A careful clear-out of Nan's unit in Paradise Point

A friend in Paradise Point gave me Clear Out's number, and I sat on it for a fortnight before ringing. Dad passed in the winter and I was the executor. I live in Melbourne, so I had a long weekend to clear his unit before the lease ended.

Her wardrobes were full of beautiful clothes, plus a sewing room with a machine, fabric, and boxes of patterns. There were also photo albums in every cupboard.

Paradise Point is a quiet northern waterfront village of family homes and renovated beach houses, and getting things out isn't always simple. Kerbside loading works well on most streets outside school pick-up times.

When I rang, the person who answered asked a few simple questions about what it was, where it was and how to get to it, and said they could come and look that afternoon.

The crew pulled up, had a look, and told me the price straight away. No surprises, no 'we'll see how it goes'. I said yes and they got started within five minutes.

I was dreading the paperwork. The crew put anything with writing on it into separate boxes for me to check, and offered to take the rest for secure shredding instead of the tip.

What I appreciated most was that nothing was rushed and nothing was a hassle. They explained where everything was going: charity, recycling or the tip. I felt good about it.

It's a small thing, but having someone else carry it all out made a much bigger difference than I expected.