JunkBossPro Blog — Scheduling & Dispatch

Scheduling a Big Cleanout Day: Estates, Garages and Storage Units

A big cleanout is the best and worst day on a junk company's calendar. Best because one address can pay as much as a dozen single items, often a full truck load at $549 or more, sometimes two or three loads. Worst because everything about it is bigger: more carrying, more sorting, more unloads, more chances for the day to run long and push everything else back.

Big Jobs Start With the Estimate

Most cleanouts come from a walk-through and an approved estimate, covered in From Approved Estimate to Scheduled Junk Job Without Retyping Anything. By the time a cleanout hits the board, you should already know the load size, what's going and what's staying.

This guide is about the day itself: how to put it on the schedule so the crew can finish it and the rest of the week doesn't suffer.

Give It the Truck

The first rule of a big cleanout day: don't stack other work on the same truck. A Full Load or a 2-load job will take the crew most or all of the day, and anything you add in the afternoon is a promise they may not keep.

If you run two trucks, this is what the cleanout truck is for. Filter the dispatch board by that truck and the day should show one job, maybe two, plus the unload runs. Single items and same-day calls go to the other truck. That split is covered in Two Trucks, Two Kinds of Day: Splitting Small Loads and Cleanouts in Junk Dispatch.

Plan the Unloads

A multi-load job means the truck leaves the address full and comes back empty, at least once. Plan for it:

• Check the load size. 1.5, 2 or 3 loads on the job card tells the crew how many runs to expect.
• Set the haul-to stops. Good furniture to the donation center, appliances to the metal recycler, the rest to the transfer station. The crew sees each stop with a Go button.
• Mind the hours. If the transfer station closes at 4, the last load needs to leave the house by mid-afternoon.
• Tell the customer. “We'll fill the truck, unload and come back” keeps them from wondering where you went.

If the dump ticket comes in over the tons included in your price, enter the ticket's tons, the included tons and your per-ton rate, and the overage lands on the invoice automatically.

Estates

Estate cleanouts usually involve family, and family usually has opinions. Before the day, nail down in the notes:

• Who will be there, and who has the key.
• What stays, and how it's marked: “Anything with blue tape stays.”
• Whether good items go to donation or the dump.
• Whether anyone else, like a realtor or an estate sale company, needs the house on the same day.

The crew reads that on the job card before they open the door.

Garages and Basements

Garages and basements are the most common big job. The scheduling risk is size: “just the garage” can mean a 1/2 load or two full loads. If the job wasn't walked through, ask for a good description on the phone and size it generously. It's easier to finish early and pick up a single item from the Waiting List than to run out of day.

Basements add stairs. Note them on the job so the crew plans for a slower carry and maybe a third person.

Storage Units

Storage cleanouts have their own scheduling quirks. Facilities have gate hours, some have rules about where trucks can park, and the customer often isn't there. Put the gate code, the unit number and the facility's hours in the access notes. Route the job inside the gate hours, and remember that a full truck still needs to reach the dump before it closes.

Prepare the Customer

The night-before reminder matters most on cleanout days. It's the customer's cue to clear a path, move the car, mark what stays and make sure someone can let the crew in. Customers who opt in also get a text when the crew is next and when it arrives. For a job that runs all day, the arrived text tells the family the crew is on site even if nobody is watching the driveway.

Leave the Day Some Room

Cleanouts run long. Something is heavier than expected, the family needs another hour to decide about the dining set, the second unload hits traffic. Don't book a hard-timed job after a cleanout on the same truck. If the cleanout finishes early, use crew GPS and the Waiting List map to find a nearby single item for the ride back. For the rest of the scheduling tools, visit the JunkBossPro junk removal scheduling software page.