Clearing A Flat Or Apartment – What To Consider
When it comes to clearing out a flat or apartment, there is a lot to consider. You may have items that won’t be moving with you, and will also want to think about leaving a clean space behind you as well. In this article, we will be taking a look at everything you will need to think about upon leaving your flat or apartment.
Set Yourself a Timeline
Firstly, before moving out of your property, it’s important to set yourself a timeline. How many personal belongings will need to be packed and moved to your new location? Are you planning to move all your furniture and white goods by yourself? Setting yourself a timeline can help you clearly see how long or how big of a job clearing out your flat is going to be
Deciding What To Keep, Donate, Sell & Dispose of
After you’ve set yourself a timeline, the decluttering and organising can start. Our team of professionals would recommend starting with one room at a time. By utilising this method, you will be able to avoid feeling overwhelmed and stay focused on the task at hand.
As well as looking at your home on a room-by-room basis, you can also categorise your personal belongings. Separate your items into piles, such as keep, donate and sell. If it’s easier, you can also use boxes to keep these items organised. By separating out your items into their retrospective piles, you will get a much clearer picture of how much you will be taking with you, and how much you may need to get rid of. Just be sure to label boxes or use coloured post-it notes to signify what will be happening with your organised piles of items.
A top tip would also be to use storage boxes, rather than packing boxes for all the items that will be moving to your new property with you. Plastic boxes make for great storage and are also more sturdy during the moving process.
Hiring a Professional Clearance Team
Once you have finished sorting out all of your personal belongings, you may want to consider calling on a professional clearing team. With so much to think about, it’s sometimes best to get an experienced team on board to take away the stress.
1. Furniture Clearance
Clearing out furniture, and other bigger items can be tricky. As well as being difficult to load into a moving van, getting rid of furniture can be more hassle than it’s worth. Here at Greenleaf Clearance, our expert team can help you dispose of larger items such as sofas, chairs, fridges, and much more, in the most efficient way possible. Through our furniture clearance services, we not only take away all the heavy lifting, but we also know the best way to get rid of unwanted furniture that won’t be coming to your new home with you.
2. Safety Precautions
Flats and apartments are notorious for being up high, and thus having many flights of stairs. During your moving process, it’s important to think about the safety precautions that you may need to take. As mentioned above, heavy lifting is a large part of moving. You will have bigger pieces that will need to be taken down stairs and loaded into various vehicles. You could potentially hurt your arm, shoulders, leg or even back if you attempt to do all the heavy lifting yourself.
By hiring a professional team to help you, will minimise the need for you to lift anything. We understand the importance of keeping pathways clear and free of obstacles, which can prevent potential trips and falls. Plus, we are experts at navigating any tricky stairwells or elevators.
3. The Complexity of Disposal
Another key consideration during your move is how you will dispose of items you no longer want or need. Nowadays, disposal is complex, and there are lawful repercussions for not getting rid of your items correctly. For example, fly tipping in the UK now comes with a fine of anywhere between £400 – £1000 according to the GOV.UK website.
Furniture cannot be placed in a landfill either. You can donate your furniture to your local charity shop, but you will need to call ahead and double check they will take what you are offering. Many shops are overrun with donations and occasionally, they will only take specific items. Most charity shops here in the UK won’t take mattresses, or other pieces of poor quality.
Most furniture can be recycled at your local recycling centre, but they may charge for fitted furniture pieces so it’s best to call and check in advance. The other way to get rid of unwanted beds, sofas and chairs would be to speak to your local authorities. They may be able to provide a collection service for more bulky items but you would have to speak with them directly to understand their specific requirements.
Electronics are a difficult problem all together. You will need to separate these out for disposal, as again, these can be tricky to get rid of. By hiring a professional moving team, you can relieve yourself of all these stresses. We have a full understanding of electronic and furniture clearance, so you don’t have to worry. By hiring Greenleaf Clearance, all you have to do is decide what you want to dispose of, and we can do the rest.
Do You Need a Cleaning Service?
Finally, you may need to ask yourself, do you need a cleaning service? Once all the items have been removed from the space, you will be able to see how much dust and dirt has accumulated under your furniture during your stay. According to the ‘Cleaning Checklist for Move-Out Day’ by Better Homes & Gardens, you will have to do everything from dust your blinds to spraying down walls and baseboards. Having an unclean flat after your departure can also result in you not getting your deposit back, which can be a sizeable amount of money.
Cleaning your flat or apartment after you vacate can add another additional stress that isn’t necessary. In most circumstances, cleaning your property as you move in is not an option. You will want all your personal belongings, including the larger pieces of furniture moved or out the property so you are able to give it a good clean. However, by hiring a cleaning team, they can
tend to the property for you removing this extra pressure. As well as clearance services, we offer cleaning, which can leave your apartment or flat in tip top condition.
London House Clearance – Let Us Help You
No matter your reason for moving out of your flat or apartment, we are here to help you. Moving can be a trying time, which can only be worsened by how much needs to be accomplished. Getting the keys to a new home is meant to be exciting, and we want to take away all the unnecessary stress so you can get back to the next step of your journey. If you need more information about our London house clearance services, you can contact us today at 0808 164 8226.
