Whole House Cleanout Cost: What to Expect
A whole house cleanout shows up at life's turning points: a sale, a downsizing, a foreclosure, a tenant who left everything behind, a parent's home that now has to be emptied. The question is always the same — what does it cost to make an entire house empty? The answer is a flat quote built from what's actually in the house. Here is what typical cleanouts run, room by room, and how to get an exact number instead of a guess.
Cleanout costs at a glance
Garage or basement only — from $299
A quarter to half truckload covers most single-space cleanouts — $299 for a quarter load, $499 for a half.
Apartment (1–2 bedrooms) — from $649
Most of a small apartment fits in a three-quarter ($649) to full ($999) truckload, furniture and bags together.
Single-family house — typically $1,000–$3,500
Multiple loads plus attic, basement, and garage. The flat quote is built from the inventory, so the number reflects your house, not an average.
Hoarding or heavy accumulation — quoted per property
Priced after a walkthrough, with a sort-and-bag plan and a timeline. No judgment, no surprises — just a plan and a price.
The building blocks are our truckload prices — $299 a quarter load, $499 a half, $649 three-quarter, $999 full (full breakdown in our Nassau County junk removal cost guide). A whole house is several of those loads plus the labor to empty every room, which is exactly what your flat quote adds up, in writing, before the first item moves.
What raises or lowers the quote
Volume first: thirty years in a house is not three years in a house. Then access — third-floor walk-ups, long driveways, and narrow basement stairs all add labor. Condition matters too: bagged, sorted rooms clear fast; mixed debris, renovation waste, and heavy items like pianos, safes, and hot tubs take crew and equipment. Finally, the deadline: a cleanout that has to beat a Friday closing is crewed bigger than one with three open weeks. Every one of those factors is visible in the inventory review, which is why the quote holds.
Cleanout, estate cleanout, or move-out?
If the house is being settled after a death in the family, that is an estate cleanout — same hauling, more sorting and coordination with executors and agents. If the occupants are moving and the furniture is going with them, you want movers, possibly with a cleanout of what's being left behind — the two services combine into one coordinated job. And if the cleanout is for a rental, a bank-owned property, or a house you manage, our whole house cleanout service and property cleanout pages cover landlord and foreclosure timelines.
How to get the exact number
Photos of every room — including the basement, attic, and garage, especially the full ones — are enough for most quotes. Bigger or sensitive properties get a walkthrough. You receive one flat price, a date, and a crew size; a 25% deposit holds it. On the day, the crew works room by room, donations are separated as they go, and you get the empty, broom-clean house at the end of it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a whole house cleanout cost?
Most single-family whole house cleanouts run $1,000–$3,500. A lightly filled home can come in near the low end; a full house with a packed basement, attic, and garage runs higher. The price is a flat quote built from the actual contents after an inventory review — photos or a walkthrough — and confirmed before any work begins.
What is included in a whole house cleanout?
Everything leaving the house: furniture, appliances, mattresses, boxes, bags, and debris from every room, plus the basement, attic, garage, and yard items you point to. Usable furniture is sorted for donation instead of disposal. The house is left broom-clean, ready for listing photos, a closing, or the next tenant.
How long does a whole house cleanout take?
Most homes clear in one day; large or heavily filled properties take two. Because the quote is flat and the crew is sized to the job, the timeline is agreed up front — important when a closing date or a lease is driving the schedule.
Is a dumpster cheaper than a cleanout crew?
A 10-yard dumpster starts at $699 and you do every bit of the carrying yourself, over days. A cleanout crew costs more than the box but finishes in a day and does the stairs, the lifting, and the loading. For a single room of debris, rent the dumpster. For a whole house on a deadline, the crew is the cheaper outcome once your own days are counted.
Can you clean the house after the cleanout?
Yes — a cleanout and a clean pair naturally. Move-out cleaning runs on a 4-hour minimum (deep clean $200 for the first 4 hours), and both services are coordinated as one job with one invoice, so the house goes from full to listing-ready in one push.
How do I get an exact price?
Send photos of each room or book a walkthrough. You get a flat quote with a 25% deposit to hold the date; a 5% admin fee applies to every job and is shown on the written estimate up front. If the crew finds materially more than the inventory showed, the change is confirmed with you before the extra work happens — never after.
Get a flat quote for the whole house
Send the address and room photos and we will price the real job, not an average. Movers & Cleanout Crew — Home Services & Commercial Coordination. WE MOVE. WE HAUL. WE CLEAN. WE COORDINATE IT ALL.
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