Documents, valuables, and medicine need a separate pass before ordinary household removal begins. Put them under the control of the authorized family representative; do not ask the hauling crew to decide their significance.
Documents
Collect identity, estate, property, tax, insurance, military, employment, medical, and financial records. Check desks, filing cabinets, book pages, envelopes, locked boxes, coat pockets, and the backs of framed pictures. Shred sensitive records before disposal rather than sending them out as mixed paper.
Valuables and access
Secure jewelry, cash, coins, collections, keys, garage remotes, safe combinations, vehicle titles, access cards, and devices. Photograph the protected group and record who received it.
Medicine and household hazards
Keep prescriptions, sharps, medical supplies, paint, solvents, cleaners, oil, batteries, pesticides, fuel, and compressed-gas cylinders outside the ordinary load. EPA guidance warns against mixing household hazardous products or pouring them onto the ground, into drains, or into storm sewers.
One-room rule
Choose a single closed room for every protected item. Put no removal items inside it. Tell every person on site that the room is out of scope.
Only then mark removal areas
Once protected items are secure, mark approved rooms and review them with the crew at arrival. If a drawer or container has not been checked, it is not ready to leave.
When the removal group is ready
Review the companion Deceased Estate Cleanout service, then call or text (425) 522-3063 with the rooms, bulky items, access, and deadline.
Safety and records guidance: U.S. EPA household hazardous waste guidance and FTC identity-theft prevention guidance, reviewed October 6, 2026.