Written by Chris Smith · Illustrative case study
The situation
A landlord at a property in Tallai had a tenant leave without notice. The bond inspection photos showed broken appliances, boxes and clutter and excess furniture spread through every room and out in the yard, and the property was meant to go back on the market within a week.
Why the customer needed help
They'd tried doing it themselves the weekend before, got about a quarter of the way through and realised the rest needed a truck, two people and a plan. That's where pre-Sale Property Cleanout comes in.
What was at the property
By my count there were broken appliances, boxes and clutter and excess furniture, along with the usual loose odds and ends that build up around a job like this. It's typical of what we see from stylists and stagers.
Working in Tallai
Tallai is a hilly acreage suburb with large homes and bushland. Tallai 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
First look, it was bigger than described, which is normal. People size up their own clutter by memory, not by volume. I measured it roughly by truck-loads, checked for anything we can't take, like paint tins or gas bottles, and found two old cans tucked at the back that we left aside.
How the job was planned
I split the job into zones in my head: what could come straight out the front, what had to come through the house, and what would need two of us and a trolley. That way nobody was waiting on anybody.
Preparation
Before lifting anything, we moved the cars, opened every gate wide and propped the screen door. A clear route is half the job.
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 heavy lifting. Anything over about forty kilos went on the trolley or got a two-person lift with straps. No hero stuff. A strained back on the first job of the day ruins the week.
Step 3
Step three was the final check. I went back through every room and corner with the customer, picked up the small stuff the big items had hidden, and swept up.
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
It reinforced something I tell every new offsider: ask before you lift. Two minutes of questions at the start saves throwing out the one thing someone really wanted to keep.