Storage Unit Cleanout: Clearing What You Stopped Needing

Storage units have a way of outliving their reason. The move finished years ago, the parent's furniture was never collected, the business closed, and the unit keeps drafting the card every month. Clearing one is a satisfying day's work, and it goes far better with a plan than with a truck and good intentions.

Where the trailer goes

Most storage facilities across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco do not allow a dumpster or trailer to be placed on their lot, and many won't let you dispose of anything in their bins either. Ask the office before you book anything. If the answer is no — and it usually is — the practical approach is to bring the contents home and load a trailer in your own driveway, or have our crew do a direct load-and-haul from the unit to the truck with no container involved.

• Trailer at home: rent the 10-yard trailer for the week at $375, bring the unit's contents home over a couple of trips, and load it as you sort. Free delivery and pickup.
• Crew at the unit: our crew loads directly from the unit at $48 per man-hour with a 4-hour minimum. Nothing sits on the facility's lot. Send photos of the open unit for an estimate.
• Some facilities do allow a trailer for a day with notice. If yours does, get it in writing and keep the rental short.

Sort at the unit, not at home

The mistake is to haul everything home and sort there, which means touching every box twice. Sort in the corridor at the facility into four groups: keep, sell or donate, special routes, and dispose. Only the last group needs to go anywhere near a trailer.

What's usually in there

• Furniture, often more than you remember, and often mildewed after years in Florida humidity — break it down and it loads fast
• Mattresses and box springs, which nobody wants and which go in the trailer whole
• Boxes of household goods, clothing and books — books are the heavy ones
• Appliances and electronics — appliances are scrap, electronics go to the county e-waste program, and any fridge or freezer needs its refrigerant handled properly
• Paint, chemicals, propane and car batteries left from a garage — household hazardous waste, never the trailer
• Business inventory, fixtures and files if it was a commercial unit

The day itself

1. 1Confirm the facility's rules and the gate hours, and tell the office you're vacating so the billing stops.
2. 2Bring a hand truck, gloves, contractor bags, a marker and a box cutter.
3. 3Sort in the corridor into the four groups and stage each group separately.
4. 4Take special-route items to their drop-offs on the way home, or set them aside at home for a separate trip.
5. 5Load the trailer at home with heavy boxes low and furniture broken down flat, then bulky light items on top.
6. 6Sweep the unit and photograph it empty before you turn in the lock.

Weight and volume

A 10-by-10 unit packed to the door is roughly one 10-yard load once furniture is broken down and boxes are flattened. Books, paper and tools are what add weight; everything else is bulk. A unit full of paper can approach the included ton, so recycle what you can and expect the PCSW scale receipt to show it if you don't.

Frequently asked questions

Can you deliver a trailer to my storage facility?

Only if the facility allows it in writing. Most don't. A trailer at your home or a crew load-and-haul are the usual answers.

Can the crew empty a unit without me there?

You or someone you authorize needs to open the unit and tell us what stays. After that, the crew can work without you.

How long does a unit take?

Sorted and staged, a standard unit is a few hours to load. The sorting is what takes the time, and it's the part only you can do.