The easiest way to clean out a storage unit is to make a quick plan, separate anything you want to keep, sell or donate usable belongings, and remove everything else in as few trips as possible.
Trying to make a decision about every object while carrying things to your car is what turns a simple cleanout into an all-day project.
Whether you’re moving out, downsizing, dealing with an inherited unit, or simply tired of paying monthly rent for things you no longer use, these eight steps will help you get the unit empty and close it out.
Quick tip: Don’t organize junk you’re planning to get rid of. Identify what needs to stay, then concentrate on getting everything else out.
How to Clean Out a Storage Unit Step by Step
Large storage companies recommend starting with an inventory, developing a plan, sorting items into categories, and cleaning the unit once everything has been removed. (1)
Step 1: Check Your Move-Out Deadline
Before doing any lifting, find out exactly when the unit needs to be empty.
Check your rental agreement or contact the storage facility to learn its move-out requirements. Some facilities require advance notice in addition to an empty unit and removal of your lock. (2)
Knowing the deadline tells you whether you have time to sell belongings individually or whether you need to move quickly.
Step 2: Take Inventory Before Moving Anything
Open the unit and spend a few minutes looking through what is actually there.
You don’t need a detailed spreadsheet. Identify the major categories:
- Furniture
- Boxes
- Appliances
- Clothing
- Electronics
- Documents
- Trash
- Items you immediately know you want to keep
Take a few photos as well. That makes it easier to estimate how much vehicle or hauling space you’ll need.
Step 3: Separate What You Want to Keep
Remove important belongings from the cleanout first.
Look for photographs, paperwork, financial documents, jewelry, collectibles, sentimental items, and anything else you definitely do not want accidentally hauled away.
Create one clearly marked area for everything that stays.
Step 4: Decide What to Sell or Donate
Furniture, tools, working electronics, household goods, and other usable items don’t necessarily need to become trash.
Sell higher-value items if you have enough time before your move-out deadline. Donate useful belongings that aren’t worth the effort of listing individually.
The EPA encourages reuse and donation instead of automatically throwing usable household items away. As the agency puts it, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” (3)
Step 5: Identify What Needs to Be Thrown Away
Broken furniture, damaged boxes, unusable household goods, and ordinary trash can be separated for disposal.
Be careful with chemicals. Old storage units sometimes contain paint, motor oil, pesticides, cleaners, batteries, and other materials that should not simply be thrown into ordinary trash.
The EPA identifies many of these products as household hazardous waste and recommends checking local disposal requirements. (4)
Step 6: Remove Large Furniture First
Once you’ve finished sorting, start with couches, mattresses, tables, dressers, shelving, appliances, and other bulky pieces.
Removing big items creates room to move around and makes the remaining workload easier to see.
If you’re doing the cleanout yourself, make sure you have enough help for heavy items rather than trying to wrestle large furniture out alone.
Step 7: Haul Away the Remaining Junk
Now remove the boxes, bags, loose items, and remaining unwanted contents.
Your options include:
- Hauling items to the disposal facility yourself
- Making donation drop-offs
- Renting a dumpster
- Hiring a junk removal company
For a small unit, doing it yourself may be practical. For a packed unit, multiple disposal and donation trips can quickly become the longest part of the job.
Junk Master’s storage unit cleanout service handles the loading, hauling, disposal, donation, and recycling in one visit.
Step 8: Sweep Out the Storage Unit
Don’t leave as soon as the last box is gone.
Sweep the floor, remove loose trash, check corners, and make sure nothing has been forgotten. Remove your lock if required and follow the facility’s checkout procedure.
A completely empty unit makes it easier to avoid move-out problems or additional charges.
What Is the Fastest Way to Clean Out a Storage Unit?
The fastest way to clean out a storage unit is to decide what stays before you start hauling.
Use three simple categories:
Keep — belongings coming home with you.
Sell or donate — usable things that still have value.
Remove — everything else.
Don’t spend hours arranging the removal pile into perfect categories. Once you’ve protected the items you want, concentrate on clearing the unwanted material.
Extra Space Storage similarly recommends planning ahead, recruiting enough help, and sorting belongings into clear categories before removal. (1)
If you’re against a deadline, having a professional crew remove the unwanted contents all at once is usually much faster than making repeated trips yourself.
How Long Does a Storage Unit Cleanout Take?
A storage unit cleanout can take less than an hour to several hours, depending on the size of the unit, how packed it is, and whether belongings need to be sorted.
The biggest time-consuming factors are usually:
- Sorting through boxes
- Moving heavy furniture
- Stairs or elevators
- Long distances from the unit to the vehicle
- Multiple donation or disposal trips
For Junk Master customers, most standard storage unit cleanouts are completed in under an hour once the crew begins removal.
A packed unit that requires extensive decision-making will naturally take longer.
How Can You Clean Out a Storage Unit Cheaply?
The cheapest method is usually to do as much as possible yourself.
Sell items with enough value to justify the effort. Donate usable belongings. If you only have a small amount left, haul it to an approved disposal facility yourself.
But calculate the full cost before assuming DIY is cheaper.
Consider:
- Dump fees
- Fuel
- Truck or trailer rental
- Moving equipment
- Multiple trips
- Your time
- Help for heavy furniture
For a nearly empty unit, DIY may make perfect sense. For a packed unit, professional junk removal can become more practical because the entire job can be handled in one trip.
DIY vs. Hiring a Storage Unit Cleanout Company
DIY works best when the unit is small, you have access to a truck, and most items are easy to move.
Professional help becomes more useful when the unit contains:
- Heavy furniture
- Mattresses
- Appliances
- Large quantities of boxes
- Years of accumulated belongings
- Items requiring multiple dump trips
- A strict move-out deadline
With Junk Master, you don’t have to drag everything into the hallway first. Our crew can remove the items directly from the unit, load them, donate and recycle what we can, haul away the rest, and sweep the space afterward.
If your storage unit has turned into a larger junk-removal project, our junk hauling service in Commerce City can handle furniture, appliances, boxes, and other unwanted material throughout the Denver Metro.
What Should You Do With Items You Don’t Want?
Don’t assume every unwanted item belongs in a landfill.
Use this order:
- Sell anything with worthwhile resale value.
- Donate usable furniture and household goods.
- Recycle materials accepted by local programs.
- Dispose of broken or unusable items properly.
- Separate hazardous materials for appropriate disposal.
The EPA specifically recommends selling or donating unwanted appliances, tools, clothing, electronics, furniture, and other reusable household goods when possible. (3)
That keeps useful items in circulation and reduces the amount of material being thrown away.
Ready to Empty Your Storage Unit?
A storage unit cleanout doesn’t need to consume your entire weekend.
Protect the belongings you want, decide what can go, and remove the rest as efficiently as possible. If the unit is packed or you’re facing a move-out deadline, bringing in a crew can turn a long DIY project into a quick cleanout.
Junk Master provides fast storage unit cleanouts in Commerce City and the Denver Metro. We handle the lifting, loading, hauling, donation, recycling, disposal, and final sweep so you can hand back the unit and stop paying for space you no longer need.
Call (720) 999-0466 for a free, upfront estimate.
References
- Extra Space Storage, How To Clean & Declutter a Storage Unit, https://www.extraspace.com/blog/self-storage/how-to-clean-and-declutter-a-storage-unit/
- Extra Space Storage, What’s the Process for Moving Out?, https://www.extraspace.com/self-storage/faq/whats-the-process-for-moving-out/
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, What You Can Do – Donation, https://www.epa.gov/recycle/what-you-can-do
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Household Hazardous Waste (HHW), https://www.epa.gov/hw/household-hazardous-waste-hhw
Author
Junk Master Team
Junk Master is a locally owned, family-run, licensed and insured Colorado junk removal company serving Commerce City, Denver, and surrounding Denver Metro communities. The team handles storage unit cleanouts, house cleanouts, rental property cleanouts, furniture removal, appliance removal, donation, recycling, and full-service junk hauling.
Email: junkmasterdenver@gmail.com