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Two postcodes, one kind of house
Coolock straddles two postcodes. The village end, around the Malahide Road and the roads towards Artane, is Dublin 5; Darndale, Priorswood and the estates out towards Clonshaugh are Dublin 17. For a clearance, it makes no difference which is on your post. What matters is the house, and in Coolock that's usually a two-storey semi or terrace in an estate built from the 1960s onwards, with a front garden, a back garden and a shed.
A lot of those houses still belong to the people who moved in when they were new. Their children grew up and left long ago, and when one of these houses needs clearing, it's usually for one of two reasons: a parent moving to somewhere smaller, or an estate that has to be settled through probate.
Downsizing: three piles, one plan
Moving from a three-bed semi to a one-bed flat means most of the furniture can't come. The simplest way through it is three piles:
- Going with you. Marked with a sticker, or moved into one room before the removal van comes.
- Going to family. Set aside for children and grandchildren to collect by an agreed date.
- Everything else. Cleared by us once the first two piles have gone.
It usually works best in that order: removal van first, family collections next, clearance last. We can come before the move to empty the attic and the shed, so the move itself is lighter, then finish once everything you're keeping has left. If the new home is a flat or apartment, our apartment clearance page covers the practical side of buildings with lifts and management companies.
Sometimes the move is to a nursing home or sheltered housing, where there's room for an armchair, a few photographs and not much else. That makes the choices starker, and they're best made calmly, ahead of the day, with the person moving at the centre of them. Once they've picked what goes with them, the family can take their time over the rest. We're happy to wait a few weeks, clear in two visits, or leave a room untouched until everyone has had a chance to look.
Probate: clearing for the executors
When the house is part of an estate, the executor usually books, often with the solicitor kept in the loop. When to clear is for the executor and the solicitor to agree, because in some estates the contents have to be listed or valued first. Once you have a date, we work to it.
What executors in Coolock usually ask us for:
- A fixed price in writing, from photos, to share with the family and the solicitor.
- Simple key arrangements, whether the keys are with the solicitor, a neighbour or one of the family.
- Papers handed back. Letters, bank books and certificates are kept to one side, unopened.
- Photos of the empty house when we're done, for anyone who couldn't be there.
Our bereavement house clearance page covers the gentler side of this work. If the house is very full, perhaps because things built up during a parent's later years, we take it slowly and without judgement. See hoarder clearance.
Clearing a house in Coolock? Send photos of every room, the attic, the shed and the garage if there is one. We'll reply on WhatsApp with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Getting in and out
Most Coolock estates are easy to work in: a driveway or a kerb outside, and a short carry to the van. The Malahide Road and the roads around the Northside Shopping Centre are busy, so if your house is on a main road, we choose a time outside the rush and stage everything in the hall before the van pulls up. Some houses face a green or a footpath rather than a road; tell us the distance from your door to where a van can pull in.
Where there's a garage, it's often the fullest space in the house. Photograph it with the door open so the price allows for it.
The price, and what happens to it all
Your price is set by the volume, the carry and anything that needs separate disposal: fridges, freezers, mattresses, electricals and paint. It's agreed before you book, and that's what you pay. A typical semi with an attic and a shed takes one to two days for a crew of two or three.
Spotless is fully insured, and everything we take is collected under our authorised waste carrier permit, NWCPO-25-13287-01. Anything usable is put aside for reuse where possible, metals and electricals are recycled, and only what's left goes to licensed facilities. The rooms are left empty and swept, ready for the agent, the family or the next owner.
Our main house clearance page explains the service in full, and house clearance in Dublin covers the rest of the county. Next door, see Artane.
