Step 1: Handle the Legal and Logistical Basics First

Before anything moves, make sure you have legal authority to act and that critical documents are secured.

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Establish legal access

Are you the executor of the estate, the designated power of attorney, or an heir? If you're unsure about your legal authority to remove or sell items, consult an estate attorney before proceeding. In most cases this is straightforward, but it's worth confirming — especially if multiple family members are involved.

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Secure important documents immediately

In the first hour, find and secure:

• Will and estate documents

• Financial account statements and tax returns

• Property deeds, vehicle titles, and insurance policies

• Birth certificate, Social Security card, passport

• Medical records and prescription information

These should leave the house with you — not be sorted with everything else.

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Check for safes, lockboxes, and hidden valuables

Many people keep cash, jewelry, coins, and important documents in unexpected places — desk drawers, shoeboxes, the back of closets, inside books, under mattresses. Do a thorough pass before assuming there's nothing of value in a given area.

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Notify relevant parties

If the house was rented or mortgaged, notify the landlord or lender. Cancel subscriptions, redirect mail, and contact utilities to avoid ongoing charges. This can wait a few days — but don't let it slip past a few weeks.

Step 2: Sort the House in Three Passes

Trying to make every final decision in one visit is a recipe for decision fatigue and regret. Instead, work in three passes:

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• Pass 1 — Obvious decisions only: Walk through every room and deal only with the clearly obvious. Obvious trash goes. Clear keeps (family heirlooms, personal effects) get set aside. Everything else stays put.

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• Pass 2 — The maybes: Now tackle the uncertain items. Photograph anything that might have value using Valuable — you'll get an identification and a real-market price estimate in seconds. This pass is about information, not final decisions.

• Pass 3 — Final decisions with data: Now that you know what things are worth, you can decide what to sell, gift, donate, or discard with confidence. This pass goes much faster because you're not guessing.

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Pro Tip: Valuable works offline too — you can photograph items throughout the day and sync when you're back on wifi. Useful for basements, attics, and rural properties.

What Might Be Hiding in Plain Sight

Families routinely overlook items that have significant resale value — not because they're careless, but because they don't know what they're looking at. Here are the most commonly missed categories:

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• Silverware in a drawer or sideboard: a full sterling set can be worth $500–$2,000+

• Vintage kitchen items — Pyrex, cast iron, Dansk, copper: $50–$500 per piece

• Art prints and oil paintings: even modest prints by known artists fetch $100–$1,000

• Jewelry in unexpected places: brooches, cufflinks, and rings in bathroom drawers are common finds

• Old tools with maker's marks: quality hand tools from brands like Stanley, Craftsman, and Disston have collector value

• Vintage linens in original packaging: rarely used tablecloths and embroidered sets can surprise you

• Coins and currency: old coin collections, silver dollars, and foreign currency are worth appraising

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When in doubt, photograph it. Valuable can identify almost anything — and it's faster than a Google search.

Step 3: Decide What to Do with What Remains

Once you've sorted and identified, you have several options for moving items out:

• Estate sale: The best option when there's significant volume and real value. You can run it yourself (see our guide: How to Set Up an Estate Sale) or hire a company that takes 30–40% commission. A well-run estate sale typically outperforms every other option financially.

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• Auction house consignment: For high-value individual pieces — fine jewelry, significant artwork, rare antiques — a local auction house or online auction (eBay, Invaluable) may yield better results than an estate sale.

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• Charitable donation: For items with modest value or items you simply want to give, most charities offer free pickup for furniture and housewares. Keep a receipt for tax purposes. Valuable's inventory export can generate a donation list in one tap.

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• Dealer buy-out: If you need the house cleared quickly, a local antique dealer or estate service will often make a flat offer to take everything remaining. You won't maximize value, but you'll minimize time and effort.

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• Junk removal: For true end-of-process clearance, services like 1-800-GOT-JUNK or local haulers handle the rest. Use this last — not first.