Garage cleanout checklist: clear it out in one weekend

Short answer: pull everything out onto the driveway, sort it into keep, sell/donate, haul and hazardous, book a pickup for the haul pile, and only put back what has a place. Most two-car garages can be done in one weekend with a hauler on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning.

Before the weekend

• Book the haul for the end of the weekend. It gives you a deadline and gets the pile off the driveway fast. Send photos to get a price.
• Check the weather. You'll need the driveway.
• Get supplies: heavy contractor bags, painter's tape and a marker, gloves, a broom, and boxes for donations.
• Recruit help for the heavy stuff.

Saturday morning: everything out

• Pull everything out of the garage. It's the only way to see what's there.
• Set up four zones on the driveway with tape: keep, sell or donate, haul, and hazardous (away from the rest).
• Sweep the empty garage and look for leaks, pests or damage.

Saturday afternoon: sort fast

Ask one question for each item: have I used this in the last year?

• Tools: keep one of each. Donate duplicates.
• Sports gear and bikes: donate what the kids outgrew.
• Boxes from the last move: open them. If you didn't miss it, it goes.
• Old furniture and mattresses: haul or donate.
• Broken appliances, old fridges and freezers: haul. We recycle them.
• Lumber, tile and leftover materials: keep only what fits a planned project.
• Holiday decorations: keep what you used last year.

What goes in the hazardous pile

These can't go in a regular junk load or your trash cart:

• Paint (oil-based, and liquid latex)
• Motor oil, antifreeze and gasoline
• Pesticides, herbicides and pool chemicals
• Propane tanks
• Car batteries

Austin residents can book the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center. Pflugerville holds Clean Up Day events for paint and batteries. Auto parts stores often take used motor oil and car batteries. See what junk removal companies won't take for more.

Sunday: haul, then set up

• Haul day: the crew loads the haul pile from the driveway. It takes minutes, not hours.
• Drop donations at your charity on the way to lunch.
• Put things back by zone: car stuff near the door, garden tools near the yard, seasonal items up high.
• Go vertical: wall shelving and hooks get things off the floor.
• Label bins so everyone knows where things go back.

Keep it clear

• One in, one out for tools and sports gear.
• A donation bin that goes out when it's full.
• Twice a year, spring and fall, do a quick pull-and-sort.

Need a hand?

Many garage cleanouts are a half to full trailer ($225–$450). See our garage cleanout cost guide. Text photos to (512) 861-7732. We'll load straight from the garage or the driveway in Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Austin.