Clearing the Garage Before Winter
The most common fall rental, and the one with the most prohibited items hiding in it.
Garages are where banned items accumulate
Motor oil, antifreeze, half-used paint, propane cylinders, car batteries, pesticides and old fuel cans. Every one of these is prohibited, and a driver who spots one can refuse the whole load. Sort them out before the container arrives.
A two-car garage is usually a 15-yard
Stored boxes, shelving, old lawn equipment and general clutter are light and bulky. Fifteen yards handles most garages without approaching the weight allowance. Step up to a 20 only if there's furniture or building material in there.
Tyres and mattresses cost extra
Both are surcharged almost universally, and both turn up in garages. Ask the per-item fee before you load. Sometimes a tyre shop takes them cheaper.
Do it before the ground freezes
A container needs firm, level ground. Once the drive is iced, placement gets harder and some companies won't risk it. October and November are the practical window in cold states.
Empty it in the right order
Everything out onto the driveway first, in three piles: keeping, going, and undecided. Working inside the garage means shuffling the same boxes twice and running out of room to sort, which is what turns a Saturday into a weekend.
Deal with the undecided pile last and give it a rule rather than a debate. Anything unused for two winters and not seasonal is going, and the exceptions are documents, tools and anything with real resale value.
The chemicals need a plan before the container arrives
A garage is where paint, solvent, fertiliser, pool chemicals, old fuel and batteries accumulate, and none of them go in a dumpster. Counties run household hazardous waste days and many have a permanent drop-off open a few days a week, which is free and is the whole answer.
Latex paint is the exception worth knowing: dry it solid with kitty litter or a hardener and it goes out with ordinary household waste. Oil-based paint, solvents and stains cannot be treated that way. More on paint disposal.
Shelving, benches and the things bolted down
Steel shelving and metal workbenches are scrap and worth separating rather than burying. Particle board shelving is not, and it breaks down into flat panels that stack far better than they do assembled, which matters when you are paying for volume.
Anything mounted to the wall comes off before the container arrives rather than during, because the last hour of a rental is the wrong time to discover a bench is bolted through the studs.
Size it for volume, not for weight
Almost everything out of a garage is bulky and light: boxes, furniture, sports equipment, packaging, garden tools. You will run out of room long before you trouble the tonnage allowance, which is the opposite of a renovation load.
That makes sizing up cheap in real terms. The gap between neighboring sizes is consistently less than a second delivery, and a garage is the classic job where people order a 10 yard and need a 15. Break furniture down as it goes in and you will fit noticeably more.
Common questions
- What size for a garage cleanout?
- A 10 or 15-yard covers a single-car garage in most cases. A packed two-car garage with shelving and old furniture is closer to a 20-yard. Count in pickup loads: roughly six to a 20-yard.
- Can garage chemicals go in the container?
- No. Old paint, solvents, pesticides, antifreeze and pool chemicals are hazardous waste and no hauler will knowingly take them. Most counties run a household hazardous waste day, and that is the route for all of it.
- What about tyres and car parts?
- Tyres almost always carry a surcharge and sometimes a refusal, so take them to a tyre shop instead. Batteries go back to any auto parts retailer. Clean scrap metal is often worth taking to a scrapyard rather than paying to dispose of.
- How long do I need the container for?
- Most garage cleanouts finish inside a weekend, but book the standard period rather than the shortest one. It costs little more, and a container that leaves before you are finished is far more expensive than a few unused days.
- What size dumpster for a garage cleanout?
- A 15 yard covers most two-car garages. Garage contents are bulky and light, so you run out of room long before you trouble the weight allowance, which makes sizing up cheap in real terms.
- Where does old paint from the garage go?
- Latex paint dried solid with kitty litter or a hardener goes out with ordinary household waste. Oil-based paint, solvents and stains cannot be treated that way and need the county's household hazardous waste collection.
- What can I not put in a garage cleanout dumpster?
- Paint, solvents, fuel, fertiliser, pool chemicals, batteries, tyres and appliances containing refrigerant. Garages accumulate all of them, so plan those routes before the container arrives.
For current pricing see the Dumpster Price Index.