the house of all the furniture,I work full time and don't live in the town the house is in.I was going to just go and get personal stuff,stuff dad will need,tv for his room etc,then get a house clearance company in.
apart from loading it into a van and taking it to the local furniture saleroom(we are not talking antiques here)that is my only option as far as I can see........but its then finding the time to go and sort all that and get it there.
there is the ebay/freecycle route but then you have to be hanging about for people to turn up and collect stuff.

i understand house clearance companies you pay them and they just remove everything

there is a help for heroes charity warehouse in town and if you donate the stuff to them they will clear it....pressumably free?

are there companies or whatever that come in,price it up,give you the money and take the stuff away or am i being naive?it just seems a shame as dad has very little savings that I am just giving away 79 years worth of his stuff for nothing

any bright ideas folk?

Best answers:

• It's a sad fact that second hand furniture is largely valueless unless antique or by a well known manufacturer and solid wood.
  When my mother died we had to dispose of the furniture she had acquired with all my childhood memories. We eventually found a charity which would take certain items they thought might sell but the majority of things like sideboards and wardrobes went to the tip.
• Some charities might do house clearance without charging, it will be a case of phoning around to find out. but oscar's right, secondhand furniture is rarely high value, and in some cases cannot be sold at all - eg anything upholstered MUST have the right fire labels.
  Personally I wouldn't contemplate loading a van myself, because if when you get to the saleroom they reject most of what's on board, you are then left with a 'what next?' situation. It's very unlikely you'd be able to take what was left to the local tip, because most don't allow vans over a certain size in, and even smaller ones may have to be pre-registered.
  It must be very hard for you, but tbh the best thing you can do to protect Dad's savings is probably get the place cleared ASAP so that you can give notice to the HA.
  One thing you might find useful, unless you have a partner or good friend who would help with all this, is to consider using a professional de-cluttering service local to your Dad. Having someone experienced helping with the sorting out might save a lot of time, and they may also be able to advise on the best places for disposal.
• We had Mum's house cleared, it cost around Ј500. That seems to be fairly typical.
• I had my parents house cleared for Ј350, but this was 10 years ago.
  No doubt they made a profit out of it, as, although the furniture was old, and of no value to anyone, some of the contents would have been saleable.
  But, I don't begrudge them a penny of the Ј350.
  The stuff had to be cleared, I had a lot on my plate at the time so couldn't do it all myself. So I paid for a service and they did an excellent job.
  While they were doing it, I went off and did something else, as I didn't want to see my parents stuff carted off.
  But it was the right thing to do at the time. I did keep some of their nicer stuff, which I bought home with me. But over the years I have gone through it, and only kept the things that have a real sentimental value. The rest I re homed by eBay and I'm happy that other people are now enjoying them
• Is there a local auction house? Friend of mine got theirs round to check out her mother's house and was extremely helpful, indicating what may sell and willing to take and what not.
  She was very surprised at what he took to sell - some of it she would have dumped on local tip.
• There has been a couple of houses near me that have been cleared due to elderly person moving into a care home, and a downsizing where they couldn't take it all with them. They had a skip on the front, and left useful items outside the skip with a notice on, 'Free to take'. A lot of things did get taken from both skips, a lot of it by me, with permission of course. A few bits and bobs for my own use, but most of it to pass on to charity shops, because I can't bare to see useful things dumped.
  A skip would be your cheapest option but you would have to load it yourself. You would need to break the large stuff down so it could all fit in and go in one load, to keep the cost down.
  If the house is in a built up area, you could put a notice in a shop window saying you are having a garage sale. Get everything out on the front, and ask for offers. You would still have to dispose of what's left.
  Ilona
• It seems a shame but i wonder if someone like the Boy Scouts would come and take it for their bonfire as it's nearing Nov 5th
• Freecycle maybe
• Phone the Help for Heroes warehouse and ask exactly what they want and how to arrange collection. Others here. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lo...GsGq8wfE-4CYDQ
  As for the furniture contents, tip out a drawer at a time, take out anything of value and anything you want to take home. Split the rest into donate, recycle or bin piles. 10 minutes maximum per drawer.
  It may seem brutal binning your dads stuff but as with most people, most of it was probably unnoticed by him for the last 20 years.
• When my Mum passed away almost four years ago, I just got the British Heart Foundation to come along and they took everything away.
  I could have got a dealer in but the thought of someone going through her belongings saying "I'll have this" and "I don't want that" was not something I wanted.
  At least you have the thought that some good will come from donating it to a charity. As I type this, I'm looking at a lovely Welsh Dresser that I bought about three years ago from BHF and which I paid Ј120 for. I don't know if it once belonged to some old dear, but I do know that Ken Barlow in Corrie has an identical one.
• Do make sure all of his personal effects are taken out and stored safely. Bank books etc. Also check he has not hidden money somewhere as it is amazing how many elderly people do this.
  When we moved and had to give away most of our furniture we used the British Heart foundation who called and collected it, plus a local charity who provided furniture to people who were starting up a home.
• Depending on where you live, there might be an Emmaus community/shop which will collect furniture and general bric-a-brac for sale. As stated above, the British Heart Foundation will also take stuff, and we have a "Furniture Recycling Project" nearby which does what it says. If you do a small amount of research in your area, you'll find the possible local charities who could benefit from your sad situation.
• I would second British Heart Foundation, they will collect free of charge
• I am so sorry about your mum and of course your dad,
  Please, please ask him what he wants done with HIS belongings now that he no longer needs them.
• And all this may be about to become my next research project ...
• could try local women's refuge as well - when people manage to leave for a new home they are often starting again with nothing
• When we had to clear my parents' house, after taking out things family members wanted of course, we got a local house clearance firm in. They priced up what they could sell in their junk shop, and a deal was reached whereby the value of what they could sell was offset against the cost of clearing the rest, and we broke even. So no money changed hands. We had to pay for a skip which they filled, breaking up wardrobes etc, so they did
  all the work.
  When we ourselves downsized, we sold some, made endless trips to the tip and charity shops, got British Heart Foundation to collect some furniture, and hired a rubbish company to clear the rest of the junk from loft and cellar. we have still brought too much with us to our smaller house!
  Hope this helps.