04/06/2026
I often get asked, why do full house clearances take so long?
The short answer is, because you are dealing with, packing up and deconstructing someone’s whole life.
All the little bits that made them, them.
And really, in my opinion, 2/3 days to put often 60+ years of living into boxes and bags is really a drop in the ocean by comparison.
Unlike a house move, a house clearance requires you to start from scratch - there’s no pre packed boxes ready to simply pick up and plonk in your van.
You are very quickly knee deep in all the day to day things we don’t think twice about - a draw full of takeaway menus, a cupboard full of glass ramekins from the GU deserts that are too good to chuck (don’t deny it!) and endless novelty mugs.
At the moment I’m on a three day full house clearance in our village.
This was a local family whose father passed away and now the family home needs to be cleared. The brothers who are employing us to do this grew up in the village and in this house, so for us it’s a real honour to be trusted with these ‘final rites’.
On clearances like these, the first day is always the hardest going because it is the day that all the ‘smalls’, cupboards, nooks and crannies are emptied.
Photographs are collated.
Donations are gathered.
Cupboards are cleared.
And life is almost erased from the house, leaving behind rooms with nothing but bits of mis-matched furniture that look almost abnormal without some kind of context to them - a chair that was once covered by a favourite blanket is now just an armchair, or a stereo which was used to sit and listen to favourite (but very old!) tapes of Welsh choirs is now just a stack of electrical equipment that folks would refer to as retro.
For us, It’s never ever a case of everything out and into a skip somewhere - it is a careful and considered process that ensures everything finds its right home.
The sideboard pictured was absolutely stuffed with paperwork, photos, folders, event tickets and school reports spanning nearly 40 years - like a giant wooden vault for day to day fragments of life.
It is bittersweet in a way because what is left behind once we’ve done our work is a blank canvas.
One life is being relocated to make space for a new one - a new chapter for a new family or person to make their own new memories and carry on the legacy of a happy home. There is definitely some joy to be taken from that.
By the end of the second day, the outbuildings and sheds have also been emptied and I actually usually find these the most interesting. People often treat these little house extensions as secret hiding places for things that really show a tiny glimpse of their personality - it can be really funny discovering someone’s hidden wh**ky stash behind an old tool chest or the very extensive shell collection that they’d put into a tool chest for safe keeping.
Boxes of very, very old Welsh books, children’s annuals and even a Mr. Potato head toy were waiting for us in these ones - again, memories and moments that have been very carefully collated and packed away. Too precious to dispose of completely and just within reach if feeling sentimental.
Tomorrow is our last day on this job and it is the day that all the furniture comes out and leaves empty rooms ready for the next chapter.
It is the most physically taxing of the three days but also the most rewarding in a way, because when the job is finished and the keys returned, I feel like we’ve honoured the former occupants memory and protected/preserved the little fragments of themselves that they had left behind - for example, the shells, feathers and trinkets that have no monetary value but that they cared enough about to collect and give a special place to in their homes.
Often once the house is empty I wonder about when the previous occupants first saw the property before they moved in. Did they walk round and think about the future years spanning out here and the potential family they would create (both human and furry!).
Honestly, I’ll never not feel honoured to be called upon to handle clearances like these and I’m still trying to work out exactly what to call the job role: Memory Doola, Steward of the sentimental things, Legacy librarians or a Professional keeper of stories. One day I’ll work it out!
Once this clearance finishes tomorrow , we are off on the next one on Monday, then another on Tuesday, then another on Thursday, another on Friday and another on Sunday..and then another on Monday before I’m back in the land of the living for a weekend off.
Each clearance is different; different circumstances, different requirements and different durations.
But there is a common theme throughout them all and that is honouring lives, in all their different shapes and sizes.
If you are looking for help with a clearance, of any type, don’t hesitate to give us a call:
07455065499
www.ottorhc.com
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