Bereavement House Clearance Dublin: A Complete Guide for Families, Executors & Estates

First: there is no rush

Nobody plans a bereavement clearance. It arrives on top of everything else — the funeral, the paperwork, the solicitor, the family — and it usually comes with a house full of a lifetime of belongings and no clear idea where to start. The most useful thing we can say at the outset is that there is no right timetable. Some families want the house cleared within weeks so it can be sold; others leave it untouched for months and go through it a room at a time. Both are normal, and we work at whatever pace you need.

This guide is written from the bereavement clearances we carry out across Dublin every week — in family homes in Clontarf, Raheny, Terenure and Templeogue, apartments in Dublin 4 and Dún Laoghaire, period houses in Ranelagh and Rathgar, and bungalows in Swords and Lucan. It covers the practical steps in order, what to keep and what to let go, how probate and executors fit in, and exactly what happens on the day. If you'd rather speak to someone, call 083 090 4545 — a conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. The service page is here: bereavement clearance.

Who usually arranges a bereavement clearance

Family members — most often a son or daughter, sometimes a sibling or a grandchild — clearing a parent's or relative's home so it can be sold, let, or handed back. Many are doing it for the first time and are surprised by how much there is.

Executors and administrators dealing with the estate, who need the property emptied and presentable for valuation and sale, and who need written confirmation that it has been done.

Solicitors acting for an estate, who often hold the keys and arrange the clearance on the family's behalf.

Estate agents who have been asked to sell the house and need it empty before photographs and viewings.

Landlords and housing bodies where the person who died was a tenant and the property has to be handed back.

Family living abroad — in the UK, the US, Australia — arranging everything by phone, WhatsApp and email, with keys held by a neighbour, agent or solicitor. This is more common than you might think and it works well; see the section on working from keys below.

Whoever is arranging it, the process is the same, and we're used to co-ordinating between several people — a daughter in Dublin, a son in London and a solicitor in town, for instance.

Probate, executors and timing

A common question is whether the house can be cleared before probate is granted. That is a legal question for the executor and the solicitor handling the estate rather than for us: it depends on the will, who the beneficiaries are, and whether the property's contents form part of the estate that needs to be valued. Many families clear personal effects and rubbish early and leave furniture and anything of value until the solicitor confirms it's fine to proceed. Others wait for the grant and then clear everything in one go.

What we can say is that once you have the go-ahead, we can usually book within the week, and we're happy to provide whatever an executor or solicitor needs: a written quote in advance, written confirmation that the property has been cleared, and dated photographs before and after. If the house is being sold, we leave it swept and presentable for the valuer and the estate agent's photographer.

If there are items the estate needs valued — antiques, paintings, jewellery, a collection — tell us and we'll leave them exactly where they are, or set them together in one room, until the valuer has been.

Sorting personal belongings: what to keep before the clearance

The sorting is the part families find hardest, and it's the part nobody can do for you. What we can do is make it manageable. Our suggestion, from experience, is to work in three passes rather than trying to make every decision at once.

Pass one — the irreplaceable

Photographs, letters and cards, diaries, the family Bible, medals, certificates, anything handwritten. Jewellery, watches and anything of obvious value. Documents: the will, deeds, bank and pension papers, insurance, passports, birth and marriage certificates, car documents. Keys. Cash — it turns up in coat pockets, handbags, biscuit tins, under mattresses and inside books more often than you'd expect. Gather all of this into one box and take it out of the house.

Pass two — the sentimental

The things that matter because of who owned them: a favourite chair, a clock, a set of china, a coat, a tool from the shed. Decide what you and other family members would like to keep, label it clearly, and set it in one room if you can. If pieces are going to relatives in Dublin or nearby, we can deliver them on the day of the clearance.

Pass three — everything else

This is where we come in. Furniture, appliances, clothing, bedding, kitchen contents, books, ornaments, the attic, the garage, the shed. You don't need to bag, box or sort any of it. If you'd like to be there to check items as they come out, you're welcome; if you'd rather not be, that's equally normal.

Two practical notes. First, you don't have to find everything in pass one yourself — our crew is briefed to stop and set aside anything that looks personal, and we hand it all over at the end. Families often tell us that the photographs we found in a drawer or the attic were the thing they were most grateful for. Second, if the sorting is too much right now, a staged clearance — the furniture and rubbish first, the personal items later — takes the pressure off.

What we clear, room by room

Once the personal items are out, we clear everything else — and "everything" in a family home usually means more than people expect.

• Living rooms and bedrooms: sofas, armchairs, beds, mattresses, wardrobes (dismantled if fitted), dressing tables, chests of drawers, bookcases, cabinets, TVs, lamps, rugs, curtains and ornaments.
• Clothing and textiles: wardrobes and drawers of clothes, shoes, handbags, bedding, towels — usable clothing goes to reuse where possible.
• Kitchen: fridge and freezer (including contents), cooker, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, crockery, pots, cutlery, food cupboards and free-standing units.
• Books and paperwork: sorted as we go; documents set aside, books to reuse or recycling.
• Attic: often the most emotional space in the house — suitcases, boxes of school reports, cots, Christmas decorations. We bring it all down carefully and sort it, and anything personal comes to you.
• Garage and shed: tools, bikes, the lawnmower, paint, timber, garden furniture, a lifetime of "might be useful".
• Garden: furniture, pots, the greenhouse, the overgrowth.
• Storage: if your relative rented a storage unit, we can clear that too so the account can be closed.

Carpets, curtains, blinds and light fittings can stay or go — tell us which. If the house is being sold, estate agents usually prefer carpets left down unless they're badly worn.

Working from keys — for executors and family abroad

You do not need to be in the house for the clearance, and for many families it's easier not to be. The arrangement we use most often in Dublin is this: the keys are held by the estate agent, the solicitor, a neighbour or a family member; we collect them on the morning; we clear the property to the instructions you've given us by phone, WhatsApp or email; we send photographs of every room when it's done; and we return the keys to wherever you ask.

For family abroad, the whole thing — photos for the quote, the quote itself, the booking, the instructions, the completion photos and the invoice — happens by WhatsApp and email across time zones. Executors get the written confirmation they need for the estate file.

If there are items to be delivered to relatives in Dublin, Kildare or nearby, we do that on the same run. If there are items to go into storage, we can take them there.

Discretion and respect on the day

A bereavement clearance is not a removals job and we don't treat it like one. The crew works quietly, doesn't play music, doesn't rush you if you're there, and doesn't make a show on the street. Where discretion matters — a neighbour who doesn't need to know, a family that would rather not have a branded truck outside — tell us and we'll keep things low-key.

If you'd like to be present, we'll work around you: some families like to sit in one room while the rest of the house is cleared, or to check each box before it goes. If you'd rather hand over the keys and hear from us when it's finished, that is just as common and we understand it completely.

We also understand that the clearance sometimes brings things to the surface — a letter, a photograph, a child's drawing in a drawer — and that it can stop the day for a moment. That's fine. We'll wait.

Where your relative's belongings go

Many families are relieved to hear that good furniture, clothing, books and household items are passed on for reuse or donation wherever they're in usable condition, rather than going to landfill. Wood, metal, cardboard, paper and textiles are separated for recycling; fridges, freezers, washing machines, TVs and other electricals go to WEEE recycling; and only what genuinely can't be reused or recycled goes to licensed waste facilities.

PropertyClearance.ie is operated by Krystal Klean Express Limited, an authorised waste carrier (Waste Collection Permit No. NWCPO-25-13287-01), and is fully insured for the work we do in your family's home. If you'd like a particular item to go to a particular charity or person, tell us and we'll arrange it where we can.

What happens on clearance day

So there are no surprises:

1. We arrive at the agreed timeOften collecting keys from an agent, solicitor or neighbour on the way. If you're there, we'll walk through the house with you first.
2. Personal items are confirmedAnything you've labelled stays. Anything that looks personal, sentimental or valuable that we find during the clearance is put together in one place for you.
3. The house is cleared from the top downAttic, bedrooms, bathroom, living rooms, kitchen, hall — then the garage, shed and garden if they're included. Furniture is carried out whole or dismantled where needed; everything is sorted at the truck for reuse, recycling or disposal.
4. Items for family or storage are deliveredPieces going to relatives in Dublin or nearby are dropped off on the same run, if you've asked us to.
5. Each room is sweptThe house is left empty, swept and presentable for a valuer, an estate agent or a landlord.
6. Photos, keys and confirmationYou get photographs of every room, the keys go wherever you've asked, and executors receive written confirmation for the estate file.

Preparing the property for valuation and sale

If the house is being sold, the clearance is usually followed quickly by a valuation, photographs and viewings. An empty, swept property shows its rooms and its potential; a half-cleared one shows the work still to be done. Estate agents in Dublin generally want the clearance done before the photographer comes, and we can work to that date.

After the clearance, families often arrange a deep clean, carpet cleaning or a coat of paint. We don't do those ourselves, but we can point you to a cleaning partner, and we'll leave the house in a state where the next trade can start straight away. For the broader picture of preparing a property for sale or letting, see our property clearance guide.

Bereavement clearances across Dublin

We carry out bereavement and probate clearances in every part of Dublin: the family homes of Clontarf, Raheny, Killester, Artane, Beaumont, Drumcondra, Glasnevin and Cabra on the northside; Terenure, Templeogue, Rathfarnham, Crumlin, Kimmage, Walkinstown and Churchtown on the southside; the period houses of Ranelagh, Rathgar, Rathmines, Ballsbridge, Donnybrook and Sandymount; the detached homes of Blackrock, Booterstown, Stillorgan, Foxrock, Dalkey and Killiney in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown; and the estates and bungalows of Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock, Castleknock, Lucan, Clondalkin and Tallaght. We also work in Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny and Laois, and apartments everywhere from the Docklands to Dún Laoghaire. Start from the Dublin page for local detail.