What a storage unit cleanout costs in Providence

The short answer

Storage unit cleanouts are priced by unit size: 5x5 $226, 5x10 $397, 5x15 $539, 10x10 $587, 10x15 $880, 10x20 $1174, 10x25 $1463 and 10x30 $1757. The price covers loading the unit's contents, hauling and disposal. If only part of the unit is going, item prices or a truck-fill tier may be lower.

Flat prices by unit size

Send a photo of the open door, and one from inside if you can, for an instant quote. You see the price before booking, and it only changes if you approve a change.

Why Providence storage units fill up

Storage around Providence follows the same few life events. Students at Brown, RISD, Providence College and Johnson & Wales store furniture over the summer between leases and sometimes never come back for it. Navy families at Naval Station Newport and the Naval War College store household goods between assignments. Families downsizing from a house in Cranston or Warwick to an apartment put the extra furniture in a unit and keep paying.

Triple-decker living plays a part too. A floor of a triple-decker holds a lot of furniture; moving from one to a smaller apartment leaves a houseful with nowhere to go.

The common thread is that a unit rented for three months turns into three years. At some point the monthly rent exceeds the value of what is inside, and the cleanout pays for itself.

Doing the rent math

The simplest way to decide is to put two numbers side by side. The first is your monthly rent multiplied by how many more months you would honestly keep the unit. The second is the flat cleanout price for its size. For a 10x10 that second number is $587, paid once.

Then look hard at what is inside. Most long-stored units hold the same things: particleboard furniture that will not survive another move, mattresses that have sat in a non-climate unit through several Rhode Island summers and winters, boxes of kitchenware that were replaced years ago, and a TV from two generations back. If the realistic resale value of all of it is less than a few months of rent, the unit is costing you money every month it stays full.

Families settling an estate often find the unit the relative was paying for after the house is already cleared. In that case, the unit-size price gives the executor a single number to approve.

Partial cleanouts

If you are keeping some of the unit and getting rid of the rest, the unit-size price is probably not the right number. Price the outgoing items individually, or by truck fill.

A sofa, a queen set and a dresser from a unit are $126 + $143 + $126 = $395. A quarter truck of mixed boxes and small furniture is $241, and half a truck is $431.

Move what you are keeping to one side, or take it out first, and photograph only what is going. That keeps the quote clear and avoids anything being taken by mistake.

Worked examples

Graduate leaving Providence. A 5x5 with a bed, a desk and boxes stored since moving out of a College Hill apartment: $226.

Navy family after a move. A 10x10 of household goods that no longer fit the next home: $587.

Downsizing from a Cranston house. A 10x20 with a dining set, bedroom furniture, a sofa and boxes: $1174.

Two units consolidated. Emptying a 5x10 and a 5x5 for someone moving everything into one place: $397 + $226 = $623.

Just the bulky pieces. A three-piece sectional, a treadmill and a refrigerator: $185 + $115 + $164 = $464.

Emptying it yourself

A small unit can be emptied without help if you have a vehicle and a free weekend, but the disposal side takes more planning than people expect. Facility dumpsters are usually off limits for tenants' contents. Providence's free bulky-item pickup collects from the curb at your home, not from a storage facility, and only for buildings of six or fewer units, so you would be bringing everything home first.

From there, each category needs its own trip. Mattresses go to the DPW drop-off on Allens Avenue on Saturday mornings, two per visit with a Providence ID, or to the RIRRC Central Landfill in Johnston. TVs and monitors need a Waste Management e-waste appointment or an RIRRC event, because Rhode Island bans them from the trash. General furniture and boxes go to a disposal site, and the landfill does not publish commercial tip rates, so call ahead.

Add a rented truck, two people and several separate errands, and the flat $226 for a 5x5 or $397 for a 5x10 covers loading, hauling and disposal in one visit.

Working with the storage facility

Most facilities need you to arrange access for the crew, either by being there, sharing a gate code or adding the crew to the account for the day. Check the facility's rules on outside crews and on what can be left in common dumpsters, which is usually nothing.

Facilities may ask for proof of insurance from any outside company working on site. JunkRabbit emails a certificate of insurance within one hour of booking.

Book the cleanout before your next rent date. Many facilities require the unit to be empty and swept, with your lock removed, before the rental ends. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, and crews work seven days a week from 8am to midnight.

Things to flag when you book

• Mattresses are a common storage item. Rhode Island recycles mattresses through its statewide program, and we recycle whatever we can.
• TVs and computers cannot go in Rhode Island trash. Make sure they are visible in your photos so the quote accounts for them.
• Paint is accepted. Other chemicals are handled case by case, so ask.
• Propane tanks and fuel should not be stored in units at all; tell us if any are inside.
• Personal papers. Go through boxes for documents before the cleanout. Once loaded, they are gone.

For more on cleanouts, see moving-out cleanouts in Providence.

Frequently asked questions