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Renting a dumpster can be one of the best ways of dealing with a lot of junk. Dumpsters give you tons of room for trash, making them ideal for cleaning out your home or doing a DIY renovation. Many people are tempted to simply order up a dumpster and start chucking stuff in it. However, this isn’t the most effective way of using a dumpster and, in some cases, may end up costing you more money.
If you’ve rented a dumpster, you want to be sure you use it as efficiently and effectively as possible. Here are a few tips for making the most of your dumpster rental in Houston.
Have a Plan
Before you even order your dumpster rental, you need to have a plan. When do you need the dumpster? How long will you need it? Where will it go? You need to have all of these questions answered because the rental company will need to know this information. You may need to arrange days off of work or line up other people’s schedules before you can determine when you actually need the dumpster delivered. You need to have the project’s schedule in place before you arrange to have a dumpster delivered. Otherwise, you may find that you have to extend your rental period or even send the dumpster back empty.
Scheduling the Dumpster
Many people schedule the dumpster to arrive on the first day of their project. Sometimes that’s perfect, but other times, it may not be. How much will you use the dumpster on the first day? If you’re doing a DIY kitchen renovation, you may use it a lot since the first day is likely going to be demolition. However, if you’re sorting through a basement, attic, or even an entire house, you may find that you don’t add much to the dumpster on day one. Instead, it might be better to have some items ready to go when the dumpster arrives. Having delivery scheduled on the second day, then, might make more sense.
Knowing when you want the dumpster delivered will also help you plan out how long you’ll need it. While you can typically add on extra days if you need to, it’s always best to avoid that when possible so you can stick to your planned budget.
Determining its Location
Where will you have the dumpster placed? Many people put it in their driveway simply because putting it on the street can cause some issues with the city. You also don’t want to put it on the yard because it will leave indentions and can kill the grass. However, you do want to be sure it’s positioned on the driveway in such a way that you can still access your garage and park your car alongside the dumpster.
This is one of the reasons why Junk King offers the MINI, a small dumpster that holds up to twelve cubic yards. That’s a lot of space, but the dumpster is also compact enough to fit in a driveway without taking up too much space. If your drive is wide enough, we may be able to put the dumpster off to the side and still leave you plenty of space to get your car into the garage.
Preparing for the Dumpster’s Arrival
Before the dumpster arrives, you’ll want to make certain the area where it’s to be placed is clear. You also need to be sure the truck has enough space to offload the dumpster. If you live on a fairly narrow street and your neighbors across from you typically park cars on the street or have cars at the end of their drive, you might need to talk to them. They may need to move their cars so the truck can pull into their drive before backing up to yours. On narrow streets, if there are cars on either side, it can be a very tight fit for large trucks.
If you’re going to have the dumpster delivered on the second day of your project, you’ll need a space to set junk aside for the dumpster. This may be in your garage or even on your back porch. Remember if you put anything on your driveway, it may need to be moved so the dumpster can be delivered. Also keep in mind that your neighbors may not like seeing a lot of junk out on your yard. They could report you to the city, so be sure you know what the laws are. In most places, as long as items aren’t visible from the street, you can’t be fined.
If you plan on parking your car in the garage, make sure the dumpster is placed so that you can drive in without hitting anything you have stored in the garage. If you have shelving, a workbench, or items stored on one side of the garage, you may want the dumpster placed on that side. Otherwise, you may have to move things in the garage to get your car in.
Break the Project Down into Small Pieces
What are you planning to do that you need a dumpster? You likely have a general idea, but if you break everything down into small steps, you’ll be able to get to work and continue working efficiently without too many breaks to figure out what to do next. If you’re remodeling your kitchen, for example, you should plan out what you’ll do on day one, day two, etc. Day one may be demolition, while day two is to put in new drywall and flooring.
If you’re cleaning out some or all of a house, know what room you’re starting with. Have an idea of what you want to move out first. For example, if you have a few large pieces of furniture that you know you won’t keep, plan on getting those out first if you can. By putting them in the dumpster, you’ll clear up space inside to work. You’ll also load the dumpster the right way—large, heavy items should always go on the bottom.
Know How to Load a Dumpster
Speaking of putting large items on the bottom, it helps to learn how to load a dumpster before you start. You always want to put heavy items on the bottom in layers. The goal is to balance the weight so the dumpster won’t shift unexpectedly when it’s being lifted onto the truck. If you don’t have enough heavy items to make a layer, put them all in the center of the dumpster. Don’t overfill the dumpster, either. Nothing should stick up over the sides.
Another tip is to leave as few empty pockets as possible. Try to fill every space with bags of trash or some small items. Empty spaces allow things to shift during pickup, which again can knock the dumpster off-balance. With Junk King dumpsters, filling every space can also actually save you money. That’s because your final cost depends on how much of the dumpster you’ve used. If you can keep it down to about half, you’ll save money.
Understand What You Can Put in a Dumpster
Do you know what you can put in the dumpster and what you can’t? Some dumpster rental companies have very strict rules about what you can put in their dumpsters, and they will charge you if you put any of these forbidden items in. Here at Junk King, our only rule is that we cannot take anything that is hazardous. We do take appliances, furniture, electronics, yard waste, construction DIY, and other trash. If you have any questions about what may or may not be considered hazardous, all you have to do is call and ask. If it can’t go in our dumpster, we may know where you can take it. Anything you can put in a Junk King dumpster can also be hauled off by our junk hauling crews.
Why Rent a Dumpster from Junk King?
There are many dumpster rental companies out there, so what makes Junk King North Houston the right option for you? Besides the fact that we take just about everything, there’s also our unique pricing structure. As mentioned earlier, we charge by how much of the dumpster you use. If you end up not needing it for much, you’ll pay the base rental price. If you fill it halfway up, you’ll pay a little more, but you’ll only pay the maximum if you fill the entire dumpster. All of our dumpster quotes include all applicable fees and other charges. We are fully committed to transparent, upfront pricing on all of our services.
Contact Junk King Today to Schedule Your Dumpster Rental
Items We Take – Junk Pick Up & Hauling | Junk King
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to schedule your dumpster rental. Doing so is easy—all you have to do is give Junk King Houston North a call at 1-888-888-JUNK. We will schedule your delivery and pickup date. Remember, if you decide you may need the dumpster for an extra day, we can add on to your rental for a small per-day fee. We can also pick up the dumpster early if you wrap up your project sooner than expected.
