What a garage cleanout costs around Providence

The short answer

Garage cleanouts are priced by truck fill. Around Providence, a lightly cluttered one-car garage often fills about a quarter truck at $241, a crowded one-car or a normal two-car garage about half a truck at $431, and a garage packed floor to ceiling three-quarters at $587 or a full truck at $732. Single items like a snow blower ($71) or a riding mower ($152) can be priced individually.

Where the garages are

Inside Providence itself, many homes are triple-deckers on tight lots, and garages are less common or shared. The garage cleanout lane is mostly in the post-war neighborhoods and suburbs around the city: capes and ranches in Warwick, Cranston, Johnston, North Providence and Cumberland, the newer subdivisions in western Cranston beyond I-295, and the Massachusetts border towns like Seekonk.

Those garages hold a particular New England mix: snow blowers, shovels and rock salt next to lawn mowers and grills, bikes, kayaks, holiday decorations, leftover paint and lumber from projects, and the boxes that never got unpacked after a move.

Because most homes here also have a basement, the garage often holds the overflow from the basement, and the cleanout turns into both.

Truck-fill pricing

Take photos from the garage door and from the back wall looking out. The quote is based on volume, so photos that show the depth and height of the pile get the most accurate tier.

Garage items priced individually

If you are clearing a few large items rather than a whole garage, item pricing is usually lower. A snow blower, a lawn mower and a set of tires are $71 + $65 + $87 = $223.

Worked examples

Warwick one-car garage, spring clear-out. Old mower, two bikes, a broken grill and some boxes and bags: often about a quarter truck, $241.

Cranston two-car garage before a sale. Shelving, a workbench, tools, holiday decorations and twenty years of boxes: often about half a truck, $431.

North Providence garage plus a chest freezer. A quarter truck of mixed items plus the freezer priced separately would be $241 + $146 = $387; the quote may also show a larger tier that covers all of it, and you can pick the lower option.

Just the big things. A riding mower and a chest freezer: $152 + $146 = $298.

The do-it-yourself route, honestly costed

Some garages can be cleared without a hauler, and it is worth knowing what that takes. The state's landfill is the RIRRC Central Landfill at 65 Shun Pike in Johnston. Commercial tipping rates there are set by contract and not published, so call ahead before you load a truck and drive over.

Inside Providence, the city's free bulky-item pickup takes furniture and large appliances, such as a chest freezer, from buildings of six or fewer units. You book Waste Management at least 24 hours before trash day and set items at the curb no earlier than the night before. Rules in Cranston, Warwick, Johnston and the Massachusetts towns differ, and Cranston runs periodic free bulky-waste events, so check your own town's page for dates.

The rest of a garage still needs sorting by route. Old TVs and computers cannot go in Rhode Island trash. Chemicals go to an Eco-Depot event. Lumber, shelving and boxes need a vehicle that can carry them. For a two-car garage, that is usually a full weekend plus a rented or borrowed truck, compared with one visit at $431 for a typical half truck.

Sheds, barns and outbuildings

Past the suburbs, the job gets bigger. In northwest Rhode Island, in Burrillville, Glocester, Scituate and Foster, and in Connecticut's Quiet Corner towns like Killingly and Putnam, many properties have acreage with a shed or barn that has been collecting for years. Those are usually truck-fill jobs, priced on the same tiers.

A small shed itself, taken down and disassembled, is $186. A shed's contents plus the shed is often a priced combination, for example a quarter truck of contents and the shed, $241 + $186 = $427. Swing sets are another common outbuilding item: $143 for a standard set and $182 for a timber one.

Photograph the inside of the building and the path from the door to the driveway. Long carries across a yard are part of the job and do not change the price.

Season matters here

Garage cleanouts in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts tend to happen in two windows. In spring, people pull out the summer equipment and decide what they are done with. In fall, before the first snow, people make room to park the car inside for winter.

Winter itself slows exterior work. Snow and ice on a driveway make carrying heavy items to the truck slower and less safe. If you are planning a big garage cleanout, late fall before a storm is easier than January after one.

Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, seven days a week, so a dry weekend window can be used on short notice.

Paint, chemicals and propane

Paint is accepted: $30 for a one-gallon can and $52 for a five-gallon bucket. Old garages often have a shelf of half-used cans, which can add up, so count them.

Other chemicals such as solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals and motor oil are handled case by case, so ask before booking. RIRRC runs Eco-Depot household hazardous waste collection events for those materials.

Propane tanks are $33 each for the standard 20-pound size. Close the valve and do not leave them in a hot car. For related work, see basement cleanouts in Providence and storage unit cleanout costs.

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