What a storage unit cleanout costs in Cleveland

The short answer

JunkRabbit prices storage unit cleanouts by unit size: $226 for a 5x5, $397 for a 5x10, $587 for a 10x10, $880 for a 10x15 and $1174 for a 10x20. The crew empties the unit, loads the truck and takes it away, so you can close out the rental. Disposal is included, and there is no sales tax line.

Prices by unit size

If the unit is only partly full, a photo may show that a truck-fill tier or item pricing fits better. For example, a half-empty 10x10 might be a 1/4 truck at $241.

How Cleveland storage units fill up

The pattern here is familiar:

• The move that went smaller. Someone moves from a three-floor Cleveland Heights house or a Parma bungalow with a full basement into a condo in Beachwood or an apartment downtown. The extra furniture goes into storage "for now."
• The estate in limbo. A parent's things went into a unit while the family decided what to do with the house.
• The academic year. Students and medical trainees at CWRU, Cleveland State, the Clinic and University Hospitals sometimes store a room's worth of furniture between leases.
• Seasonal overflow. Patio furniture, kayaks and grills in winter; snow blowers in summer.

Years later, the unit has cost more in rent than its contents are worth.

Do the math on keeping it

Look at your monthly storage bill and multiply it by twelve. Then look honestly at what is inside. Particleboard furniture, old mattresses, boxes nobody has opened since the move: the cost of storing them for one more year can be more than the one-time cost of clearing the unit.

A 10x10 is $587 once. That is the comparison.

A useful test: if the house or apartment you moved into has room for it, move it home. If it doesn't, and it hasn't come home in a year, it probably won't. Cleveland's older houses have basements and attics, so check those first; the newer condos in Beachwood, Westlake and downtown usually don't.

Also check your rental terms. Many facilities bill by the month, so clearing the unit a few days before the next billing date saves a month's rent.

Three Cleveland units, priced

Beachwood downsizer, 10x15

The dining set, guest bedroom and boxes from a Pepper Pike house went into storage during a move to a condo three years ago. The family has taken what it wants. The rest: $880.

CWRU graduate, 5x5

A desk, a twin mattress, a bookshelf and boxes, stored over a summer and never collected. $226, which is less than the rent on most units for a few months.

An estate in limbo, 10x20 plus the house

A parent's furniture went into a unit while the Lee–Harvard house was being sold. Now both need clearing: the unit plus a full truck from the house's basement and garage. $1174 + $732 = $1,906.

Keeping some of it

Most units aren't all junk. A good way to sort it in one visit:

1. Pull everything you're keeping to the front of the unit, or out into your car, before the crew arrives.
2. Mark what's going if things are mixed. Tape on the item works better than a list.
3. Price what's left. If you're keeping half, item pricing may beat the unit price. A sofa, a queen set, a dresser and ten bags of old clothes and linens: $126 + $143 + $126 + $132 = $527, less than the $587 for a full 10x10.
4. Check for anything that can't go. Paint is accepted. Fuel cans, propane and other hazardous materials are case by case, so ask.

Then close out the rental the same day, so you're not paying for another month.

Before the crew arrives

1. Go through it first if you can. Pull out photos, papers, tools and anything you want.
2. Tell the facility you are clearing the unit and ask about their move-out rules: gate hours, vehicle size limits, and whether they need you present.
3. Arrange access. You or someone you trust needs to be there with the gate code and the key, or the unit unlocked.
4. Ask about the dumpster. Most facilities forbid tenants from leaving furniture in their dumpsters. Do not risk a fee on your final bill.

Winter access

Outdoor drive-up units are the easiest to load, but from mid-November until the lake freezes, lake-effect snow can bury the aisles, especially at facilities east of the city and out into Lake and Geauga counties. Interior climate-controlled units are easier to work in winter but need elevator or cart access.

If your rental term ends in January, book early and pick a 2-hour window that leaves time for the facility's gate hours.

Combined jobs

Clearing the unit and a basement at the same time? Add them up. A 5x10 unit plus a 1/4 truck from the basement: $397 + $241 = $638. A 10x10 plus an upright piano from the house: $587 + $364 = $951.

No volume discounts, no hidden fees. We try to donate usable items when local charities accept them, and we recycle whatever we can.

Start with a photo on the instant quote.

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