Estate Cleanout Checklist

Clearing out a family member's home is emotionally hard enough without also guessing at logistics. Here's a practical rundown of how to plan the dumpster side of it.

Sort before you size

Before booking, do a rough walk-through and separate items into keep, donate, sell and discard. What's left for the dumpster is usually more volume than weight — furniture, boxes, general household goods — which points toward a 20 or 30 yard for most single-family homes.

What typically goes in the dumpster

• Old furniture and mattresses
• Boxed and loose household items not being kept
• Carpet, curtains and general soft goods
• Non-hazardous garage and basement contents
• General clutter that doesn't fit donation criteria

What needs separate handling

• Paint, solvents and chemicals (household hazardous waste)
• Appliances with refrigerant (professional recovery first)
• Anything with real resale or donation value worth the extra step
• Documents with personal information (shred, don't discard whole)

Sizing by home size

A smaller home or apartment-style cleanout often fits a 20 yard. A larger single-family home, especially one that's been lived in for decades, more often needs a 30 yard — sometimes with a swap if the volume is genuinely large.

Timing it around the family's schedule

Estate cleanouts often happen on a compressed timeline around out-of-town family visits. Call ahead of the weekend or window you're working with and we'll plan delivery and pickup around it rather than a fixed schedule that doesn't fit.