Dumpster for an estate cleanout

Go through the home once with the family, or whoever is handling the estate, before the container arrives. Look for these and set them in one safe room:

• Wills, deeds, titles, insurance papers and tax records
• Bank statements, checkbooks and anything with account numbers
• Photos, letters and keepsakes, even ones nobody wants yet
• Keys, safe combinations and passwords written down
• Jewelry, cash and coins, often tucked in drawers or closets

Lee County doesn't shred documents. Papers with personal details are worth taking to a private shredding business rather than the container.

Older homes often have garage shelves of pool chemicals, paint and pesticides. Those go to the county's Topaz Court facility. A refrigerator or freezer goes out by appliance pickup: tape the doors shut or remove them first. The full list is in the what can’t go in a dumpster guide.

Some families handle a Florida estate from another state. Booking by phone works the same way. Say who will be at the house for drop-off, or whether the container can be left in the driveway with nobody home.