Preparing to clear out a cellar and loft
Clearing out a cellar and loft most often fails because you start on it on the spur of the moment. You open the door, pull out a few boxes, and two hours later you have things strewn all over the corridor and nothing taken away. Half a day of preparation turns the whole job into one weekend instead of three.
Make sure you have light and air
In a cellar you usually can't see, and in a loft it's hot. Take a head torch so your hands stay free, and an extension cable. Open the windows and doors; a through draught helps a lot while you work.
Dress for the job
Dust, mould and rodent droppings are common in enclosed spaces. A respirator, gloves, long sleeves and sturdy closed shoes are the minimum. In old cellars, watch out for rusty nails and broken glass under a layer of paper.
Prepare a sorting area
Without somewhere to put things down, you'll keep moving things around in circles. Set aside a piece of the yard, corridor or garage and divide it into three areas: keep, give away and throw away. Never sort in the flat — things will stay there for months.
The clear-out itself
Work section by section
Work from top to bottom and from the door to the back. Clear one shelf unit or one metre of floor at a time and only then move on. This creates free space you can work in, and you can see your progress.
Decide quickly
Spend a few seconds on each item, not a few minutes. Something you haven't looked for in five years you usually don't need. Put sentimental items in one box and go through them only at the end; otherwise you'll get stuck on them right at the start.
Separate hazardous items straight away
Leftover paints, thinners, oils, batteries and fluorescent tubes belong to one side. Put them in a separate container, ideally a tub or crate that will contain any leak. Never mix them in with ordinary waste.
Open every box
Don't take anything away without looking at it. Cellar boxes commonly turn up documents, photographs or valuables that have been forgotten. At the same time, you'll find out what is soaked and mouldy and what is still fine.
Talk to your neighbours
In shared spaces it isn't always clear whose things are whose. Before you take away a bike or a cupboard from a shared corridor, ask. In blocks of flats, also let people know in advance that the entrance will be blocked for a few hours.
Allow a whole day
A cellar looks smaller than it is. For an ordinary cellar storage unit, allow half a day's work for two people; for a loft, a whole day. Plan the work so that at the end you have time left to load up and take everything away, not just to carry things out in front of the house.
