By The Junk Lord · Updated
Moving out is a big deal around here
Moving shows you everything you own. The sofa that's been fine for six years turns into a real problem the minute it has to come down two flights of stairs by Friday.
A lot of households in our area face that every time a lease ends. More than half of occupied homes are rented in the city of York (56.3 percent), Harrisburg (63.4 percent), Middletown (57.4 percent) and Dallastown (54.9 percent).[1][2][3][4]
Here's how to decide what goes with you, and how to get rid of the rest without a couch sitting at the curb for a month.
Four piles: move it, sell it, give it, toss it
Walk the place room by room with a roll of tape and a marker, and put every big piece in one of four piles:
- Move it. Measure the new place first. A sectional that won't clear the new stairwell is better left behind than hauled twice.
- Sell it. Start two or three weeks before move-out. Listings take time, and buyers rarely show up on your schedule.
- Give it away. Sturdy dressers, tables and bookcases in decent shape deserve a second home. Call ahead, since every donation spot sets its own rules on what it accepts.
- Toss it. Broken frames, torn upholstery, and anything stained or with signs of pests.
The one-item-a-week problem
The curb seems like the easy answer, but most bulk programs are built for one piece at a time:
- York Township: one large item a week, and it has to be light enough for two people to lift. A twin or full mattress and box spring count as one item; a queen or king set counts as two.[5]
- Springettsbury Township: one large item per trash day, scheduled with the township's hauler at least one day before your collection day.[6]
- Harrisburg: one bulk item per week, such as a piece of furniture or a mattress. The city asks residents not to pile items out front, since only one is collected each week and the rest are subject to a fine.[7]
York City: more pieces, more lead time
The city of York allows more volume but asks you to plan. Curbside customers can schedule up to five furniture, appliance or other approved bulky items a week, year-round, and each one has to be scheduled 7 to 10 days ahead. For pickup the following week, call the Large Item line before 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Items go out after 5 p.m. the night before and must be at the pick-up point by 6 a.m.[8]
Two rules catch people on move-out week. Unscheduled large items don't get picked up. And any large item with evidence of bedbugs has to be bagged and sealed first.[8]
Some things aren't large-item pickups at all. The City says pianos, pool tables, large trampolines, garage doors, and bags or boxes of anything have to be handled privately.[8]
Hauling it yourself
York County residents with a pickup or trailer can take furniture and mattresses to the Small Load Drop-Off at the Resource Recovery Center, where that waste is processed into electricity. Metal pieces like bed frames and bookshelves go to a separate area and on to a local scrap yard. Check in at the scale house first, and expect a fee for waste loads.[9][10]
That works fine for a few pieces. For a full apartment, count on several trips, a couple of strong backs, and a tarp and straps for every load. Pull drawers out of dressers before lifting, and take the legs off tables so they lie flat in the bed.
When hiring it out makes sense
Do the math on a one-bedroom: sofa, recliner, dresser, table and a queen mattress set. Under a one-item-a-week rule, that's six weeks of set-outs, and most leases don't give you six weeks after the boxes are gone.
That's where a move-out cleanout fits. Our two-person crew brings moving equipment, carries the furniture out, loads it, and sweeps where it stood. Pieces that are still good go to donation drop-offs. Pricing is based on how much space the load takes up in the truck, and William confirms the number before we start.