How do I clean out a garage in one weekend?

You can clear a garage in a weekend if you make the hard decision before Saturday: how the junk is leaving. Book the hauler, dumpster or dump run first, look up where your hazardous leftovers go, then spend Saturday emptying and sorting and Sunday hauling, cleaning and putting back. The step list on this page is the order that works; below is what each part involves and where people get stuck.

Before the weekend: decide how the junk leaves

A cleanout stalls when the sorted piles have nowhere to go. Settle that first.

Your trash service. Check what bulk pickup it offers. Fairfax County residents whose trash the county collects get five free special pickups per fiscal year, which must be scheduled in advance,^[3] and each pile is limited to 2 cubic yards, about 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high, sorted by type.^[3] Richmond's every-other-week bulk collection does not take paint, gas tanks, propane tanks, lawn mowers, tires, auto parts or construction debris,^[4] which is most of what a garage holds. Other localities and private haulers set their own rules, so ask yours.

A crew or a container. For a full garage, a junk removal crew that carries and loads on Sunday is the fastest way to finish. A dumpster works if you have room for it and want to load at your own pace. See what size dumpster you need for a cleanout and what a garage cleanout costs in Virginia.

Donations. Call ahead to find out what the local charity shops and building-material resale stores take and when they accept drop-offs, so the donate pile leaves the same weekend.

Saturday: empty, then sort

Pull everything out onto tarps on the driveway. It feels slower than sorting shelf by shelf, but you see the whole load at once, you find the duplicates (three shop vacs, four half-empty bags of grass seed), and you get to the floor and corners.

Sort into five piles: keep, donate, sell, trash and hazardous. Make one decision per item. A "maybe" pile usually ends up back in the garage.

The hazardous pile

Garages collect the products that should never go in a trash bag or a hauler's truck: fuel, motor oil, solvent-based paint, thinner, pool chemicals, pesticides, propane and batteries. In Fairfax County, for example, the county's household hazardous waste program takes gasoline, motor oil, paint, paint thinner, pesticides and rechargeable batteries free from county residents,^[2] and it accepts propane tanks up to 20 pounds, with a fee for the common barbecue size.^[2] Larger tanks go back to a propane supplier.^[2] Other localities run their own sites or collection days; your public works or solid waste office will have the schedule.

While the pile waits:

• Don't mix products, because some combinations give off deadly gases or start a fire.^[8]
• Aerosol cans can hold chemicals that burn, and in the trash they can explode or start a fire.^[8]
• Even used batteries can hold enough energy to injure someone or start a fire.^[6] Tape or bag them as in the steps.
• Pack containers upright in a cardboard box for the drive, not in plastic bags.^[2]

For paint specifically, see how to dispose of old paint in Virginia.

If mice have been living in it

Droppings and nests are common in garages, especially behind stored boxes and under shelving. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is rarely reported in Virginia, but it spreads mainly by breathing air contaminated with rodent urine, droppings or saliva,^[5] so the rule is to keep the dust down. Wet the area with a commercial disinfectant or a solution of 1 ½ cups of bleach to 1 gallon of water, misted from a spray bottle,^[5] then wipe it up. Wear gloves, bag dead rodents in a sealed bag inside a second bag, wash your gloved hands in disinfectant and then soap and water, and wash your bare hands after.^[5] Throw out nesting material and chewed boxes rather than trying to save them.

Sunday: haul, clean, put back

Load the trash and donations first. Once the driveway is clear, sweep the floor and wipe the shelves while nothing is in the way. Then put back only the keep pile, grouped by what you use it for: lawn and garden, car, sports, tools, holiday. Heavy items go low, everyday items near the door, seasonal ones high or at the back.

Flammables deserve their own spot. Garage fires tend to spread farther and cause more injuries and property loss than fires that start elsewhere in the home.^[7] Store oil, gasoline, paint, propane and varnish in a shed away from the house if you can.^[7] For keeping it this way, see how to set up a garage so it stays organized.

Stop and call a pro if

• You find a large rodent infestation, droppings throughout insulation, or a dead animal you cannot reach safely.
• There are unlabelled drums, leaking containers or anything you cannot identify. Leave it alone and call your locality's hazardous waste office or the fire department's non-emergency line.
• Clearing the garage means taking down built-in shelving, a workbench fixed to the wall, a loft or a shed. That is removal work, not hauling.
• Heavy items such as a chest freezer, a gun safe, an engine or a full tool chest need more hands or equipment than you have.
• You uncover damaged wiring, a gas smell or water coming in where it should not.

Getting help on Loclis

Browse more junk removal and moving answers, see garage cleanout services, or find junk removal and moving businesses around Blacksburg. If you would rather have a crew do the hauling, describe the garage once on Loclis with a few photos and businesses quote on the same load.