“I live in Phoenix and had four days. Fannie texted me every room, what she'd touch and what she wouldn't, and I answered from the airport.”
Jeannie B.Executor, her aunt's house
Estate and downsizing cleaning, Cleveland, Ohio
We clean the house. What's in it stays yours to decide.
Herndon Estate Cleaning works for executors and for families clearing, selling or leaving a home in Cleveland and the towns around it. One person answers the phone, walks the house with you and writes down what we will and won't touch.
Fannie Herndon
Owner, and the one who answers the phone
- One person to call
- A signed list before we start
- A written quote before you book
Before we start, in writing
What we touch, and what we don't
This is the short version. At the walk-through we write the full list for your house, and you sign it before any work begins. You can change it at any time.
We clean and carry out
Once a room has been cleared, it's ours to clean.
Floors, shelves, counters and the insides of emptied cabinets and closets
Trash and recycling you point to, bagged and carried to the curb
Dishes and glassware you've marked to donate, washed and boxed
Windows, blinds, baseboards and light fixtures
Attics, basements and garages once the contents have gone
We ask first
If it isn't clear, we stop, ask and wait for the answer.
Anything inside a closed box, bag, trunk or drawer
Furniture we'd have to move to clean under it
Food, the refrigerator and the pantry
Curtains, rugs, wall hangings and mirrors
Anything that looks like it might matter to someone
We never touch
These stay exactly where you or the family left them.
Papers, mail, photographs and albums
Jewelry, cash, coins and keepsakes
Medications and medical equipment
Firearms and ammunition
Anything the will, the attorney or a family member has set aside
One point of contact
One person, from the first call to the last walk-through.
When a family is spread across three states and nobody has time, the worst part is three companies and three sets of questions. At Herndon there is Fannie. She takes the call, walks the house, writes the list and checks the finished rooms with you.
Calls returned within one business day
A text the evening before each visit with the day's plan
The signed list in the house, and a copy sent to you
Photos of the finished rooms, sent to you and no one else
Fannie Herndon
Owner
How we help
Four jobs, one crew
Most families need one or two of these. Fannie sorts out which at the walk-through.
Clean as you clear
Rooms cleaned as the family empties them, so the work doesn't pile up at the end.
How it works
How it goes
From the first call to the final walk-through
The same five steps, whatever the size of the house.
- 01First call
Step 1: You call and Fannie answers
Tell her whose house it is, where it is and when the keys are due. She asks the few questions that set the price and the day.
- 02Before anything starts
Step 2: The walk-through
Thirty to forty-five minutes in the house, or on video if you're out of town. You show us what's staying, what's going and what isn't ours to touch, and we write it down.
- 03Before you book
Step 3: The written list and quote
You sign the list and get the quote in writing before you book. The number holds unless the house turns out different from what we both saw.
How pricing works - 04The day
Step 4: Clean day
Bartosz, Joselyn and Fannie arrive on the day you chose. Anything unexpected gets a text and a photo, and we wait for your answer.
- 05Last step
Step 5: The final walk-through
We go through the house with you, or on video, against the signed list. Anything that isn't right, we fix before we leave.
From families
What a clearing sounds like afterward
“My brothers and I disagreed about everything in that house except the cleaning. Nothing in a box was opened unless we said so, and the china cabinet stayed just as we left it.”
Thaddeus O.Cleaning before listing
“We moved Mama to assisted living. Joselyn cleaned the kitchen after we took what we wanted, and handed me a bag of small things from the drawers with a note of where each was found.”
Lyudmila S.Downsizing a parent's home
Sample reviews.
Service area
Cleveland and the towns around it
The crew starts from the office on Lorain Avenue and works the west side, the east side and the southern suburbs.
West side
- Cleveland
- Lakewood
- Westlake
- Brook Park
- Olmsted Falls
- Avon
- Avon Lake
East side
- Richmond Heights
- Bedford
- Gates Mills
- Highland Heights
- Willoughby
- Mayfield Heights
- Chagrin Falls
South suburbs
- Parma
- Berea
- Brecksville
- Independence
- Broadview Heights
We don't go to Akron, Elyria or Lake County. If the house is there, the estate's attorney or the realtor can usually point you to a local crew, and we'd rather send you to one than arrive late.
Questions
Short answers before you call
How is the price decided?
By the size of the house, how much is still in it, how long since it was cleaned and which rooms you want done. We write the quote after the walk-through, and it holds unless the house turns out different from what we both saw. See how pricing works for what's in it and what isn't.
I live out of town. Can you do this without me?
Yes. We do the walk-through on video, you send the keys or a lockbox code by text, and we photograph the finished rooms for you. You still sign the list before we start.
What if you find something that looks valuable?
We stop, leave it where it is, photograph it in place and text you. Nothing is moved or set aside by us. What happens next is your call.
Do you haul furniture away or run estate sales?
No. We clean. If a hauler or an estate-sale company is coming, we plan around their day, and we can clean after them.
Is the crew insured?
Yes. Our general liability insurance covers damage to a home while we clean it, and we'll send a certificate to the estate's attorney or the realtor on request.
Book a walk-through
Tell us about the house
The address, who you are and when the keys are due. Fannie calls back within one business day to find a time to see it.