Meet perhaps the poshest rag-and-bone man in the world: Edward Green, the former managing director of the jewel-ler Mappin & Webb, and president of Asprey in New York, has just gone into the house-clearance business.

It is an area of employ with a mixed reputation. At the top end, you have the tailored suits from the London auction houses or their provincial equivalent; at the bottom, rag-and-bone men reminiscent of Steptoe and Son. Today, it seems, there is a booming business in clearing up other people’s junk and, in many cases, discovering treasures.

It was observing the growing number of friends struggling to sort out the estates of deceased parents alongside the demands of work and family life that prompted Green to set up his Edinburgh-based firm, Green & Frederick.

“I will go into a property, be it large or small, and assess the best way for my client to get maximum return for their goods,” he says. He charges between £3,000 and £10,000, depending on the size of the property, plus 2%-3% of the value of items sold.

“Auction houses cherry-pick the best stuff, leaving mediocre pieces that are hard to sell without the better-quality items to encourage a sale,” he says. “I will advise on the best place to sell goods and, importantly, what should be kept.”

Clearing a house is often an emotional time, and the practical considerations can be overwhelming. As a result, many people rush into decisions about how to dispose of a property and its effects that they later regret - especially if some of the items are valuable.

Green says the most common mistake is to split up sets or pairs of favourite items among family members. “A single item may be quite valuable, but the marriage value of a pair will always exceed the value of the two singles.”

It was the sheer number of items in the flat owned by his widowed mother, Irene, that persuaded David Esdaile to call in Green following her death ear-lier this year. Esdaile’s father, Alfred, was an impresario who began his career as a comic and went on to own many of the capital’s landmark theatres, including the Royal Court.

The couple’s sumptuous home, overlooking Hyde Park, where they entertained everyone from Laurence Olivier to Tim Rice, was crammed with antiques.

“First of all, we made sure all the family members had the various pieces they wanted,” Esdaile says. “I wanted to keep some pieces of Fabergé and we were advised to keep all the Georgian silver, which we did.”

When they went to auction, the contents of the Esdailes’ flat were taken to the showroom, where Green painstakingly replicated whole rooms for potential buyers to view. The sale was successful and nearly everything was sold.

Even the grandest houses have their share of junk, so anything that doesn’t make the grade will be dumped, recycled or donated to charity. Green will then make sure the property is ready to be put on the market, repainting walls, cleaning curtains and carpets, even installing flattering lighting.

Of course, not everyone has a mansion stuffed with antiques to dispose of, but more and more of us are looking to hand over the backbreaking dirty work to the professionals when it comes to clearing out granny’s cottage or a distant relative’s bedsit. Personal recommendation is always the best way to go. Failing this, consult Yellow Pages or go online to find a local company.

“We’ve had an increasing amount of business from people who have moved abroad, to America or Australia, who don't have the time or inclination to come back,” says Alistair Patterson, managing director of Simply Clearances, Britain’s oldest and largest house-clearance firm, which is now branching out into France and Spain. “They just want us to clear the place completely and tidy it up so that the solicitor or estate agent can take over.”

Patterson charges anything from £475 for a one-bedder to £995 for a large detached house, retaining the profits from the future sale of any valuables.

“Ten years ago, we used to sell more than half of the items we found - china, furniture, pictures, glassware - but now, thanks to Ikea, we are lucky to sell even 5%,” Patterson says. “Most of the time, we packevery-thing up and take it to recycling centres or charity shops.”

If you are prepared to get packing, what does he advise? To get on with it. Clearing a house isn’t pleasant, but things only get worse, and houses and possessions deteriorate. And don’t part with everything: keep a few mementos.

+ Green & Frederick; 0131 337 9788, www.green-frederick.co.uk . Simply Clearances; 0800 083 0605, www.completeclearances.co.uk

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