Safely Clearing Out Your Loft

Clearouts are a great time to sift through the stuff that we have collected in our home. Removing the rubbish, the unwanted and the unused. And for the most part, anything we decide to keep ends up in the loft. Out of sight, out of mind. So what happens when we decide that it is time to clear out the loft?

Safety First

When it comes to our loft, many of us are using precariously balanced ladders, and an abundance of upper body strength to get through the hatch. This can mean that safety is thrown to the wind.
If you are clearing out your loft, extra care needs to be taken in order to avoid injury and potential damage in your home. We recommend that you utilise two people to move things up and down your ladders. Along with investing in a good quality ladder that is long enough to get into the loft space.
You will also need to consider how you will be transporting items from the loft and down the ladders. To decrease the risk of injury and falling, consider lowering items down in some form of collection item, such as a garden bucket, or a holdall. If necessary, these can be attached or rope or straps to be lowered right down. Please avoid throwing items down the ladders as this can move your ladders and they can become unstable.

Where To Start

Each of us has a different way of pilling stuff into our lofts, some of us have boarded the space so we can cram more in, others have popped a board or two down to avoid the insulation, then we have the extremes, the completely kitted out space and the throw caution to the wind and put everything on the insulation. Depending on how you have your loft, will depend on how you can work through everything.
We recommend that you create yourself a space towards one end, and work through it, putting stuff to keep into that space and moving along. This will help you to work through it without forgetting where you have been or doubling the work. You can then load any unwanted goods into your container to be lowered down.

To The Skip

When it comes to loading your unwanted items in the skip, remember to keep your eyes out for the few things that shouldn’t be placed into your skip. Check out our handy guide on what you can and can’t put in the skip.
Positioning larger and heavier items in the skip first will help you to fully utilise the space as you can place your smaller items in the gaps. We appreciate that this might not always be the case when you are working from one side of the loft to the other. There are a couple of ways that you can work around this.
Create a sorting space – either use the floor of a room in your house, or pop a sheet down near to your skip. You can then place the smaller and less bulky items here until the larger items are in the skip and you can load over them.
Create a small item side – if you know you only have a few larger items to dispose of, you can load the one side of your skip with the smaller items until your larger items are in place.
Cherry-pick larger items – If your loft space, if larger enough to enable you to remove the larger items first safely, you can cherry-pick the larger items first to create a base layer in the skip.

Choosing The Right Skip

Choosing the right skip for a loft clearance can be somewhat tricky. You never know how much you will be removing to know how much space you will need. If you can have a sort out before ordering you will have a better idea, however, we know that the limited space means that this isn’t always possible.
Consider how large your loft space, and roughly how much you are hoping to dispose of, you can then discuss this with a member of our team who has a good understanding of how much you can safely fit into a skip. Remember, ordering a slightly larger skip than you think you need is better than having to hire a second skip. Commonly, people will find things in the house and garden to fill the skip.

For more information on hiring the right skip for your loft clear out, please get in touch with a member of our expert team today who will be happy to assist you. Remember to check out our blogs regularly for more ideas and information.