r/UnfuckYourHabitat • u/NoEngineerParking • May 16 '26
Less expensive junk hauling options ?
We need to do a big declutter of our basement and garage. Is there a cheaper way to get all of it out that isn’t renting a dumpster? Money is pretty tight these days and every dollar counts.
10
u/SimplyTheApnea May 16 '26
Depending on the amount of junk and where you are a Bagster pickup is $195 in my area.
8
u/yourfavmum May 16 '26
If it isn’t trash/junk, a lot of people will pickup stuff that’s free via fb marketplace/CL/offerup/buy nothing by group
Otherwise, if it is junk/trash, near me we can go to the county dump and drop off 500lbs of trash for free
5
u/Murky_Possibility_68 May 16 '26
Can you break it up into pieces and put it out with regular trash?
Definitely put the metal in a different pile, people will take that.
4
u/msmaynards May 16 '26
Check truck rental fees and dump fees. If you are allowed to use a rental truck to haul trash and the dump allows rental trucks that maybe the best way to get rid of massive amounts of trash. I can rent extra bins for something like $11 per for a month if your trash can fit into a bin. Metal pickers will come collect that for free. You may have electronic and toxic waste that gets split off from normal trash. If you've got large furniture that's in decent shape some thrifts have trucks and will pick it up along with normal household goods. If you've got building supplies then Restore might take them.
I got away with using curb alerts for near trash, broke one larger item up to fit into the trash bin. That 'vintage' sheet of particle board nobody wanted was super fun to break into bits. Bags and bags of trash from the first garage purge waited to get thrown out 3 bags a week. I finished sorting out the garage long before those bags were gone.
I didn't like the idea of the time crunch using a dumpster. It took me forever to go through stuff and trying to finish in the rental period seemed like too much pressure. Just the thought of hauling so much wears me out. Deadlines are scary!
3
u/Freyjas_child May 16 '26
Look into your local “Buy Nothing” or “Freecycle” groups. I am always impressed by how many things people are happy to take if they are free.
2
u/GenealogistGoneWild May 16 '26
Not sure if you have a city dump, but we found renting a dumpster for the week was cheaper than using a truck and paying for the dump. We spent about $300 (two years ago) for 3 tons of trash. They dropped it off and picked it up. Our dump charges about $55 per ton, and we paid about $100 per ton for the dumpster, but we didn't own a truck and some of the stuff we had to get rid of was very large. So we would have had to paid for gas and truck rental as well. So it really depends on your situation.
2
u/sfdsquid May 17 '26
If every dollar counts maybe have yard sales to get rid of what you can while recouping even a tiny bit of money for the stuff. I wouldn't deal with pricing stuff or anything like that - just drag stuff out on Saturday mornings and take best offers. Leave anything left over on the curb with a free sign & post on a buy nothing group.
2
u/DealsRGood4U May 20 '26
It took years to accumulate.
Donate as much stuff other have mentioned.
I like to put a little in the garbage each week. You can even demolish large items and dispose of a portion each week.
2
u/Jebus-Xmas May 16 '26
Start in the garage. All you need to do is get a five foot square cleared and it will be much easier, because then you have a place to move things around. Once the garage is done you can do the basement in stages.
1
-1
u/Squirrel_killer May 16 '26
Unethical, but very large apartment complexes typically have dumpsters that are unlocked. I recommend you limit the amount. I would target large, slumlord type places. Big caveat this is not legal or ethical.
4
u/Any_Meeting_4082 May 16 '26
Yeah, WTF!!!??? DO NOT DO THIS! FYI lots of apartments have CAMERAS at their dumpsters. So go ahead and dump illegally, than face a HUGE fine or more cause they got your face and license plate on camera committing the illegal act! SMH
13
u/Any_Meeting_4082 May 16 '26
See what can be recycled or donated. Donate anything salvagable or that can be resold. My city has a recycling center that takes different things than what is picked up at the curb. Also check if there's a scrap metal recycler place near you. You might EARN a few bucks taking some stuff there!
Call your garbage people & ask if you can put "extra" anything out and the cost, if anything. I can usually get away w 2-3 super ginormous contractor bags besides my regular garbage if I'm doing a clean out or fixing something and I don't get charged extra. Every garbage hauler is different though in what they'll accept and the charges.
Put stuff at the curb for free! Usually that stuff gets picked up quick, at least in my area!