Emptying a storage unit is usually a single visit. A crew meets you at the facility, carries everything out of the unit and onto the trailer, sorts the donatable items out on the way, and sweeps the floor so you can hand the key back clean. Most standard units clear in well under a day, and you do not need to move anything to the door first.
The reason people call is almost always the same. The unit was supposed to be temporary, it has been three years, and nobody can remember exactly what is in it. Here is how the job runs and what it takes to be done with it.
What comes out of a storage unit
Nearly everything in a typical unit is something we haul every week. Storage units skew heavily toward furniture and boxes, which is the easiest kind of load to size and to move.
- Furniture. Sofas, mattresses and box springs, bed frames, dressers, dining sets, desks, office chairs, bookcases.
- Boxes and totes, including the ones that have been water damaged or crushed under whatever got stacked on them.
- Appliances. Refrigerators, washers, dryers, microwaves, and window units that were put in storage and never came back out.
- Electronics. Televisions of any age, computers, monitors, printers, and stereo equipment.
- Exercise equipment, which is the second most common storage unit resident after the sofa.
- Business inventory and office contents, files, shelving, display racks, and leftover fixtures.
- Seasonal and sporting goods, holiday decorations, camping gear, bikes, and lawn equipment.
The list of what nobody can take is short and it is the same list everywhere. Household hazardous waste stays out of the load: paint, solvents, motor oil, gasoline, propane tanks, pool chemicals, and anything with asbestos in it. Most facilities prohibit storing those anyway, but they turn up. Texas cities run collection programs for exactly this, and the TCEQ household hazardous waste page explains how they work statewide. Ask us and we will point you to your city's program. Our full inventory of what does and does not go on the trailer is on what we will and will not take.
What still has value and what does not
The thing worth understanding before you book anything is that a storage unit is a preservation machine for furniture and a destruction machine for anything soft.
Solid wood furniture, metal shelving, and appliances usually come out of a climate controlled unit fine. In a non climate controlled unit through a few North Texas summers, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and pressboard tend not to survive. Heat and humidity get into the foam and the glue. If a unit has been sitting unopened since before last summer, expect the soft goods to be a haul rather than a donation.
Whatever is still in good shape has a better destination than a landfill. Usable furniture and appliances go to local donation partners, and Habitat for Humanity ReStores take furniture, appliances, and building materials directly from the public if you would rather handle that side yourself. Metal, cardboard, and electronics go to recyclers.
Open the unit before you book. Take a photo from the door with the light on. That one photo tells us more about the job than a description does, and it means the number we give you holds up when we arrive instead of changing on the spot. The same is true of a business storage room, which we cover in office and small commercial cleanouts.
How a unit cleanout day actually runs
You tell us the facility and what is in the unit. A photo from the open door tells us most of what we need, and the crew confirms the number on the day.
We give you a number before anything is lifted. The crew looks at what is in the unit and quotes it firm, with no weight tickets and no hourly clock. Disposal fees are inside it. You approve it before we start, and the quote is the bill.
Meet us there, or do not. Plenty of unit cleanouts happen with the customer on the phone rather than on site, as long as the facility will let us in and you have authorized access. Facilities vary on this. Ask the office before the day.
You point, we carry. Nothing needs to be moved to the door. We work out of the unit itself, including the back corner nobody has reached since the first load went in.
We sweep. Most facilities require the unit be left broom clean before they close out the rental, so that is part of the job rather than a favor.
One practical note on timing. Storage facilities have gate hours and load in rules, and some restrict elevator access at multi story sites. Tell us the facility when you call and we will work around it.
How you get a number and how fast we can get there
Disposal is included in the number and we keep it fair. Send a photo of the open unit and we can tell you plenty before we even arrive, and the crew confirms it firmly on the day. Every job gets a number up front, and if the honest answer is that your city's bulky trash pickup can take a piece of it for free, we will tell you. Plano publishes its bulky waste collection rules online and the neighboring cities all run something similar.
For a free quote on your unit, send us the details. The full walkthrough of how a job runs is written up in how junk removal works.
On timing, we run pickups seven days a week. Call before noon and same afternoon is typical across Plano, Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Richardson, Little Elm, Prosper, The Colony, Wylie, and Fairview. After noon, the next morning's first slot is the normal worst case. We say typical rather than guaranteed, because gate hours and job size are real.
If the unit is only part of the problem
Most storage units exist because a garage or a house filled up first, and clearing the unit alone often just moves the problem. If that sounds familiar, garage cleanouts handles the other half, furniture removal covers the single large pieces, and same day junk removal is the option when the deadline is the end of the month. For units tied to a death in the family or a move into care, estate cleanouts is the closer fit.
Two related jobs come up constantly alongside a unit. If the unit filled up because an apartment did, apartment junk removal covers stairs, elevators, and complex rules. If a former tenant abandoned the unit and the property too, rental property cleanout covers the turnover side.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be there when you clear the unit?
Not always. It depends on your facility's access rules. Many will let an authorized crew in with your written approval. Check with the office, and tell us what they say when you book.
Can you clear a unit the same day I call?
Usually, if you call before noon and the facility's gate hours cooperate. Same afternoon is typical across the northern suburbs, and we do not promise it, because promising it would mean breaking it.
What if there is something valuable in there?
Pull it before we start, or point it out and we will set it aside. We are haulers, not appraisers, and we will not pretend otherwise. Nothing gets loaded that you have not looked at.
Will you take a unit full of water damaged furniture?
Yes. Soaked, mildewed, and broken all count. That is most of what comes out of non climate controlled units around here after a summer.
Do you leave the unit clean enough to close out the rental?
Yes. We sweep the floor before we go, which is what most facilities require before they will end the lease.
If the unit has been open once in the last year and you already know what is in there, send a photo from the door and we will tell you what the job looks like before you commit to anything.