To clean out a garage fast, pull everything onto the driveway, sort it once, and toss the junk straight into a 13-yard dumpster parked beside you. With a roll-off in the driveway, you load as you sort, and Tony takes the full load away in one trip. Family Trash is a family-owned company on James Island offering roll-off rental in Charleston, SC, and a garage cleanout is one of the simplest jobs to plan.
Start by emptying everything onto the driveway
Pull every item out of the garage before you decide anything. Seeing it all at once on the driveway makes the sorting faster. Lay it out in rows by type: tools, lawn and garden, sports gear, holiday decorations, car supplies, paint and chemicals, and boxes. Then walk the rows and make three piles: keep, donate and trash. The trash pile goes in the dumpster.
Start early in the morning. Charleston afternoons get hot, and a garage that has been closed up all summer gets hot inside. Open both the garage door and any side door to get air moving through.
What comes out of a typical Charleston garage?
Old patio furniture, broken coolers, warped plywood, cardboard from the last move, worn-out bikes, a cracked kayak, broken lawn tools and paint on a shelf are typical. Furniture, lumber, drywall, cardboard, yard brush and household junk all go in the dumpster, and so does leftover paint.
Set the shelf items aside as you sort
Garages often have a shelf of old paint, cleaners and jugs. Motor oil goes in only in a sealed, wrapped container. Pull anything you're unsure about into its own pile while you sort, and tell us what's going in when you book. Our page on what goes in a dumpster has more on household items.
If you would rather drop some of those items off yourself, Charleston County's household hazardous waste page lists what the county takes and where.
Is a 13-yard enough for a one-car or two-car garage?
For a garage cleanout, yes. The 13-yard dumpster is the size for a garage, and it fits furniture, cardboard, wood, drywall and yard brush. It has 1 ton included and 5 days of rental time.
If you are clearing the garage plus an attic, a shed or several rooms the same weekend, step up to the 17-yard dumpster. It has 1.5 tons included and the same 5 days. Our dumpster size comparison shows all four sizes side by side.
What if the garage has a concrete slab or brick to remove?
Some garage jobs turn into small demolition jobs. If you are breaking out an old slab or a brick step, that material goes in the 7-yard, the low container for soil, dirt, concrete and brick. Clean concrete goes from the 7 to a recycle plant with no overweight charge, so keep wood and trash out of it. You can rent a 7-yard for the heavy material and a 13-yard for the household junk.
If you have old floor tile stacked in the garage, heavy tile adds weight, so mention it when you book.
Break things down before they go in
Items that go in assembled take up more room than they need. Flatten cardboard. Take apart shelving units and bed frames. Lay long pieces of lumber and flat items along the floor first, then put loose junk on top. Heavy, flat items go on the bottom and bulky, light items go on top. Fill the gaps with bags.
If you have more than one dumpster's worth, Tony can swap the full one for an empty one so you can keep going.
Watch for pests and mold
A garage that has been closed up in Lowcountry humidity can have mold on cardboard and rust on metal. Wear gloves and a dust mask while you handle old boxes. Check corners, shelves and the top of the garage door track for wasp nests before you start pulling things down, and look before you reach into boxes that have sat on the floor.
Plan the cleanout around a weekend
A garage cleanout fits well into a weekend. Book the dumpster for the start of your weekend, and call to ask when Tony can be out. It can arrive while you are at work, since nobody needs to be home for the drop.
The 13-yard comes with 5 days, which covers a weekend plus a couple of weekday evenings to finish. A two-car garage usually takes a day or two. Built-in shelving or a garage that has not been sorted in years can add a day. If the garage is part of a move or a remodel, book a longer window from the start.
Put the dumpster close to the garage door
Ask for the dumpster on the driveway, as close to the garage door as the space allows. Every trip from the back corner of the garage is shorter that way, and a dumpster on your own driveway needs no permit. Describe the driveway when you book, and Tony will set it where it works.
Put back only what you are keeping
Once the garage is empty, sweep it out and hose the floor if it has a drain. Before the keep pile goes back in, plan where each group goes: wall hooks for bikes and ladders, shelves for bins, and a clear path to the door into the house. Put the items you use most nearest the garage door.
The tools worth having ready
1. Work gloves. Leather or coated gloves are tougher than cotton ones on rusted metal and splintered wood.
2. Contractor trash bags. Heavy 3-mil contractor bags are stronger than kitchen bags. Buy more than you think you need.
3. A flat pry bar. Old shelving, pegboard and nailed-in workbenches come apart faster with a pry bar.
4. A cordless drill or impact driver. Garage storage is usually screwed together. Backing the screws out lets you break a unit down flat.
5. A reciprocating saw. For built-in shelving you cannot unscrew, a reciprocating saw cuts a bulky unit into flat pieces that stack tight in a dumpster.
6. A hand truck or furniture dolly. Mowers, old appliances and tool chests are heavy. A dolly makes it easier to move them across the driveway.
7. A broom and a shop vac. Use them for the sawdust, drywall grit and dead leaves in the corners once the garage is empty.
8. Totes and a marker. Label the keep and donate totes so each item gets sorted once.
9. A utility knife. Use it for breaking down cardboard and cutting old carpet remnants. Keep spare blades close.
10. A tarp. Spread it on the driveway for small loose items, then tip them into the dumpster in one go.
Common questions about a garage cleanout
Is it worth emptying the garage onto the driveway first?
Yes. You see it all at once, sort it in one pass, and put back only what you plan to keep.
How long does a two-car garage usually take to clear?
Usually a day or two. Book a few extra days if you are not sure.
Can I clear the garage and the attic with one dumpster?
Usually, with the 17-yard. It has more room than the 13 and 1.5 tons included, which suits two spaces cleared in the same weekend.
Can I still use the garage while the dumpster sits on the driveway?
If the dumpster sits in front of the garage door, the car stays out until pickup. If you need to get in and out, describe the driveway when you book and Tony can set it to one side.
With a roll-off in the driveway, you load once instead of making runs to the dump in your truck. Call or text (843) 800-0689 and tell us what's coming out of the garage.
Need a dumpster in Charleston? Call or text Tony at (843) 800-0689, or order online.
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