The short answer
Most Portland jobs fall into five bands:
- One item — the $75 visit minimum, then the item's own rate. A couch is $126, a queen mattress $103, a fridge $164.
- A few pieces — a bedroom at $326, a laundry pair at $261, a living room at $261. See the worked totals below.
- A room or a garage — $241 for a quarter load, $338 for three-eighths.
- A basement or a whole apartment — $431 for a half, $513 for five-eighths.
- A house clearance — $587 for three-quarters, $732 for a full load, and often more than one load.
Oregon has no sales tax, so whatever number you agree is the number you pay.
The single most common job in this city
One couch. $126.
It is almost always the same story: the sofa has been in the front room of a bungalow in Woodstock, Sellwood, Montavilla or Foster-Powell for eight years, the new one is arriving Thursday, and the owner has spent two weeks discovering that nobody will take the old one. The thrift shop said no because of the mildew spotting on the cushion undersides. The Buy Nothing claimant did not show up. It rained.
$126, carried out, disposed of, one visit. That is the transaction this city runs more than any other.
The real totals, by job
All addition shown so you can check it.
Bedroom clear
Queen mattress and box spring set $143 + dresser, standard $126 + nightstand $57 = $326
Living room
Sofa $126 + coffee table $67 + large area rug $68 = $261
Laundry swap
Washer $133 + dryer $128 = $261
Kitchen renovation appliances
Refrigerator $164 + electric range $134 + dishwasher $109 = $407
Home gym that did not survive
Treadmill $115 + weight bench $69 + weight set $93 = $277
Back garden after a wet winter
Patio table $89 + four patio chairs $30 + $30 + $30 + $30 + propane grill $71 = $280
Detached garage
Quarter load $241, sometimes a half at $431 once the damp boxes are counted.
Basement of a pre-war house
Half load $431 is the usual answer. Three-quarters at $587 if the previous owner left things down there too.
Where the metro differs from itself
Prices are identical across the service area. What differs is which job people book.
Inner eastside — Buckman, Richmond, Sunnyside, Hawthorne, Division, Alberta. Small jobs, frequent. One couch, one mattress, one apartment's worth. Lots of renters, lots of turnover, narrow streets and no off-street parking.
Older east and north neighborhoods — Sellwood, Woodstock, Montavilla, Cully, St Johns, Kenton. Basements and detached garages. Half loads.
Irvington, Laurelhurst, Alameda, Eastmoreland — larger old houses, estate and downsizing work, full loads, pianos, cast iron.
Pearl, Lloyd, South Waterfront — condo clearances with a service elevator to book and a dock window to reserve.
East Portland and the suburbs — Parkrose, Powellhurst-Gilbert, Gresham, Beaverton, Tigard, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego. Attached garages, driveways, and the easiest access in the metro.
The seasonal pattern
Nothing about the price is seasonal. The volume very much is.
Late June to mid-September is the peak: the dry window, lease turnover, student move-out, and everybody finally dealing with the garage they have been avoiding since October. Book ahead in August.
October to May is quieter and wetter. Jobs in this stretch skew toward indoor clearances, and toward the specific category of things that were ruined by being stored outdoors — patio sets, carport contents, anything on a covered porch that turned out not to be covered enough.
Spring brings the estate and listing work, because the local market lists heavily in spring and summer and houses have to be cleared first.
Why the estimate is usually low
Three predictable Portland reasons people's own guesses come in under:
The basement. Nearly every pre-war house has one, it is damp, and the contents are heavier and less salvageable than the owner remembers.
The detached garage. Uninsulated, single wall, mossy roof. Cardboard fails when you lift it.
The outdoors pile. The patio set, the grill, the kids' play equipment, the tarp-covered thing beside the garage. After a few winters here none of it is donatable, so all of it goes on the truck.
Add a fraction to your own estimate and you will usually be right.
How to pay the least
- Price both ways. Item total versus truck fraction. Take the lower. Both are published before you book.
- Divert in the dry months. June to September is when Buy Nothing, the parking strip and the donation centers actually clear things. Every piece diverted is a smaller fraction.
- Do not stage outdoors in the wet months. A rained-on item is an item that can no longer be donated.
- Book one visit, not three. The $75 minimum applies each time a truck comes out.
- Sort the hazardous out first. Paint, solvents, propane, oil and batteries do not go in the truck and will not be part of the quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common junk removal job in Portland?
One couch at $126. Usually after two weeks of trying to donate it and being refused because of mildew spotting, which in this climate is most eight-year-old sofas.
What does a typical Portland basement cleanout cost?
A half truck load at $431 is the usual answer for a pre-war house. Three-quarters at $587 if a previous owner left things down there too.
What does clearing a bedroom cost?
Queen mattress and box spring set $143 + dresser $126 + nightstand $57 = $326.
Do prices change between Sellwood and Beaverton?
No. The published rates are the same across the service area. What changes is the kind of job — inner-eastside apartments book small single-item pickups, older east and north neighborhoods book basements and garages.
Is there tax on the total?
No. Oregon has no sales tax, so a $241 quarter load is $241.
Why do people underestimate the size of their own job?
The basement, the detached garage, and the pile outside. All three are damp, all three are heavier than remembered, and almost none of it can be diverted.