Clearing a parent's house in West Ashley, a beach house on Sullivan's Island, a mill-village home in North Charleston, or a rental after the tenants left is planning work first. The first pass is a sort, with you or the agent, into what stays, what goes to family, what is donated, what is sold and what is hauled. After that the rest leaves on the truck and the rooms are swept for the listing photos or the next tenant.
Hoarded houses are cleared quietly, with no judgment from anyone on the crew, as fast or as slow as the family wants.
What a house, estate and hoarding cleanouts job involves
- A walk-through on site or over video, then one written price for the house
- What the family keeps is pulled out first, then the donation and recycling pieces
- The rest goes on the truck, normally over one or two days
- Rooms swept, and photos texted to the family or the listing agent
What's included
- Walk-through and a written price for the whole house
- Keep and family items set aside before loading starts
- Donation runs for usable furniture and working appliances
- Every truck load hauled, with disposal fees inside the price
- Rooms swept and photos sent to the family or agent
What the cleanout does not cover
- Selling or appraising the contents (an estate sale company does that first)
- Cleaning services beyond a broom-clean finish
- Repairs, painting or carpet removal
Estate cleanouts across the Lowcountry
The houses that come to the estate cleanout service were bought in the 1950s and 1960s in West Ashley, on James Island and in Old Mount Pleasant, or earlier on the peninsula, and they hold everything a family kept for sixty years: furniture in every room, an attic of boxes, a garage of tools, a shed of dock gear. The work is a plan first and a truck second, because the family decides what stays before anything leaves.
Agents and estate attorneys usually call between the family's last visit and the listing photographs, and the timeline is set by the closing date. A three-bedroom house is normally emptied in one to two days by a crew that fills the truck several times, with donation runs in between so that usable furniture does not go to waste.
Disposal is the part nobody sees. Furniture, mattresses and carpet can go to the county convenience centers if a resident drives them there, but a whole house is a truck job. What cannot be donated or recycled goes to the county landfill, where household waste is weighed and charged by the ton, and that charge is already inside the quote.
House, Estate and Hoarding Cleanouts pricing in Charleston
Estate work is priced by the truck load, one room at a time: a three-quarter truck is $525 to $650 and a full truck $625 to $800, and a typical house takes between two and five loads. The written quote after a walk-through gives the whole job as one figure, so the family knows the cost before a single box moves.
Sorting time, stairs, a full attic and hoarding conditions add hours and move the price up; a house already sorted by the family, with donation pieces set to one side, brings it down. Anything donated or recycled costs less to dispose of than landfill weight, and that saving stays in the quote.
Full price list and what moves the price →
Related: Bulk Trash Pickup in Charleston: What the City Takes and What It Won't, Junk removal in Mount Pleasant, Junk removal in Summerville. Official page: City of Charleston.
House, Estate and Hoarding Cleanouts questions, answered
How much does an estate cleanout cost in Charleston?
A whole house is quoted in truck loads: $525 to $650 for three quarters of a truck and $625 to $800 for a full one, and most houses need two to five loads. After a walk-through, in person or by video, the family gets a single written figure for the entire job, with the hauling and the landfill fee included.
What happens to the contents of the house?
Family items are set aside first, in the order the family gives us. Usable furniture and working appliances go to donation partners where they accept them, metal and cardboard are recycled, paperwork is bagged for shredding if asked, and what remains goes to the county landfill. Ask and you are told where a load went.
How long does a whole-house cleanout take?
A three-bedroom house usually takes one to two days with a crew filling the truck several times. Hoarding situations take longer and are worked at the pace the family sets. Photos of the emptied rooms go to the family or the agent when the house is broom-clean.