If you’re facing a parent’s whole house in Madison and don’t know where to start, this checklist breaks it into steps. When you’re ready for the heavy lifting, call and we’ll connect you with an independent local cleanout company for a free quote.
Cleaning out a parent’s house goes better in order: protect what matters, make family decisions, see if anything should be sold, then donate and clear the rest. You don’t have to do it all in one trip. Use this list to see what’s done and what’s next.
Before: secure the house and find the papers
The first job is protecting the house and anything that can’t be replaced. Nothing should be thrown out yet.
Secure valuables and the property
- Collect all house keys and consider changing the locks.
- Remove jewelry, cash, firearms, prescription medications and small valuables to a safe place.
- Photograph every room, closet, the basement and the garage before anything moves.
- Tell the homeowner’s insurer if the house will sit empty.
Documents to look for
- Will, trust documents, and power of attorney papers
- Deed, mortgage statements and property tax bills
- Bank, brokerage, pension and retirement statements
- Life insurance policies and Social Security or Medicare paperwork
- Vehicle titles, recent tax returns, and safe deposit box keys
- Birth, marriage and military discharge records
Check the obvious places, then the less obvious ones: freezer, books, coat pockets and boxes in the basement. If your parent has died, the executor generally needs legal authority before selling or discarding estate property. Our probate and executor page covers the general Wisconsin rules. It’s general information, not legal advice.
Utilities and mail
- Keep heat and electricity on until the house is empty. Frozen pipes in a Wisconsin winter are an expensive surprise.
- Cancel or pause cable, phone, internet and newspaper subscriptions.
- Set up mail forwarding with the post office to whoever is handling bills, so statements don’t pile up in the box.
- Keep a list of accounts as mail arrives. It’s often how families find forgotten bank accounts or bills.
During: family decisions, sale evaluation, donations
Once the house is secure, the family decides what to keep, then what might sell, then what gets donated. Doing them in that order avoids regret.
Make family decisions
- Share photos of furniture and keepsakes with siblings and set a deadline for requests.
- Agree on a fair method for items more than one person wants, such as taking turns.
- Write down who’s taking what, and set a pickup date.
Have an estate sale company look first
Before anything is donated or tossed, consider having an estate sale company evaluate the contents. AARP advises against throwing things out before a sale is evaluated, since items that look like clutter can have value. Our estate sale, buyout or cleanout guide explains the options and names local companies.
Donate and dispose using local resources
- Furniture and household goods: St. Vinny’s free home pickup, or Habitat ReStore (6201 Odana Rd or 4207 Monona Dr, free pickup at 608-663-1191).
- Clothing and housewares: Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin.
- Books, CDs and DVDs: Friends of Madison Public Library, Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin.
- Medical equipment: a loan closet such as Access to Independence in Madison. Call first.
- Medications: a free MedDrop box, such as Madison Police East at 809 S. Thompson Dr.
- Paint and chemicals: Clean Sweep, 7020 Maahic Way, $15 per trip.
- Electronics and major appliances: recycle them. Both are banned from Wisconsin landfills.
- Everything else: the city’s large-item collection (with a work order), a city drop-off site, a dumpster, or a cleanout company.
After: the final clear-out and closing up
When family, sale and donations are done, what’s left gets cleared in one go. This is where hiring usually saves the most time.
- Get a written quote for clearing the remaining contents, down to broom-clean. See what an estate cleanout costs for local ranges.
- Walk the empty house for anything missed in closets, crawl spaces and the garage rafters.
- Keep receipts for the cleanout, donations and disposal for the estate’s records.
- Hand the keys to the realtor, buyer or landlord, and cancel the remaining utilities once the house is transferred.
If the house is going on the market, house cleanout before selling covers timing with a listing and closing.
Managing it from out of state
You can handle most of this from a distance if you plan one or two trips well. Use your first visit to secure the house, gather papers and photograph every room. Use a second for family decisions, or do those over video with the photos.
- Install a lockbox so estate sale companies, charities and cleanout crews can get in without you.
- Ask a trusted neighbor or local relative to check the house and bring in packages.
- Ask the cleanout company for photos before and after, and a written quote you can review by email.
For more on each type of job, see estate cleanouts and downsizing and senior moves. Local notes for Monona, Middleton and Waunakee list nearby drop-offs, and the FAQ covers common questions.
Next step
When the checklist gets to the heavy part, call and we’ll connect you with an independent local cleanout company for a free quote.
