Clearing a loft: how to clear years of clutter without losing your mind

Tidying up the loft should not be left to our descendants when we kick the bucket or cannot climb the ladder any more. I have done loft clear outs both as a general declutter and after losing family members, and the jobs feel very different. Sometimes you are just shifting boxes. Sometimes you are handling a whole lifetime of someone’s things.

Either way, the questions are the same. How do you sort through years of memories, tech and miscellaneous items without burning out or drowning in dust and bin bags?

Before you start: make the loft safe

Before you start dragging boxes around, think about your own safety. Loft spaces are not really designed for day to day foot traffic, and most accidents happen when people rush or work in poor light.

A few quick checks:

• Ladder stability
  Make sure your ladder is on a flat, solid surface and properly locked in place. Do not stand on the top rung and avoid leaning too far to one side.

• Watch where you step
  If your loft is not fully boarded, only step on the joists or any boards that are already there. A misplaced foot between joists is how legs go through ceiling and teeing up a “reskimming the bedroom project” isn’t going to be the step forward you was hoping for.

• Lighting and temperature
  Use a good work light or head torch. Try to avoid working in extreme heat or when you are tired. A hot, stuffy loft plus dust is a fast route to feeling rough.

• Dust and insulation
  Old insulation can be itchy and dusty. Gloves, long sleeves and a light mask make the whole job much more pleasant, especially if you suspect older insulation types.

If it does not feel safe, tackle the loft in shorter sessions and it’s always better to get a second pair of hands round to steady the ladder or pass items down to.

Step 1: Decide what you actually want from the loft

A clear goal makes decisions much easier.

Are you:

• Getting ready to sell or let the property

• Making space for new insulation or a conversion

• Turning the loft into organised storage only

• Or simply trying to reduce the burden on family later

Pick one primary goal and use it as your filter. If the goal is to make the loft easy to access and maintain, that leaning tower of mystery boxes from 2009 suddenly looks less essential.

If you are clearing a loft after someone has died

Loft clear outs after a death hit differently. Not only are you deciding what to do with objects, you are deciding what to do with stories. It helps to:

• Work in shorter sessions and give yourself more breaks

• Have one “not today” box for things you cannot decide on yet

• Ask a friend or relative to be the practical one when you feel wobbly

A simple rule of thumb:

If you would not be happy to deal with it if you inherited it, do not leave it for someone else.

Step 2: Set up sorting stations

The worst way to clear a loft is to stand in the hatch, open a box, and debate every item in mid air.

Instead, bring things down in batches and sort them somewhere with space to move. Use clearly labelled zones or boxes:

• Keep in the loft
  Seasonal decorations, camping gear, well packed keepsakes.

• Keep elsewhere in the house
  Things you want accessible. Photos to display, paperwork to file, sentimental items you actually enjoy seeing.

• Donate or give away
  Usable items that someone else could genuinely use.

• Sell
  Higher value items only. If you would not be happy to photograph it, list it and post it within a week, it probably belongs in Donate or Recycle.

• Recycle
  Paper, cardboard, textiles, metal and suitable plastics via your kerbside collections or Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC). Tools like Recycle Now can help you check local options.

• Skip or bulky waste
  Broken, worn out or mixed junk that is not suitable for recycling.

Having these categories ready cuts down on decision fatigue. You are simply choosing which pile, not inventing a plan from scratch each time.

Step 3: Dealing with tech, cables and random electronics

Lofts are where old tech goes to hibernate. Laptops that died in 2015, remote controls with no matching device, two decades of chargers and mystery cables.

Do not throw electricals in the bin

Anything with a plug, battery or cable counts as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and should be reused or recycled, not put in general waste.

Official guidance and campaigns all say the same thing:

• Electrical items should go to specialist bring banks, or retailers that offer take back schemes, not landfill.

• Services like Recycle Your Electricals offer a locator to find nearby drop off points.

• Household waste recycling centres (HWRC’s) have a small electronics box to put these items and cables in.

Batteries and vapes

Loose batteries, old battery packs and old vapes with their lithium batteries should never go in general rubbish because of fire and pollution risks. They belong in dedicated hazardous waste or battery recycling schemes, often at supermarkets, HWRCs or council bring sites. As important as it is to get these out of your loft, it's important to not put these in a skip.

Data and personal info

Before donating or recycling:

• Factory reset phones, tablets and laptops

• Remove SIM cards and memory cards where possible

• Consider a secure wipe for devices that held sensitive information

If a device is too old to power up, remove any storage drives and dispose of the rest through WEEE recycling or better yet, sell on to a no-nonsense recycler using a comparison service like Compare and Recycle.

Step 4: Old paperwork, photos and kids' artwork

Paper is often what makes lofts feel overwhelming and sometimes hardest to part with, but this guide should help you if, like me, you come across suitcases of paperwork when clearing out the loft.

• Everyday paperwork
  Bank statements, bills and letters can usually be shredded then recycled. Check with your council for any specific rules on shredded paper.

• Legal and financial documents
  Keep things like house deeds, pension documents and key tax records together, in a clearly labelled, dry box. If you are unsure, scan and keep a digital copy as a back up.

• Photos and sentimental things
  Give yourself permission to keep the important ones, but not every single slip of paper. One sturdy “memories” box per person is a reasonable limit in most homes.

• Children's artwork
  Take photos of bulky items, keep a small curated folder of originals, and let the rest go.

If you like stories about this stuff
Jarvis Cocker’s Good Pop, Bad Pop is basically one long loft clear out turned into a memoir. He pulls out shirts, ticket stubs, school books and broken glasses and asks whether they are worth keeping. It is a good reminder that:

• Objects are really just memory prompts, and we can easily store digital versions in scans or photos.

• You do not have to keep every prompt for the story to survive

• Sometimes letting an object go is part of moving on

Step 5: Bulky items and mixed junk that belong in a skip

Once you have removed the reusable and recyclable items, you will be left with the awkward middle ground:

• Broken suitcases and storage boxes

• Old carpet offcuts and underlay (why do we always keep it?)

• Flat pack furniture that fell apart in storage

A few car loads to the tip is one option. If that sounds like your entire weekend, a small skip can be a calmer alternative.

For a typical loft clear out in a UK home, people often use:

• A 4 yard or 6 yard skip for smaller properties and lighter junk

• A 6 yard or 8 yard skip if you are also clearing other areas at the same time

If your loft clear out turns into a whole house declutter, you might find our specific size pages useful too, for example:

6 yard skip

8 yard skip

Hazardous or awkward items: do not put these in a skip

There are some things that should not go into a general skip at all. Common loft examples include:

• Paint, solvents and chemicals

• Asbestos containing materials (for example some old insulation boards or roofing sheets)

• Gas bottles and certain pressurised containers

• Fridges, freezers and some larger appliances (more common in cellars than lofts, but it still applies)

• Loose batteries and some electricals
  

For these, you will usually need:

• Your council's hazardous waste collection service, if available

• A licensed specialist contractor, in the case of asbestos or similar materials

When in doubt, check your local council website or the GOV.UK pages on hazardous waste and electrical recycling, and follow their advice.

If you book a skip through us and know you have something unusual, let the supplier know before delivery so they can explain your options.

You can view our guide on prohibited items here.

Step 6: Pack what is left so future you can understand it

There is nothing worse than opening a box in five years and realising you have no idea why you kept any of it.

Before you close the loft hatch:

• Use clear, sturdy boxes with lids
  Cardboard collapses and absorbs damp. If you can, use plastic boxes that stack safely.

• Label every box clearly
  Use large, plain labels such as “Christmas decorations”, “Camping gear”, “Kids keepsakes 0 to 10”.

• Keep heavy items low and near the hatch
  Save your back by avoiding long, awkward carries over joists.

• Leave a simple loft map
  A quick sketch on paper showing where main categories are stored can save a lot of rummaging later.

Bonus Tip for organising your loft, if you need help, Loftleg have a super guide on what you can do to help organise your loft better.

Step 7: Make sure the clutter does not creep back

A clear, well organised loft is a genuine asset to your home and a weight off your mind all year round. Keeping it that way is the real win.

A few simple rules:

• Nothing goes into the loft unlabelled

• If you would not be happy to rediscover it in ten years, do not store it there

• For each new “long term” item you add, consider removing something else

• Schedule a 30 minute loft check once a year

You are not aiming for a minimalist showroom. You are aiming for a loft that you (and anyone who inherits the house) can understand and move around without fear.

When a skip makes the whole job easier

If your loft clear out has produced more bulky waste than you can reasonably shift in a hatchback, a skip can turn a stressful job into a straightforward one:

• No queueing at the HWRC

• Everything contained in one place

• Clear deadline to finish the job by collection day

You can start by checking prices in your postcode at Skip Hire Comparison, then match the container size to your project using our skip sizes guide.

If you are not sure which size to choose, you can always start with a smaller skip and talk to the supplier about options to upgrade or book a second container if your project grows.

Loft clear out FAQs

How long does it take to clear a loft?

For an average three bed home, many people find that one focused day with two adults is enough to make a major dent, but it is often more realistic to spread it over a weekend in shorter bursts. The more you prepare your sorting zones in advance, the quicker it goes.

What size skip is best for loft rubbish?

For most loft clear outs, a 4 yard or 6 yard skip is enough, unless you are also ripping out carpets or clearing other rooms. If you are combining the loft with a full house clear, look at 6 yard or 8 yard options. You can compare sizes and prices on our .

Can I put bags of mixed loft junk in a skip?

You can put mixed household junk into a general waste skip, as long as you avoid items that are restricted or hazardous. Batteries, paint, chemicals and electricals should be dealt with through council or retailer recycling schemes, not in a skip.

If you are unsure about a particular item, mention it when you book and the supplier can advise you before the skip arrives.