What hoarding cleanup costs in St. Louis

The short answer

Hoarding cleanups are priced by volume using truck-fill tiers: quarter truck $241, half truck $431, 3/4 truck $587, full truck $732. One packed bedroom is often around a half truck. A whole house is commonly two to four full trucks; two full loads are $732 + $732 = $1464. The price is shown before each load, carry-out from every floor including the basement is included, and it can be done in stages.

Why St. Louis houses can hold so much

Older St. Louis-area homes are built with storage that fills quietly.

• Deep basements under City brick homes, inner-ring suburbs like Maplewood and Webster Groves, and postwar Florissant and Oakville ranches.
• Attics in 1900s-1920s homes in Kirkwood, Richmond Heights and University City.
• Detached alley garages behind City homes, often packed to the door.
• Multi-unit flats where a vacant unit upstairs becomes storage for the occupied one.

In a two-family flat, a hoarding situation can span both units and the basement. Plan for all of it, even if you start with one floor.

Pricing by stage

A worked staged plan for a South County ranch: week one, the main floor, one full truck, $732. Week two, the basement, a full truck and a half, $732 + $431 = $1163. Total across both visits: $732 + $1163 = $1895. There are no volume discounts; each load is its tier price.

A second example, a South City two-family flat where the upstairs unit has become storage: the upstairs, a full truck at $732; the shared basement, a 3/4 truck at $587; and the alley garage, a quarter truck at $241. That is $732 + $587 + $241 = $1560, which can be booked as three separate visits.

Bags, boxes and loose material

Much of a hoarding cleanup is bagged material. If you or family are bagging ahead of time, bag counts have their own prices:

Compare against truck tiers. Thirty bags at $385 is less than a half truck at $431, but if there is furniture mixed in, a tier may be the cleaner number.

Why the usual routes break down

Families often try the free options first, and it is worth knowing where they stop working. In the City, bulky pickup is monthly, up to three items, none over 100 lbs or 6 ft, set out in the alley or at the curb by 6:00 am on the Monday of your collection week. A hoarding cleanup produces dozens of items and hundreds of bags, and the alley dumpster your block shares fills in one afternoon. Overloading it is unfair to neighbors and can draw complaints.

The City's North and South transfer stations accept resident self-haul on weekdays from 8:00 to 4:00, up to 12 loads a year, each about what fits a half-ton pickup. Two full trucks of material is roughly 32 cubic yards, which would use up a large share of a year's loads and many weekday trips. County and Metro East residents should check their own municipality or trash district, but the volume problem is the same everywhere.

Before the crew arrives

1. Talk to the person first. A cleanup done to someone rarely sticks. Agree on what is happening and when.
2. Search for valuables and papers. Cash, jewelry, wills, deeds and photos turn up in boxes and bags. Go through what you can.
3. Mark keep areas. One room or corner for things that stay.
4. Check for hazards. Spoiled food, pests, mold from a damp basement, sharps. Tell us what you know.
5. Plan utilities. Working lights in the basement help everyone.

In a City flat, think about the exit too. Narrow interior stairs and a back door to the alley mean the crew will make many trips through the same path, so a clear stairway matters more than a clear living room.

What we can and cannot take

• Furniture, bags, boxes, clothing, papers: yes.
• Appliances: yes, routed to recycling, since Missouri bans them from landfills.
• Tires: yes, to processing as Missouri requires.
• Paint: yes.
• Hazardous waste such as solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals: not standard. Case by case — ask.
• Biohazard cleaning: we remove items; specialized cleaning and sanitizing is a separate trade.

Pacing the job

The biggest mistake in a hoarding cleanup is trying to do it all in one day without a plan. A steadier approach usually works better for everyone, including the person whose home it is.

• Start with paths. Clear safe walking routes to doors, stairs and the basement first. That alone reduces fall and fire risk.
• Then one room at a time. Finish a room before moving on, so progress is visible.
• Kitchen and bathroom early. They matter most for daily living and sanitation.
• Basement and garage last. In many St. Louis homes, they hold the most volume and the least that needs sorting.
• Check in between stages. A day or a week between loads gives time to sort the next area.

Each stage is priced on its own tier, shown before booking, so you can control how fast it goes. Evening windows, available until midnight, can suit families who work during the day or who want fewer neighbors watching.

Landlords, families and buildings

Landlords with a unit to recover can book online and set up one account covering several properties. If the home is in a condo or apartment building, we email a certificate of insurance within one hour so management can approve elevator use. Families out of town can quote from photos and arrange local access. Start with a few photos of each room at the instant quote page, and book the first stage.

Frequently asked questions