Estate cleanout vs junk removal: which do you need?

Junk removal

• Takes specific items or areas: a few pieces of furniture, a basement, a garage, or what is left after an estate sale.
• Little or no sorting. You decide what goes before they arrive.
• Often booked within days.

Estate cleanout

• Clears the whole house, room by room.
• Often includes sorting for donation, drop-offs, receipts and recycling of items that can't go in the trash.
• Usually ends broom clean, ready for repairs, photos or the buyer's walkthrough.
• More planning: a walkthrough, a quote, and a start date.

• Has anyone set aside papers, valuables and keepsakes yet? If not, do that first either way.
• Is there furniture or collectibles worth selling? Consider an estate sale before either one.
• Is most of the house still full? That points to a cleanout.
• Is it a few rooms, a garage or leftovers after a sale? That points to junk removal.
• Does the family live far away? A cleanout company that works with a lockbox and sends photos may be easier.

Mattresses, textiles, large appliances, CRT TVs and several other materials are banned from the trash, so the crew has to recycle or donate them. Haulers need a permit from the board of health in each town where they collect rubbish. Ask any company how it handles both.