Basement Cleanouts

The basement, like it's above ground cousin, the garage is a place where stuff that we don't want but don't want to throw away goes to stand and hide. That is until you decide that you want that space for something like finishing a basement to use for extra living space, or you need it for more storage and the time comes to make some decisions. Whatever the reason for a basement cleanout, it's usually not high on the list of around the house projects that you want to throw yourself into. 

Take a basement finishing project for a basement full of years and years of living. The basement may have decades worth do stuff to remove. If you are the DIY type yourself you can brave the task yourself. Finding a receptacle for the stuff you're planning to move is the easy part, you can rent a dumpster to toss stuff into, as long as you're willing to schlepp it. The challenge is going to be grind of organizing, evaluating, sorting, and deciding. There are few criteria you can use to make this easier on you, sort of rules of thumb, to determine if you should let something go or not. First try to remember when you last used something. Next, be one the lookout for things that you didn't expect to find; unexpectedly finding something can be sign that it wasn't too important to begin with. Third, when you find something you might want to keep, think about why you're keeping it at all. If you cannot come up with anything specific it could be time to get rid of it. Fourth, consider whether or not something no longer useful to you can make use of it, or if they can make more use of it than you can. Fifth, consider whether or not you already have a newer version of the item, if you do, no need to keep the old stuff. Finally, think, if the space it is taking up is worth it. If you want to keep the stuff but need the space, perhaps the space is more important. 

After sorting, you can decide what you want to do. If you've decided to go the dumpster route, you can start carrying things to it to fill it up. If you've decided to haul the junk yourself, you can begin to load up whatever vehicle you will be using to move the junk and prepare yourself for multiple trips to the the transfer station.  If you've hired a professional junk removal company your work is basically done. All that's left to do is direct the junk removal company to what's going and what's staying and that's it. You can continue on with the rest of your project once their work is done. 

When hiring a junk removal company for a basement cleanout, one of the concerns you may have is price. Some junk removal companies have variable pricing based on a several parameters including how much space is taken up in the truck, how long the crew is engaged, and what kinds of items are being disposed of. It's important to find a company that provides clear upfront pricing. As a general average for junk removal, basement cleanout services  are about 150 to 400 dollars. The best way to get firm pricing is to have an in person consultation. For us, it's our preferred way of pricing. Failing that, picture of the stuff to be removed also provides for pretty accurate estimates.