House Clearance in Northumberland – Hoarded Cluttered Property Case Study

We cover all areas of Northumberland including Hexham, Alnwick, Morpeth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Cramlington, and surrounding towns and villages.

We were recently contacted by a gentleman from Brighton who had inherited a detached three-bedroom cottage in rural Northumberland, near Rothbury. The property had belonged to his late uncle, who had lived alone for decades and was known locally as a bit of a collector. The family had long suspected the house was heavily cluttered, but no one had been inside for years.

The client originally considered using a local auction house to sell anything of value, but after reading the fine print and speaking with them, he was put off by the high commission fees, the long turnaround time, and uncertainty of sale. He needed the house cleared quickly so he could move ahead with renovations and an eventual sale.

He called us after reading our website, and we arranged a same-day visit to assess the job. After walking through the property, we gave a fixed fee for the full clearance including the removal of carpets, white goods, and garage contents — with no hidden extras.

What we found and cleared:

The house was heavily hoarded. Every room was piled with newspapers, magazines, broken electrical items, clothing, and general clutter dating back to the 1970s. Our team of four arrived at 9 AM and got to work, starting from the attic and working our way down.

The main bedroom had three large wardrobes crammed full of clothing, boxes stacked to the ceiling, and old suitcases filled with documents. The living room was virtually inaccessible at first — piled waist-high with newspapers, VHS tapes, and ornaments.

The kitchen was a major task on its own, with long-expired food still in the cupboards and a rusted chest freezer in the utility room that had to be carefully removed. The carpets throughout the home were unsalvageable and removed for disposal.

The garage and garden shed were no better, filled with broken lawnmowers, old tools, rusted bicycles, and leaking paint tins. It took two staff members half a day just to clear the outside buildings safely.

Important items discovered and handed over to the client:

Despite the overwhelming amount of clutter, we uncovered several valuable and sentimental items, including:

  • A collection of silver cigarette cases and hip flasks

  • A 9ct gold pocket watch

  • Two WWII service medals in a tobacco tin

  • Over 100 family photographs from the 1940s–1980s

  • A sealed folder of property deeds and legal documents

  • An antique oak wall clock in working order

The client was over the moon when we handed him the items — especially the medals and photographs, which had huge sentimental value.

Final results:

In total, we removed over 5 tons of waste and unwanted items, with two van loads taken to a licensed recycling centre and a third load delivered to a local charity shop in Alnwick.

The entire clearance, including the garage and garden, was completed in just under 6 hours.

The client left us the following testimonial:

“I can’t thank the team enough. I was completely overwhelmed and unsure where to start, but James and the lads handled everything professionally from the first phone call to the final sweep. They not only cleared the house quickly, but took the time to find and return things that mattered to our family. No hidden fees, no drama — just a really honest and efficient service. I’d recommend them to anyone in need of a serious house clearance.”

No delays, no hidden fees, immediate payment, and a guaranteed result — without the hassle of auctions.

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