Downsizing in Dunboyne
Dunboyne sits right on the edge of Dublin, just past Clonee and a few minutes from the M3. If you raised a family here, the picture may be familiar: the children have moved out, the garden is more work than it used to be, and the house has four bedrooms when two would do.
When those homeowners decide to downsize, the hardest part isn't the move. It's deciding what to do with forty years of furniture, books, kitchenware and keepsakes that won't fit in an apartment or a bungalow. That's the part we help with. You choose what goes to the new place, and we take the rest, carefully and at a pace that suits you.
The village and the estates around it
The old village centre has a mix of older houses and cottages close to the street, with newer apartments and townhouses added as the village grew. Around it are estates of semi-ds and detached houses, built in waves as Dunboyne grew into a commuter town for Dublin.
Each brings its own small challenges:
- Village houses may have no driveway, a narrow hall and stairs that turn tightly, so we take big pieces apart and stage everything inside.
- Estate homes usually have a driveway and a garage, and most of the volume is in the attic, the garage and the shed.
- Apartments and duplexes have shared stairs, lifts and management rules; see apartment clearance.
A downsizing clear-out, step by step
- Walk the house with the new floor plan. Measure the rooms you're moving into and mark what's going with you. Stickers or coloured tape work well.
- Send us photos. Every room, the attic, the garage and the shed. We'll come back with one fixed price.
- Book around the move. Usually the clearance comes after the removal van, so we're not working around your packing. If you'd rather clear the attic and garage early, we can split the job.
- Sort on the day if you want to. You can be there, keep anything you change your mind about, and take breaks.
- Hand over an empty house. Rooms are left clear and swept, ready for the estate agent or the new owners.
One practical tip: give children and grandchildren a deadline to collect anything they want before the clearance day. Whatever's unclaimed by then comes with us, and nobody has to drive back to the house after the keys have gone. Most full houses take one to two days, and a downsize with a packed attic and garage usually sits at the longer end of that.
spotless.ie
The attic, the garage and the shed
These three usually hold more than downsizers expect. Thirty years of an attic, a garage that became a store, and a shed full of garden tools nobody will need in an apartment. We can clear them all in the same visit as the house, or before the move if you want the loft emptied while you're still living there. See attic clearance, garage clear-outs and shed clearance.
If you're only getting rid of a few large items, like a three-piece suite or a double wardrobe, furniture removal is priced for smaller loads.
Downsizing from a Dunboyne house? Send photos of each room, the attic and the garage on WhatsApp, and tell us what's going to the new place. We'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same day.
When it's not a choice
Not every Dunboyne clear-out is planned. Sometimes a parent has died, or moved into a nursing home suddenly, and the family has to clear the house while dealing with everything else. In that case we go gently. Photographs, letters and anything personal are put aside, and the house can be cleared over more than one visit. Our bereavement clearance page explains how we work with families and executors.
And sometimes, over the years, a home becomes so full that it's hard to move around. If that's the situation with a parent or relative, our hoarder clearance service is discreet and patient, and we work at their pace, never ours.
What happens to your things
Downsizers often worry most about their good furniture being thrown away. It isn't, if we can help it. Solid pieces in good condition are set aside for reuse where possible, metal and electrical items are recycled, and only what's left goes to licensed waste facilities. Read what happens to furniture after a clearance for the detail.
We're fully insured, and we carry everything under waste collection permit NWCPO-25-13287-01 as an authorised waste carrier. For the full picture of what a house clearance covers, see house clearance, or house clearance in Meath if you have family elsewhere in the county.
If the house is going on the market, the week it's empty is the easiest time to get the carpets cleaned and the driveway washed before the photographer comes. We do both; see carpet cleaning and power washing. Buyers notice a fresh stair carpet and a clean drive long before they notice the attic.
