Irvington
Basement Cleanout in
Irvington
Irvington's grand Old-Portland Foursquares (97212) sit on the one thing our sunbelt markets don't have — a full, real basement, plus a floored attic above it. After a few decades both fill with damp Pacific-Northwest storage. We empty them, carry every bit up the stairs ourselves, protect the floors and treads of a landmark home on each trip, and donate what's usable with a receipt. One flat photo-quoted price, from $241, and no Oregon sales tax.
How an Irvington basement cleanout works
It's three steps and you don't lift a thing. One — send photos. Stand at the top of the basement stairs and in the attic hatch, snap what's down and up there, and text or upload them; you get a flat number back, usually in minutes, no in-home walkthrough required. Two — we schedule it, same-week and often same-day, around your listing date or the family's readiness. Three — we clear it, carrying decades of boxes, furniture, and damp storage up the Foursquare stairs, protecting the treads and hardwoods on every pass, and leaving the basement and attic broom-clean. The flat price already covers the labor, the carry-up, the truck, the drive, and the disposal — and there is no sales tax added at the end, because Oregon doesn't have one.
What we pull out of an Irvington basement
- Full-basement clear-outs — decades of boxes, old furniture, tools, and holiday storage brought up the stairs and out.
- Attic hauls — the floored Foursquare attic that's been the family's overflow since the Truman administration.
- Damp & moldy storage — soft cardboard, mildewed pieces, water-stained goods bagged and carried out without spreading it through the house.
- Old appliances & a spare fridge — the basement chest freezer or second refrigerator, freon recovered and the metal recycled.
- Heavy & awkward pieces — a workbench, cast-iron radiators, an old upright piano, carried up and out with floor protection.
- Pre-ADU basement clears — empty the basement or the detached garage so a conversion or backyard cottage can start.
How much a basement cleanout costs in Irvington
A basement clear prices as truck-fill — how much of the truck your load fills — quoted flat from photos before anyone shows up. The carry-up, the floor protection, the donation runs, and the Metro disposal fees are already in the number.
| Volume / Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Basement clear (truck-fill 1/4) | $241 |
| Truck-fill (1/2) | $431 |
| Truck-fill (3/4) | $587 |
| Whole basement + attic (truck-fill full) | $732 |
| Single sofa / couch | $126 |
| Chest freezer | $146 |
| Upright piano | $364 |
| Cast-iron radiator | $123 |
$75 minimum. Disposal included; usable pieces donated with a receipt. No Oregon sales tax — the flat price is the total. For context, national full-service franchises typically quote a basement's worth of junk on-site in the several-hundred-to-$600-plus range and add fees; our number is set from your photos and doesn't move on the day.
See the full Portland price guide → — every truck-load tier and what drives the cost.
Four ways to clear an Irvington basement
Portland gives you a few options for a basement's worth of stuff. Here's the honest comparison for a historic-home clear-out.
| Option | Cost | Who carries it up the stairs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Portland bulky-waste (curbside) | $18 trip + $6–$51 per item | You — dragged to the curb | A couple of items, if you can haul them up yourself |
| Self-haul to a Metro transfer station | $125–$145/ton + $30 scale fee | You — load, drive, unload | The physically able with a truck and a free weekend |
| Donation pickup (Goodwill / Community Warehouse) | Free | You — staged at the door, resellable only | A few clean, sellable pieces in good shape |
| Traditional full-service junk removal | On-site quote, often $400–$700+ | The crew | Full clears, but priced after they arrive |
| JunkRabbit | Flat from $241, photo-quoted | Us — up the stairs, floors protected | A whole Foursquare basement, same-week, no surprises |
The wedge is simple: everything above the last row still leaves you hauling decades of damp boxes up a flight of basement stairs. We're the option where a crew does that part.
Does Portland pick up a basement's worth of junk?
Not really — not the way people hope. Portland franchises residential garbage to a set hauler by zone, and each offers a bulky-waste pickup as an add-on: about an $18 trip fee plus $6 to $51 per item, scheduled through your garbage hauler (or start at the City's 311 line), with a turnaround of up to seven days. Two things make it a poor fit for a basement. First, it's curbside only — the city won't come inside or down the stairs, so you're still the one carrying a lifetime of storage up from the basement and out to the street. Second, it's per item, so a full basement of boxes, furniture, and a spare freezer adds up fast and takes multiple weekly cycles to clear. For a single old couch it can make sense; for a Foursquare basement clear-out, the program simply isn't built for it. That's exactly the same-day, full-service, carry-it-up-the-stairs gap we fill.
Care for a landmark home
Irvington is a National Register historic district, and clearing a basement in one is not a job you rush with a hand truck. The carry path runs up a narrow flight of old stairs, through the main floor, past plaster walls and original trim, and out a front door onto a well-kept yard. We treat that path as the fragile thing it is: protection on the stair treads and hardwood floors, care around the doorways and plaster, and the landscaping left untouched on the way to the truck. The work stays discreet on a quiet block — low-key, no spectacle — which matters whether you're downsizing while you still live there or preparing a home you've loved for a sale. The good pieces are set aside and donated; the damp and the broken are hauled honestly. When we leave, the basement and attic are broom-clean and the house looks like we were never there.
Where it goes after
Portland cares where things end up, and diverting is also how we keep a big clear-out at a fair flat price instead of paying Metro's per-ton fee on everything. Resellable furniture, tools, and household goods go to Goodwill of the Columbia Willamette, Community Warehouse, or Habitat's ReStore, with a donation receipt for your records. Mattresses and box springs are recycled free under Oregon's stewardship program. TVs, monitors, and old computers from the basement go to Oregon E-Cycles at no charge. A spare fridge or chest freezer gets its refrigerant recovered and the metal recycled. Old paint and household chemicals are set aside for proper disposal rather than dumped.
When people book an Irvington basement clear
- Before a sale — an empty, broom-clean basement and attic show far better than a packed one.
- Downsizing in place — reclaiming a Foursquare basement after decades, at a humane pace.
- Settling an estate — clearing a family basement for an executor, donation receipts in hand.
- An ADU or basement conversion — emptying the basement or detached garage so the build can begin.
- After a leak or a wet winter — hauling out water-damaged storage and mildewed furniture.
Doing a whole-home clear, not just the basement? Our Irvington estate-cleanout page covers the full house, and the Irvington overview ties it together.
Why Irvington chooses JunkRabbit
- We carry it up the stairs — full-service, from the basement floor to the truck, nothing staged at the curb.
- Flat photo-quoted price — set before we arrive, and it doesn't change on the day.
- No Oregon sales tax — the quote is the whole total, with no tax line at all.
- Historic-home care — floor and stair protection, discretion, insured with proof on request.
- Donation-routed with receipts — the good stuff finds a second home and you get the paperwork.
What Irvington customers say
"Our 1912 Foursquare had a basement packed to the joists — forty years of it, half of it soft with damp. They carried every box up the stairs, laid runners on the hardwood, and had it broom-clean by afternoon. The photo quote was exactly what we paid."
"We're building an ADU and needed the basement and the old garage cleared first. They handled a workbench, a chest freezer, and a mountain of storage, donated what could go, and there was no sales tax tacked on at the end. Easy."
"Clearing my aunt's attic and basement before we listed the house. Careful with the old plaster and the stairs, respectful about the whole thing, and they gave me donation receipts for the estate. Exactly the care an old Irvington home needs."
Ready to Get It Gone?
Send a photo and get one flat price back in seconds — carry-out, hauling and disposal are all in it.
Upload Photos & Get Your QuotePrefer texting? 💬 Text (971) 375-4285 — send a photo, get the price.