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Which house clearance do you need?
People use "house clearance" for very different jobs, from emptying a parent's home after a funeral to clearing two bedrooms before a baby arrives. Each one is planned differently, so it helps to know which you're dealing with. Start with the situation you're in:
| Your situation | The clearance that fits | What it involves | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| The whole property needs to be emptied | Full house clearance | Every room plus the attic, garage, shed and garden, left empty and swept | House clearance |
| You're staying, but part of the house is full | Partial clear-out | Chosen rooms, the attic or the garage, worked around you | House clear-outs |
| A parent or relative has died | Bereavement clearance | Sorting at the family's pace, papers and keepsakes set aside, stages if needed | Bereavement clearance |
| You're moving somewhere smaller | Downsizing clearance | What won't fit in the new home, before or after the removal van | See below |
| Tenants have moved out | Rental turnover | Belongings left behind and worn furniture, ready for the next tenancy | Between tenancies |
| The house is going on the market | Pre-sale clearance | Contents out, fixtures left, ready for the photographer | Contents clearance |
Whichever row fits, the quote works the same way: photos of each room, a fixed price back, usually the same day.
The six kinds, a little more closely
Full house clearance
Everything goes that nobody wants to keep, from the attic down to the end of the garden. It's the usual choice for probate, a sale, or handing a house back to a landlord, and it's the job that comes up again and again in our reviews: full houses cleared in a day or two, sometimes with the shed as well.
Partial clear-out
You're living in the house and only part of it needs emptying: the box room, the attic, the garage, or a few rooms before builders arrive. We work around you and leave the rest of the house exactly as it was.
Bereavement clearance
The most sensitive of all, and a large part of what we do. Families can sort things before we come or alongside us on the day, and nothing is rushed. For families who live far away, our Leinster bereavement clearance page explains how we manage without you being there every day.
Downsizing clearance
Moving from a family home to an apartment or a smaller house means deciding what fits. We clear what's left after the move, or the surplus beforehand, and we're patient when the person moving needs time with their things.
Rental turnover
A tenant has gone and left a sofa, a mattress and a shed full of bags. We clear it, photograph the empty rooms for your records and leave the house ready for cleaners, painters or the next tenant.
Pre-sale clearance
Agents want houses empty for photographs and viewings. A pre-sale clearance takes out the contents and leaves the fitted kitchen and fixtures, so the house shows as it really is. Clearing a Dublin property for sale covers working to an agent's timeline.
Homes that need a different approach
Some houses don't fit neatly into one of the six. These have their own pages:
- A home that has become very full. Calm, private, at the pace of the person who lives there, often over several visits. See hoarder clearance.
- Apartments and flats. Lifts, stairwells, loading bays and management company rules shape the whole plan. See apartment clearance.
- Just the attic. Boxes and decorations brought down the ladder with time to check each bag. See attic clearance.
- Just the garage. Tools, bikes, freezers and shelving. See garage clearance.
- Just the shed. Emptied, or taken down altogether. See shed clearance.
Not sure which one you need? Send photos of each room and any outbuildings, plus a line about what's happening and when. We'll suggest the simplest way to do it, with a fixed price.
Across Leinster, county by county
We're based in Dublin and clear houses across all twelve counties of Leinster. Each county page has local detail on the housing and the travel:
- Dublin: every postcode and the whole county; see house clearance in Dublin, or the northside and southside area guides.
- Kildare: commuter estates and country homes; see house clearance in Kildare.
- Wicklow: coastal towns and rural houses; see Wicklow.
- Meath and Louth: see Meath, Louth and Drogheda.
- Carlow and Kilkenny: see Carlow and Kilkenny.
- Wexford and Laois: see Wexford and Laois.
- The midlands: see Offaly, Westmeath and Longford.
The further from Dublin, the more it helps to plan ahead. A full house clearance in Longford or Wexford is a day trip for the crew, so we agree the date early and make sure the van, the crew and the time match the job.
What to send for a quote
The quickest quotes come from a set of photos that shows us the whole job, not just the worst room. Whatever kind of clearance it is, include:
- Every room, taken from the doorway so we can see how full it is.
- The attic, plus one of the hatch from the landing.
- The garage, shed and any outhouse, with the doors open.
- The route to the road: the front steps, the driveway or the side passage.
- The Eircode, and the date you need it done by, if there is one.
- What's staying, in a line or two, so we don't price for it.
That's usually enough for a fixed price the same day. For a very large house, or a farmhouse with a yard of outbuildings, we may ask for a quick call or a visit first.
The same standards, whichever you book
The type of clearance changes the plan, not the way we work:
- A fixed price before booking, from your photos, with nothing added on the day.
- Every drawer and pocket checked, with papers, photos, cash and keepsakes set aside for you.
- Floors and stairs covered while we carry.
- Sorted as we load, with reusable items set aside, recyclables separated and the rest taken to licensed facilities.
- Authorised and insured. Spotless is an authorised waste carrier, permit NWCPO-25-13287-01, and fully insured on every job.
