Written by Chris Smith · Illustrative case study
The situation
A brother and sister had inherited the family home at a property in Worongary. They both lived out of town, both worked full-time, and they had one long weekend to get the place ready for the agent. Every room had something in it: furniture and mattresses, clothing, linen and personal effects and kitchen and pantry contents.
Why the customer needed help
Their main worry wasn't the cost. It was not knowing what could legally go where, and not wanting to damage the house getting it all out. Both of those are part of the job for us.
What was at the property
By my count there were furniture and mattresses, clothing, linen and personal effects and kitchen and pantry contents, along with the usual loose odds and ends that build up around a job like this. It's typical of what we see from interstate relatives who cannot attend.
Working in Worongary
Worongary is a semi-rural area of acreage homes and tree-lined blocks. Worongary properties are often larger blocks with sheds, paddocks and lots of trees, so green waste, shed clear-outs and scrap metal are common jobs. Long driveways and gravel tracks are fine; we check gates, slopes and wet ground before backing in.
The initial assessment
I arrived at the property and the first thing I noticed was the access. Before I look at the pile, I walk the route it has to travel: doorways, steps, the driveway slope, overhead wires, where the truck can park. For this job I paced it out and worked out we'd need about two-thirds of the tipper.
How the job was planned
I gave them a fixed price there and then, based on volume, and explained what was included: careful sorting with items set aside for family, coordination with executors and agents and donation of usable goods. They said yes on the spot, so we planned to load in one visit rather than two.
Preparation
We checked the weather, laid out the straps and blankets for anything worth saving, and agreed a hand signal for "stop" because the truck was right on the road.
Step 1
Step one was clearing a working space. We shifted the easy, loose items straight onto the truck so we had room to manoeuvre around the awkward ones.
Step 2
Step two was the stuff in the hard-to-reach spots: the top of the garage racking, under the house, behind the water tank. That's usually where the surprises live, and this job was no different.
Step 3
Step three was the clean-up. Once the last item was out, we swept the floor, raked the ground where needed and walked the customer through the space to make sure nothing they wanted had gone.
Removal, sorting and loading
I'm fussy about the load. A well-packed truck means one trip instead of two, and that's the difference between a fair price and an inflated one. We netted the top before we drove off.
From the truck it went to a licensed transfer station, where recyclables were dropped off separately, and anything usable went to a local op shop before the tip run.
Challenges we ran into
The volume was well beyond a single load once we opened the roof space, which hadn't been mentioned on the phone.
How we handled them
I rang the customer straight away, explained the extra volume and gave them the revised price before we went any further. They were glad to know before, not after.
Completion and final result
When the last load was strapped down, the space was empty and swept. The customer walked through with me, signed off, and paid the price we'd agreed at the start, not a dollar more.
What I learned
What stuck with me was how much of it could be reused. People expect estate Cleanout to mean everything goes to landfill. On this job, close to a third of it went somewhere useful.