Estate Cleanout Checklist: A Step-by-Step Guide for Louisville Families

Dustin Hobbs

Sep 24

6 min read

Start an estate cleanout by finding and securing documents and valuables. Next, agree on who has the authority to decide what leaves the house. Then sort everything into keep, distribute, sell, donate and discard, and schedule the haul-away last. Michael's Junk Removal handles that final step across Louisville and Bullitt County, doing all the lifting and donating usable items whenever possible.

Clearing out a parent's or relative's home is hard work, and it usually happens while you're grieving. It's also common here. In the U.S. Census Bureau's latest QuickFacts estimates, 18.5% of Jefferson County residents and 18.7% of Bullitt County residents are 65 or older. The owner-occupied housing rate for 2020-2024 was 62.1% in Jefferson County and 84.9% in Bullitt County. The order below keeps you from throwing away something you'll wish you had kept, and from paying to haul things twice.

Step 1: Who should be in charge before anything leaves the house?

Before you move a single box, settle who makes the decisions. That's usually the executor named in the will, or whoever the family and the estate's attorney agree on.

Confirm with the attorney or executor whether anything must stay in the house until the estate is settled.
Agree as a family how disagreements over specific items will be settled.
Change the locks or keep track of who has keys, especially if the house will be empty for a while.
Forward the mail so bills and account statements don't get lost.

This guide is practical advice, not legal advice. When in doubt, ask the attorney first.

Step 2: What should you find and set aside first?

Search for paperwork and small valuables before anyone sorts furniture. These are what get lost in a cleanout:

Legal and financial papers. Wills, deeds, titles, insurance policies, bank and investment statements, tax returns, pension paperwork and safe deposit box keys.
Identity documents. Birth and marriage certificates, military discharge papers, Social Security cards and passports.
Valuables. Jewelry, cash, coins, watches, firearms and collectibles.
Irreplaceable personal items. Photos, letters, recipes, home movies and family Bibles.
Digital access. Phones, laptops and any written passwords.

Check the places people tend to hide things: coat pockets, books, freezer bags, drawer undersides, mattresses, and boxes in the attic and basement. Put everything you find in one labeled, locked spot.

Step 3: How do you decide what to keep, distribute, sell, donate or toss?

Work room by room and use five clear categories. Colored tape or sticky notes make it obvious to everyone, including the crew.

Keep. Items the executor is holding for the estate.
Distribute. Items going to specific family members. Label each one with the person's name.
Sell. Furniture, antiques, tools or vehicles worth selling privately or through an estate sale company.
Donate. Usable items nobody in the family wants.
Discard. Everything else.

Take photos of each room before you start. They help with inventory and let out-of-town relatives weigh in. If you think something might be valuable, get an appraisal before it goes into the donate or discard pile.

Step 4: Where can usable items go in Louisville?

Donating matters more than it seems. According to the EPA, Americans generated 12.1 million tons of furniture and furnishings in 2018, and 80.1 percent of it was landfilled. For usable items, Louisville Metro points residents to:

Habitat ReStore, which accepts all kinds of furniture and building materials and can schedule a pickup. Its location at 4044 Taylorsville Road also takes new, unopened paint with a complete label.
Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul and other thrift stores. Call about donations and pickups.
Nextdoor, where you can list items for free.
Done With IT, the city's program for usable laptops, tablets and phones, with no limit. Wipe personal data first.

For boxes of old financial papers, Louisville's free Pop-Up Drop-Off events for Jefferson County residents include on-site document shredding. The events run on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The remaining 2026 dates are October 17 at Metro Fleet Services, 3515 Newburg Road, and November 21 at the UofL Shelby Campus, 440 N. Whittington Parkway.

Step 5: What needs special disposal?

Older homes usually have a garage or basement shelf full of things a junk removal crew can't load: paint, chemicals, pesticides, gasoline, propane tanks and medical waste. Pull them out before cleanout day.

Louisville and Jefferson County residents can take household hazardous waste to the Haz Bin, 7501 Grade Lane, for free, Tuesday through Saturday. It takes oil-based paint, pesticides, gasoline, grill and camping-size propane tanks, batteries and more. It doesn't take latex paint, ammunition or expired medication.
Latex paint can be dried out, sealed in a plastic bag and put in the garbage cart.
Prescription medication can go to a Pop-Up Drop-Off event.
If the estate is in Bullitt County, call the Bullitt County Recycling Center at (502) 531-2038 to ask about hazardous waste options.

If you suspect asbestos, such as old floor tile or pipe insulation, leave it alone and get advice before anyone disturbs it.

Step 6: When should you schedule the cleanout crew?

Schedule the haul-away once valuables are secured, family items claimed and donations gone. Book ahead of any listing date or lease end, though same-day service is available if a deadline sneaks up.

Michael's Junk Removal starts with a visit to look at the property and give you a clear, free quote. Pricing is based on how much space the items take up in the truck and the material type, so the more that's donated or distributed first, the smaller the load.

What does the crew handle on cleanout day?

Our estate cleanout service covers furniture, appliances, electronics, mattresses and box springs, clothing and textiles, books and papers, kitchenware, outdoor equipment, tools, decor, art, toys and general household items. The crew does all the lifting, sorting and loading. Usable belongings are donated whenever possible, recyclables are processed, and only what's left is disposed of. When we're done, the property is left tidy and safe.

Before the crew starts, tell them about anything the family is still looking for, such as papers, photos or jewelry, so everyone knows what to watch for.

How long a full house takes depends on its size and how much is in it, so ask for a timing estimate when you get your quote. If the home has years of built-up belongings, our hoarder cleanout team works through it patiently, without judgment, and removes only what the family decides to let go.

How can you make the process easier on the family?

Don't try to do it all in one weekend. Start with the easier rooms, like the kitchen or garage, and save bedrooms and photos for later. Keep a small memory box for each person. And hand off the heavy lifting, because carrying a parent's furniture out of the house is often harder than it looks.

Estate cleanout checklist at a glance

Confirm who has authority, and talk to the attorney or executor
Secure the house, the keys and the mail
Find and lock up documents, valuables and photos
Photograph every room
Label items: keep, distribute, sell, donate, discard
Get appraisals for anything that might be valuable
Arrange donations and sales
Shred sensitive papers and set aside medications
Separate out hazardous materials
Schedule the cleanout crew and walk the house with them

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to sort everything before the crew arrives?

The crew does the sorting for donation, recycling and disposal. You only need to make sure anything the family is keeping has been claimed or clearly marked so it stays.

Do you handle estate cleanouts for commercial properties?

Yes. We clear residential and commercial estate properties, including the planning, lifting, sorting and removal.

Where do you do estate cleanouts?

Louisville, Shepherdsville, Mount Washington, Elizabethtown, Jeffersontown, St. Matthews, Middletown, Hurstbourne, Anchorage, Prospect, Glenview and nearby areas. We're open 7 days a week, and estimates are free.

Call (502) 627-0414 or get a free estimate and book online to save $20.