A parent has died. There is a property, forty years of belongings inside it, a notary waiting, siblings who do not live in the same city, and a date coming up. You do not have the time to do this properly, and you do not want to do it quickly.
What makes this different from any other job
Sorting here is not tidying. Any object can bring the day to a halt: handwriting on an envelope, a jacket that still holds a scent, a box of photographs nobody has opened. That is normal, and it is exactly why it is easier to work through it with someone for whom this is not their own history.
How we go about it
1. Start with the neutral rooms
Kitchen, utility room, cellar, garage: the rooms where decisions are easy. That creates space — physical and mental — before tackling the rooms that carry weight.
2. Four destinations, never more
What the family keeps, what is given away, what can be resold, what goes for recycling. Nothing leaves the property without your agreement, and anything undecided is set aside rather than thrown out: we come back to it at the end, never in the emotion of the moment.
3. Paperwork kept separate
Any document that may matter to the notary, the insurer or the authorities is gathered in one place as we go, instead of surfacing three weeks later at the bottom of a box.
4. Several heirs, at a distance
When the family is not on site, we photograph whatever needs a joint decision: everyone can have their say without crossing the country to open a wardrobe.
5. The property ready for what comes next
Sale, letting or handing back the keys: by the end the property is empty, coherent, and ready to be photographed or viewed.
What we do not do — and why that matters
We draw up no inventory of legal standing, we do not value the contents and we never take a position on how the estate is divided: those are matters for the notary and, where relevant, the auctioneer. Our role stops at sorting and practical organisation — which is precisely what allows us to work alongside a notary's office without getting in its way.
Keeping things in circulation rather than in a skip
A great deal of what comes out of a house can still be useful. Charities, reuse centres, resale channels: what leaves is directed to the right place wherever possible. It is never a pointless detour — it is often what makes the sorting bearable.
In practice
A first video call (€70, deducted if you go ahead) lets us look at the volume, set a timetable that fits the notary's, and say honestly how many days will be needed. We work in Nice, across the French Riviera and in Monaco.
Prices shown on this site exclude supplies. The "after tax credit" figures are indicative: they assume the work carried out in your home qualifies as a personal service under the French services à la personne scheme (SAP registration being finalised). Your eligibility is confirmed with the quote.