How do I clear out my home before moving out of BC?
Start about six weeks before you leave and decide what moves with you. For a hassle-free move-out, book Spartan Junk Removal once: we clear everything you’re not taking in one visit, from any room, drop usable items at local charities and recycle the rest. You get an upfront estimate at a free on-site quote. Only paint, propane and fuel need their own drop-offs.
How far ahead should you start a move-out cleanout?
Give yourself about six weeks if you can. Selling things takes time, and donation drop-offs keep their own hours. Starting early also means you only pay to move what you really want on the other end.
Short on time? You don’t need six weeks if someone else does the hauling. Decide what moves with you, and leave the rest to us.
What’s the easiest way to clear a home before a move?
Book one visit for everything you’re not taking. Instead of listing, loading the car and driving to the charity shop, the recycling depot and the dump on separate weekends, Spartan Junk Removal takes it all in one go:
- Donations: we drop clean, usable furniture and household items at local charities for you.
- Recycling: mattresses, electronics, appliances, metal and cardboard go to the right recyclers, fees included in your estimate.
- Everything else: unsold furniture, broken items and garbage, carried out from any room, floor, locker or balcony.
You walk us through once, get an upfront estimate before anything moves, and the crew does every lift and sweeps up. It’s the simplest way to hand over the keys on time. Book a free on-site quote.
What does a week-by-week move-out plan look like?
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 6 weeks out | Walk through every room, plus the garage, storage locker and balcony, and decide what moves with you. Book a free on-site quote with Spartan and pick a clear-out date close to moving day. |
| 4 to 6 weeks out | List anything worth selling, while there’s still time for buyers to come by. Whatever doesn’t sell simply goes on the pile for us. |
| 3 to 4 weeks out | Set aside everything you’re not taking: donations, old furniture, mattresses, electronics and appliances. No need to drive any of it around; we sort it on the day. Start using up food and cleaning products. |
| 2 weeks out | Take paint, propane tanks and fuel to their drop-offs, since no junk removal truck can carry them. Book the elevator and loading bay if you live in a strata building. |
| Last week | Spartan clears it all in one visit: unsold furniture, donations, recycling and garbage, from any room. We drop usable items at local charities and recycle the rest. |
| Move-out day | Check closets, cupboards, the storage locker and the parking stall, then hand over the keys. Found a last piece? Call or text and we’ll fit in a pickup. |
What should you sell, donate, recycle or throw away?
Go room by room and give everything one of five labels. Coloured tape or sticky notes work well.
- Move: things you love, things you use, and things that are costly to replace.
- Sell: furniture and appliances in good shape that are worth the time to list.
- Donate: clean, working household items, clothing, kitchenware and furniture. No time for drop-offs? Leave them for us and we deliver them to local charities.
- Recycle: electronics, appliances, mattresses, metal and cardboard. Many of these are banned from Metro Vancouver garbage, and we take them to the right recyclers for you.
- Throw away: broken items with no other route.
Be honest about bulky furniture. A heavy dresser or a sectional can cost more to ship across the country than it’s worth. Anything that doesn’t sell in time can go in the same visit as the rest.
Where do mattresses, electronics and appliances go in Metro Vancouver?
These are the items that slow most move-outs down, because they can’t go in the garbage. Metro Vancouver bans mattresses, electronics and metal appliances from garbage loads at its facilities.
The easy way: leave them where they are. Spartan Junk Removal carries them out of any room and delivers each one to the right recycler, with any recycling fee included in your upfront estimate. No truck, no helper and no separate trips.
- Mattresses and box springs: we take them as they are, bag them if they’re soiled, and deliver them to a mattress recycler.
- Electronics: TVs, computers and printers go to approved Return-It recyclers, with no TV surcharge. Wipe your drives first.
- Fridges, freezers and large appliances: our crew moves them on dollies and takes them to a certified recycler that recovers the refrigerant.
- Moving boxes and cardboard: cardboard is banned from garbage. Flatten what you can for your building’s recycling, and leave the rest for us.
Source: Metro Vancouver: Disposal ban program
What should you deal with before moving day?
Some things can’t ride in a junk removal truck, and you’ll want to handle them early. Paint, solvents, propane tanks, fuel and lithium batteries are regulated dangerous goods. Spartan Junk Removal can’t take them, and it’s worth asking your mover about them before you pack.
- Paint: drop it off free at a Product Care paint depot or a Metro Vancouver recycling and waste centre.
- Propane tanks: take them to a recycling and waste centre, or swap them at a propane exchange. We can take the barbecue once the tank is off.
- Household chemicals and pesticides: ask us first; it depends on the type and amount. Otherwise, Product Care runs free household hazardous waste drop-offs for products in their original labelled containers.
- Food: use up the freezer and pantry in the last few weeks.
See what we don’t take for every hazardous item and where it goes.
Sources: Product Care: Household hazardous waste in BC; Metro Vancouver: Recycling and waste facilities
Moving out of a condo or rental? What else should you check?
Apartments and strata buildings come with a few extra steps:
- Book the elevator and loading bay with your building manager, for the move and for any pickups.
- Ask about move hours. Many stratas set the times when moves are allowed.
- Clear the storage locker, balcony and parking stall. They often hold as much as the unit itself.
- Know what stays. Appliances and blinds that came with the unit usually belong to the owner, not to you.
- Read your tenancy agreement so you know how the unit should be left.
When should you book junk removal for a move-out?
Book your free on-site quote as soon as you know your moving date, and pick a clear-out day in your last week. Booking early gets you the day you want, and you can add anything that doesn’t sell right up until we arrive. Want the donations gone sooner? We can split it into two visits.
Spartan Junk Removal works across Metro Vancouver, 7 days a week, 8 am to 8 pm. We come out for a free on-site quote, walk through what’s going, and give you an upfront estimate before anything moves. The crew carries everything out from any room or floor, sorts it for donation and recycling, and sweeps up.
Not home on the day? If items are outside or in an unlocked garage, we can often finish while you’re out and send photos. Landlords and property managers can read about tenant turnover cleanouts, and our pricing page shows how load sizes work.
What’s a quick move-out cleanout checklist?
- Walk through every room, locker and storage space.
- Decide what moves with you.
- Book a free on-site quote with Spartan for everything else.
- List anything worth selling early.
- Take paint, propane tanks and fuel to their drop-offs.
- Book the elevator and loading bay.
- Let us clear the rest in one visit: donations, recycling and junk.
- Use up food.
- Check closets, cupboards, the balcony and the parking stall.
- Do a final sweep and hand over the keys.
