Garage Reset: Cleanout + Floor & Driveway Wash

Paint, chemicals, motor oil, fuel, batteries and fluorescent bulbs are household hazardous waste. We can’t haul them, but Sacramento County’s North Area Recovery Station (4450 Roseville Road) runs a free household hazardous waste drop-off. Check the county’s current hours before you go.

1. 1You mark what stays; we pull everything else out to the driveway.
2. 2Donations, recycling and junk are separated and loaded.
3. 3Paint, chemicals and batteries are set aside for you to take to hazardous waste drop-off.
4. 4The floor is swept, then pressure washed to lift dust, tire marks and spills.
5. 5The driveway is pressure washed so the whole entry looks new.
6. 6Items you’re keeping go back in, grouped by use.

Fresh oil drips usually lighten a lot with degreaser and hot-water pressure washing. Old, deep stains that have soaked into concrete for years may fade but not disappear completely. We tell you what to expect before we start.

Wash water with degreaser shouldn’t reach the storm drain. We block or redirect runoff and use only what the job needs.

• Wall-mounted shelving keeps boxes off the floor.
• Clear, labeled bins make it easy to see what you have.
• Keep a donation box in the garage and drop it off when it fills.
• Use your city’s free bulky pickup each year for large items.

City of Sacramento residential customers get two free household junk pickup appointments per year, available February through October (appointments stop in mid-October for leaf season). Appliances and e-waste are booked separately, also free, twice a year, year-round. Book through 311 or Sac311.org; piles can be no larger than 4 × 4 × 9 feet and go out no earlier than 24 hours before the appointment.

The cleanout is confirmed on-site before we load anything; the wash price depends on the size of the floor and driveway.

• Before listing a home: buyers always open the garage.
• After moving in, when the previous owner left things behind.
• Before buying a car you want to park inside during Sacramento’s hot summers.
• After a family member moves out or a home business closes.
• Spring cleaning, when the weather is good for washing the driveway.

• Bikes, sports equipment, tools and camping gear in working order: donated.
• Old shelving, metal cabinets and broken appliances: scrap metal recycling.
• Electronics, old TVs and computers: e-waste recycling.
• Cardboard boxes: recycled.
• Paint, fuel, pool chemicals and batteries. Set aside for you to take to household hazardous waste drop-off.

Most of a typical garage can be kept out of the landfill when it’s sorted on the spot.

Many people mix options: they use the free curbside pickup for one bulky item, and book us for the rest of the garage or the heavy pieces upstairs.

1. 1You text a photo or book a time. We reply with a price range based on how much truck space the load looks like it needs.
2. 2We call or text when the crew is on the way, inside the arrival window you picked.
3. 3The crew looks at everything in person and gives a firm price before anything is lifted. If it’s less than the range, you pay less; if you decide not to go ahead, there’s no charge.
4. 4We carry everything out (from bedrooms, upstairs, the garage, the backyard or a storage unit) and protect doorways and floors along the way.
5. 5We sweep or rake the spot where the items were, then sort the load: donation, recycling, and only what’s left goes to a licensed transfer station.

Most single-item and small-load pickups take under an hour on site. A full garage or a whole-home cleanout usually takes a few hours to a full day, depending on how much sorting you want done on the spot.