Before you sell a house, remove the clutter, personal photos and keepsakes, extra furniture, broken appliances, and the piles in the garage, basement, shed and yard. Buyers should see rooms and storage, not years of belongings. The fastest route is to decide what you are keeping, then have a crew haul everything else in one visit.
What to remove before selling a house depends on who left it and how long they lived there. An owner emptying a home a tenant left full, or an heir clearing a parent's house, has a much bigger job than a family moving out on its own schedule. Commerce City sellers in those spots often book our rental property cleanouts in Commerce City to clear the whole property before photos. Below you will find a room by room list, a schedule and what each truckload costs.
What Should Be Removed From a House Before Selling It in Commerce City
Before selling a house in Commerce City, remove anything that makes rooms look smaller, more personal or more worn than they are:
- Family photos, diplomas, collections and the papers on the fridge
- Extra furniture, such as a second recliner or a treadmill in the spare room
- Stained mattresses, sagging couches and wobbly tables
- Appliances that no longer run, plus any not included in the sale
- Moving boxes, old paperwork and seasonal decorations
- Pet beds, crates and litter boxes during showings
The list can run long in older parts of the city. In Rose Hill, one of the neighborhoods in Commerce City's original 1952 incorporation, or around Derby, a former railroad station town, a longtime owner may be clearing decades of belongings. In newer neighborhoods, the job may come down to a full garage and a basement of unopened boxes.
What Stays With the House When It Is Sold?
What stays with the house is whatever your listing and purchase contract include, so check both before anything gets unscrewed or pulled off a wall. Light fixtures, window coverings, a shed or the kitchen appliances can all be part of a sale. A missing item can cause trouble at the final walkthrough.
Walk the house with your agent, tape anything that stays and point it out to our crew before loading starts. Note any problems you uncover while clearing, such as water stains behind basement boxes. Colorado sellers complete a Seller's Property Disclosure on a Real Estate Commission form, and your agent can tell you what belongs on it.
What to Take Out of the Kitchen, Bathrooms and Closets Before Showings in Commerce City
Before showings in Commerce City, the kitchen, bathrooms and closets should look roomy, because buyers open cabinets and closet doors to judge storage. A newer house and an older one get judged the same way: by the space buyers can see.
- Kitchen: clear counters down to one or two small appliances, empty the fridge door of magnets and menus, and remove extra dish sets and broken small appliances.
- Bathrooms: put personal care products and medicine out of sight, and remove worn towels, bath mats and over-the-toilet shelving.
- Closets and bedrooms: pack out of season clothes, leave space on every rod and shelf, and take out broken bed frames and extra dressers.
Pet bowls, scratching posts and worn rugs hold odors, so remove anything that cannot be cleaned. Whatever you pull from these rooms and do not want back can go on the same truck that clears the garage.
How to Clear Out a House Before Listing, Starting With the Garage, Basement, Shed and Yard
To clear out a house before listing, move the heavy items in the garage, basement, shed and yard first and the small clutter second. This part of the list brings stairs, weight and volume that will not fit in a car, so it is the part to hand to a crew:
- A garage fridge, chest freezer, or a washer and dryer in the basement
- An old water heater, scrap metal and leftover remodel drywall
- A hot tub that no longer runs, a rotted shed or sagging fence sections
- Branches, yard waste and worn patio furniture
Yard items matter more where outdoor space is small. A broken shed or a stack of old patio chairs fills much of what buyers see out back. The same order works for a crowded garage or basement in Southern Adams City, another of the original neighborhoods. Our crew loads from anywhere on the property, so nothing has to be dragged to the driveway first.
What Should a Seller Do With Paint, Chemicals and Other Hazardous Items?
Set paint, chemicals, solvents, motor oil and gasoline aside before the haul, because we do not take hazardous materials. Denver residents can book the city's Household Hazardous Waste At-Your-Door collection; its hotline is 1-800-449-7587.
If the house was built before 1978, the EPA's disclosure rule requires you to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, share any records, give buyers the EPA pamphlet and allow a 10-day period for an inspection unless the buyer waives it.
How Many Weeks Before Listing to Start Clearing Out in the Denver Metro
Start clearing out about 6 to 8 weeks before listing a Denver Metro house. That leaves time to sort, haul and clean before photos. A suggested order:
- 6 to 8 weeks out: sort each room into keep, move and remove, and tape the items that stay with the house.
- 4 to 5 weeks out: book the haul for furniture, appliances, the garage and the basement, and send us photos for an estimate.
- 2 to 3 weeks out: make a second, smaller pass after packing, then finish repairs and the deep clean.
- Listing week: clear the last boxes before photos and showings.
- Before closing: leave the house in the condition your contract describes.
I-76, I-270, US 85 and E-470 are among the major highways through Commerce City, so getting a truck to most addresses is simple. We serve Green Valley Ranch too, and same-day service helps when a listing date moves up.
Is It Better to Sell a Commerce City House Empty, Staged or Lived In?
Selling a Commerce City house empty usually beats selling it cluttered, though an empty house can feel cold and make rooms hard to size up. For inherited or tenant-left homes, the simplest path is often to clear everything, then decide with your agent whether to bring back a few pieces that show how a room works. To see what a full clear-out covers, read what is included in a professional property cleanout.
What a House Cleanout Before Selling Costs in Commerce City
A house cleanout before selling in Commerce City runs from our $85 minimum to $550 for a full truckload. You pay for the space your items take up in our 15 cubic yard truck, and a full load equals about 4 regular pickup truckloads.
| Load size | About how much space | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum charge | The smallest jobs | $85 |
| 1/8 load | About half a pickup | $150 |
| 1/4 load | About 1 pickup | $250 |
| 1/3 load | About 5 cubic yards | $300 |
| 1/2 load | About 2 pickups | $350 |
| 2/3 load | About 10 cubic yards | $400 |
| 3/4 load | About 3 pickups | $450 |
| Full load | 15 cubic yards, about 4 pickups | $550 |
Every price includes labor, loading from anywhere on the property, dump fees and cleanup of the work area. The only extra is the local recycling fee on computers and TVs. The load price is the same whether the house sits near Pioneer Park or out by the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
- If your agent set a listing date, then book Junk Master as soon as you know it.
- If heavy items sit in a basement or upstairs, then let our crew carry them out.
- If a tenant or a late relative left the house full, then plan on one or more full loads.
- If you live out of town, then leave us access and stay reachable by phone.
- If you are unsure of the size, then send photos for a free, no-obligation estimate.
Why Commerce City and Denver Metro Sellers Book Junk Master to Clear the House
Sellers book Junk Master because one call takes the heaviest, slowest part of getting a house ready off their list. Our crews do all the lifting, loading, hauling and disposal, and the price you confirm by phone already covers labor and dump fees.
- Solid Waste Hauler Business Licenses for Commerce City and the City of Denver, plus full liability insurance
- Same-day service when the schedule is tight
- A satisfaction guarantee: if the crew misses something, they come back
- Every load sorted, with recycling put first
We have served the area since October 2021 and hold a 5.0 star rating on Google from more than 250 reviews. Customers point to upfront pricing and care for the home. One wrote, "The staff is very respectful of your property while working." Our crews work all over Commerce City, from the streets around Adams City High School at 72nd and Quebec to the newer neighborhoods, and across Aurora, Lakewood, Centennial, Arvada and Highlands Ranch.
The Bottom Line
Before selling a house, remove whatever hides the space: clutter, personal items, extra furniture, dead appliances and the heavy piles in the garage, basement, shed and yard. Leave the items your contract includes, set hazardous products aside and start about 6 to 8 weeks before you list. For a rental, a tenant-left home or an inherited house, one visit from our crew for rental property cleanouts in Commerce City is usually the quickest way to an empty, photo-ready property. Call Junk Master at (720) 999-0466 for a free estimate, and send a few photos to speed up your quote. We are open seven days a week.