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Estate cleanout services in Olympia, WA, where the family decides what stays.
An estate cleanout with Caravan Moving LLC starts with the family saying what stays. We clear houses for families, executors and realtors when an estate has to be settled or a home has to be empty before it sells, across Olympia and Thurston County and north to Tacoma, from our base in Rochester. Donation and recycling are sorted first, and the price is agreed in writing before anything goes on the truck.
What the family can expect
How the house gets cleared.
Most of an estate cleanout is sorting. The truck is loaded once the family has said what stays and the donations and recycling are out.
The family decides what stays
Walk the house with us before we start and point out what's being kept. Those pieces are set aside in a room you choose, or packed and moved to wherever they're going. Jewellery, cash and irreplaceable documents should leave with the family before we begin.
Donation and recycling first
Furniture and household goods in usable condition are sorted out for donation, and they genuinely get donated. Recycling is separated next. Only what's left after that is loaded as waste.
The price in writing before loading
We walk the house with whoever is handling the estate and agree the price in writing before anything goes on the truck. If the attic or the shed holds more than we saw at the walkthrough, that gets its own written price before it's loaded, under the same rule.
Disposal at cost, with the ticket
Whatever can't be donated or recycled goes to the transfer station. You're charged what the disposal cost, and the ticket is attached to the invoice, so an executor has a clear record for the estate's paperwork.
Clearing an estate before listing or closing
A full house can't be photographed for a listing or handed over at closing. Realtors working to a date, and executors looking after a house from out of town, can give us that date on the first call and get a straight answer on whether the truck is free for it. The earlier we have the date, the better the odds.
In older Olympia homes, Bigelow Highlands for instance, we look at the stairs, the doorways and the path to the truck at the walkthrough, so the written price reflects the carrying involved.
- Price agreed in writing before anything goes on the truck
- Keep-items set aside, or packed and moved
- Donation-grade goods genuinely donated
- Recycling sorted before anything is called waste
- Disposal at cost, with the ticket attached to the invoice
- Rooms left broom-clean for the listing photos
- Carpets afterwards through King Carpet Cleaning, a separate company that bills separately
From first call to empty rooms
How an estate cleanout runs.
You call, the owner answers
Tell us where the house is, roughly what's in it, and any date you're working to, such as a listing or a closing.
We walk the house
The family, the executor or the realtor shows us what stays. The price is agreed in writing before any loading starts.
Sort, then load
Keep-items are set aside or packed first. Donations and recycling come out next, and the rest is loaded for disposal.
Close-out
The house is left broom-clean, and the invoice comes with the disposal ticket attached for the estate's records.
Similar jobs
Other clear-outs, and where they're covered.
Some jobs look like an estate cleanout and run differently.
Rentals and tenant move-outs
Landlords and property managers dealing with abandoned property or a unit turn should read property cleanouts, which covers itemising for the tenant file.
One garage, attic or yard
A single space that has filled up over the years is a job for junk removal in Olympia, priced before we load in the same way.
Someone still lives there
If a parent is still in the home and it has become hard to manage, hoarding cleanup works at their pace, and nothing leaves without their yes.
Boxing up the keep-items
When the family's pieces need packing properly before they move, packing services covers plates and glassware, framed art and mirrors.
Estate cleanout questions
What families and executors ask.
How much does an estate cleanout cost?
It depends on how much is in the house, how much the family keeps, and the stairs and access. We walk it first and agree the price in writing before anything is loaded, and disposal is charged at cost with the ticket attached to the invoice.
Is there anything you won't take?
Paint, solvents, pesticides and fuel aren't part of an estate cleanout, and full biohazard remediation is referred out. Thurston County residents can take household hazardous waste to HazoHouse at the county's Waste and Recovery Center on Hogum Bay Road in Lacey. The City of Tacoma runs its own drop-off for its residential customers at the Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center on South Mullen Street.
Can you clear the house before a listing or closing date?
Usually the same week, sooner in slower months. Give us the date on the first call and we'll tell you honestly whether we can make it.
Do you do estate cleanouts in Tacoma?
Yes. Tacoma is about 30 miles up I-5 from Olympia, and we serve it from our base in Rochester. The job runs the same way there, with a walkthrough, the price in writing and sorting before anything is loaded.
Can you move the pieces the family is keeping?
Yes. Tell us at the walkthrough what's going and where. Those pieces are set aside, packed if they need it, and moved, and the written estimate says what it covers before we start.
Can the carpets be cleaned once the house is empty?
Yes, through King Carpet Cleaning, which coordinates with us so the carpets can be done the same week. It's a separate company and bills you separately.
Estate cleanouts in Olympia and the South Sound
Start with a walk through the house.
We'll look at what's there, note what the family is keeping, and agree the price in writing before anything is loaded.