Here are some of the top questions our clients ask. Have additional questions? Contact us to discuss!
Whether you’re settling an entire estate, downsizing, or need to deal with years of accumulation in a basement, we handle your clear-out process from start to finish.
Our first job is to listen and learn what is important to you, and to make a plan that honors your needs. We respect you and your belongings, and will treat them and your home with care.
Then we’ll sort through the belongings to determine what can be sold (the top priority!), what can be donated, what can recycled, and as a last resort, what has truly outlived its usefulness and is destined for the dumpster. We will make these determinations efficiently, then see the process through to provide the best value to you.
We split all profits from the sale of your items 50/50. If we know an item is valuable but are unable to sell it, we will connect you with a professional who can.
Throughout the process, we communicate with you (or your designated point person) on a regular basis, including sending you photos, if you desire, before sending things to their next destinations.
Junk haulers generally remove belongings that you have already determined you want to get rid of. You make the pile, and they haul it away. We, on the other hand, help with the entire process of sorting and determining what needs to go, and where.
Most people are new to the entire process of clearing out a home. Often folks don’t know where or how to start. If you live at a distance from the home in question, your travel – and travel time – to and from the property can get very costly! When you consider the learning curve, the time it takes to sort everything, and the (sometimes literal) heavy-lifting of moving, storing, selling, donating, recycling, and/or throwing away each item as appropriate – not to mention the emotional labor – often it is more economical to have an experienced, efficient team like Cleveland Clearouts do the work than doing it on your own.
Managing estate sales is a specialty; you shouldn’t undertake it on your own. While estate sales might be a good way to sell your best stuff, they aren’t a good solution for getting rid of all your belongings. It takes experience to assess what’s valuable (and how valuable, and to whom). It also takes experience to market the sale effectively, and to manage the display, the customers, the sales, and the ultimate disposition of each and every item. If we determine that holding an estate sale is the best way to clear out your home, we will connect you to a trusted estate sales professional.
Unfortunately, what is of value to one person does not always carry the same monetary value in others’ esteem. We strive for a balance between getting a high price and finding a buyer quickly. You might not receive the price you have in mind. But we hope you trust that we are as motivated as you are to get the most out of your things.
Because we prioritize selling/donating/recycling over speedily getting rid of extra belongings, our process can take a few weeks. Estimating the amount of time it will take us to complete the work will be part of our initial assessment. We can be flexible on the timetable based on your needs.
If there are multiple people responsible for the property, we recommend you select a specific person or people with whom we should be in contact on a regular basis throughout our progress, and let us know how they are best reached. If you desire, we will send photos after our first sort-through, before sending things on to their next destinations.
That depends! We will carefully review each item in your home, and sort it into categories: to be sold, to be donated, to be recycled, to be disposed of. After that, we will make sure each item gets where it needs to go. Selling the items that can be sold is our top priority. For items that can’t be sold, finding ways to ensure they are reused or recycled is next-best. It’s easier on the environment than disposal, and it can provide important utility for the next owner. We value being able to find a place for everything, and enjoy working with clients who feel like that’s important to them, too.
Do a walk through of each room for a quick survey of the belongings. If one or two items call out to you as must haves, take them right away. Doing a walk through before we do it together will make the process go more quickly with us.
Yes – if the downsizer is moving locally within the Greater Cleveland area. We are very familiar with this important and often daunting task, and happy to help. The process for downsizing is similar to the process for estate clear-outs, but we will help you decide what to keep in your new place, and do all the heavy lifting.
Absolutely. We understand this particular difficulty as we have seen it first-hand many times. We can cut down on the costs of travel and time by handling everything here, and communicating with you through texts, photos, and Zoom as needed.
We evaluate each project on an individual basis and make sure we can meet your needs and expectations. Please review our Services page for more details and some example costs.
Yes!
You can reach us Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Email is the best way to contact us.