Blog
Top Tips on Preparing for a House Clearance
At Hamiltons Removals, as well as helping you (or your business) move and providing self-storage facilities, we also offer house clearances in Norfolk, Suffolk and across the UK. Here are our top preparation tips to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Mark Everything Clearly
The whole clearance process is a lot simpler and quicker if everything is packed and marked up in advance. Post-It notes or sticky labels are a good way of ensuring everything ends up where it should.
You can adopt a simple three-way approach with your labelling, marking everything either ‘Keep’, ‘Bin’ or ‘Recycle’ – that way we will know what to take and what to leave behind.
Go Room by Room
It’s much simpler to do things on a room-by-room basis – only move to the next one when you are sure everything has been categorised (see above). It is usually best to start from the top and work downwards to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything. That way, once you get to the floor or carpet you know you are done. Also, if there any drops or spillages, you know you can leave the floor cleaning to the end.
In terms of rooms to start with, the kitchen may be best, in case there are any perishable foodstuffs which need to be disposed of immediately.
Don’t Forget the Larger Items….
It can be easy to overlook some of the larger items rather than smaller ones like books and CDs, but larger items of furniture can also form part of a clearance. It may help if professional clearance companies know about their history (in the case of home furnishings), as this may affect what we can do with them.
Specifically, in 2023, it became illegal for upholstered furniture (such as sofas, armchairs and sofa beds) that contains Persistent Organic Pollutants in their fire retardants to be taken to landfill or put in with general waste – they are generally incinerated. At Hamiltons Removals, we have a Waste Carriers’ Licence, so we are qualified to handle and dispose of them correctly.
…or Outside the Home
House clearances can also apply to the outside of the house as well as the inside. Here we are talking more about items in your garden shed – will they form part of the clearance as well? If there are a load of tools and garden equipment, follow the same methodical approach as you would inside the house in respect of packing and labelling.
House Clearances in Norfolk from Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons’ Removals, we recycle and salvage as much as possible from our house clearances, and we make donations to various charities. If you wish for certain items at the property to be donated to family members or friends, we can arrange for this to be included within our quotation.
We can carry out video surveys or visit in person to provide you with a clear written quotation. Whether you are looking for a house clearance or just decluttering services, we can help if you live in Suffolk, Norfolk or anywhere in the UK.
For more information, follow this link and fill in the form. You can also contact us at: declutter@hamiltonsremovals.co.uk or 01379 855203.
Remember, we also offer a lot of complementary services – so if you haven’t decided what to do with certain items, you can keep them at our Safe n Stored facilities at Harleston and Aldeby. In addition, we stock plenty of high-quality packing materials at our shop, which is at our Harleston site, but which you can also access online.
Removals to Liege with Hamiltons Removals
There are plenty of reasons to move to Liege – the cost of living is considerably cheaper than a lot of Belgian cities, it’s easy to get to, and there’s plenty of locally-made beer and chocolate to enjoy! Here Hamiltons Removals, who offer high-quality removals services to Liege, take a closer look at the city.
The History and Heritage
Situated to the east of Belgium, quite close to the border with the Netherlands. The name, Liege, is of Germanic origin, with the original word meaning “people” also being linked to the idea of a gathering place, reflecting its historical role as a significant settlement.
There was a Roman settlement here. Over the centuries, its strategic position on the River Meuse meant it was a centre for local and international trade, and its capture became very important down the years (not just the World Wars, but also various internal rebellions before then.
Nowadays, the area is important for heavy industry (particularly steelmaking and armaments, aircraft engines) and high-tech businesses (e.g. space technology and IT), it’s also a home for chocolate and beer production, as well as mineral water.
Getting There and Getting Around
There is an airport which services the city, but although it does have flights to various European destinations, this does not currently include the UK. It’s mainly a cargo airport, and it is the seventh largest in Europe in terms of freight handled. Your best bet if you want to fly in is probably to get a connecting flight from Brussels.
The city’s main railway station – Liège-Guillemins – is located in the south-western part of the city. The station is served by high-speed trains to and from Brussels, Paris, Cologne and Frankfurt, it’s also on the Eurostar line from the UK.
Liege is served by a network of six motorways or ‘E-routes’ if you are driving there. Once you are there, there isn’t an underground system, but there is a new tramway network which opened this year, alongside its comprehensive TEC bus network. You can also get around by bike, but some of the routes are a little hilly, and others are on old roads, so be wary. Most of the main attractions are within walking distance, though.
The Main Attractions
Montagne de Bueren (pictured) is a staircase in the city centre with 374 steps. It leads to the Coteaux de la Citadelle (an area of meadows, parks, woods and vineyards). The climb is well worth the effort as there are some spectacular views once you get to the top (and they are beautifully illuminated every October in the city’s Festival of Light).
The La Boverie Museum, set in the park of the same name, has an impressive collection of modern art. Try the Musee Curtius (on the banks of the River Meuse) if you want some older art. And there’s also the cathedral – an outstanding example of Gothic architecture, with high vaulted ceilings, detailed sculptures and kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows.
If you want something more family-friendly, try the Aquarium-museum de Liège, where you can get up close to clownfish, seahorses, octopus, piranhas and even some dwarf nurse sharks.
Shopping Around and Eating Out
The best central areas are Rue Vinâve d’Île and Le Carre, which have many of the leading international brands and local boutiques (and in the case of the latter, plenty of restaurants and cafes). For something more artisan or independent, try the La Batte Sunday Market (mostly for food) or En Neuvice, which has been dubbed “the street of Liege’s craftsmen”.
Local foods to try include Liege waffles (usually topped with sugar, cream, chocolate or fruit) or boulets liégeoise (beef and pork meatballs simmered in a gravy made with onions, flour, beef broth, and a syrup-based sauce).
As far as local alcohol goes, look for a beer made either by Brasserie Curtius (the most famous brewery) or Brasseries de Liege (a local collective). And for chocolate, anything made by Chocolaterie Franz (the pralines are particularly well known) or Leonidas can be recommended. Both have city centre stores.
Removals to Liege with Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons Removals, we can help with overseas moves to all parts of Belgium, including Brussels, Brugge, Antwerp and Ghent, as well as Liege.
We offer three types of removals to Belgium; a dedicated service giving you the sole use of a vehicle, a special service allowing you to specify the dates for collection and delivery, and a part-load or groupage service which transports several consignments in one vehicle (here the delivery times will vary depending on how long it takes to make up one full load).
If you would like to know more about our services, follow this link or call us on 01379 855203.