SLU and WashU move-out junk removal in St. Louis

The short answer

Saint Louis University has 17,059 students and Washington University 16,399, and many move out in May and turn over leases in August. The off-campus apartments around them — the Central West End, Skinker-DeBaliviere, the Delmar Loop, Clayton — fill up with leftover futons, mini fridges, desks and mattresses. Flat pickup prices: twin mattress $82, full $94, futon $111, mini fridge $115, standard desk $83, office chair $61. Book early for the last week of the semester; same-day works when you book by 4 PM.

The neighborhoods and their buildings

• Central West End: the City's most populous neighborhood, with 16,670 residents, home to the BJC/Washington University Medical Center and bordering Forest Park. Many high-rises require a certificate of insurance and an elevator reservation.
• Skinker-DeBaliviere and DeBaliviere Place: early-1900s apartment blocks between Forest Park and Delmar, close to WashU.
• Delmar Loop / University City: student and faculty apartments around the Loop.
• Clayton: WashU's South 40 dorms and DeMun's brick and limestone pre-war apartment blocks.
• Edwardsville: on the Illinois side, SIUE move-outs land in May too.

The older buildings are walk-ups with narrow stairs and tight landings; the towers have elevators but strict booking rules. Either way, crews carry from any floor with no stairs fee.

Typical student move-out piles, priced

• One-bedroom in the CWE: full mattress, futon and desk, $94 + $111 + $83 = $288.
• Three roommates in a Skinker-DeBaliviere flat: three twin mattresses, $82 + $82 + $82 = $246, plus a shared futon, $246 + $111 = $357.
• Studio near the Loop: desk, chair, bookshelf and microwave, $83 + $61 + $72 + $30 = $246.

Why the curb is not the answer

In the City, bulky pickup is monthly, during your collection week, out by 6:00 am Monday, up to three items, none over 100 lbs or 6 ft. Move-out week rarely lines up, and an apartment usually has more than three items. Furniture left outside the rules, or beside a building's dumpster without the owner's consent, can count as illegal dumping under Missouri's RSMo 577.070 — and landlords often deduct removal from deposits.

University City and Clayton are County municipalities with their own trash rules, which are not the City's. Check with your building or landlord.

Mini fridges, microwaves and TVs

Dorm-style appliances are the items students most often try to leave behind. A mini fridge is a refrigerant appliance: federal rules require the refrigerant to be recovered before it is scrapped, and Missouri bans major appliances from landfills, so it cannot go in a building dumpster. Defrost it and wipe it out a day before pickup so it does not leak down the hallway. Our price is $115.

Microwaves are $30 and small TVs $62, so on their own they fall under the $100 minimum. Bundle them: a mini fridge, a microwave and a small TV are $115 + $30 + $62 = $207. On the Illinois side, Illinois EPA says covered electronics such as TVs and computers cannot go in regular trash, which matters for SIUE students moving out of Edwardsville apartments. We recycle whatever we can.

Roommates and splitting the bill

Shared apartments are where move-out junk gets awkward. Nobody wants to own the futon. Two tips:

• Book once, split the price. The flat price is visible before booking, so it is easy to divide. Three roommates splitting $357 is $119 each.
• Decide before the last day. List what stays, what goes with whom, and what gets hauled. The last 24 hours of a lease are not the time to negotiate.

The $100 order minimum means a lone item under $100 bills at $100; pooling items across roommates avoids that.

Medical residents, fellows and parents booking from afar

The CWE also turns over around the medical calendar, with residents and fellows arriving and leaving the Washington University Medical Center, often around the August lease cycle. Their apartments tend to have more furniture than a student's — a full bedroom set, a sofa, a dining table. Prices: sofa $126, queen set $143, dining table for 2-4 $103, so a common set of the three is $126 + $143 + $103 = $372. Evening windows up to midnight help on a busy rotation schedule.

Parents often handle move-out from out of state, especially when a student has already flown home after finals. Book online, send the photos the student took, and arrange for a roommate, the landlord or the building to let the crew in. The price is fixed before the visit, so nobody has to negotiate on the doorstep.

A move-out week timeline

1. Two weeks before: list anything worth selling. Futons, desks and mini fridges move fastest in August, slower in May when everyone is selling the same thing.
2. One week before: photograph what is left and get the flat price. Agree with roommates on the split.
3. Five days before: book the pickup and the two-hour window. Book the elevator if your building has one.
4. Pickup day: have everything that is going in one room, or clearly marked.
5. After pickup: clean and do the walk-through with an empty unit.

Booking early in the final week of the semester matters: demand is highest when everyone's lease ends at once.

How to book it

Photograph the pile or pick items at the instant quote page. Choose a two-hour window, 8am to midnight, any day. Arrange building access and the elevator, and ask management if they need a COI — we email it within one hour. Usable items: we try to donate them when local charities accept them, and we recycle whatever we can. For broader advice, see moving-out cleanouts in St. Louis.

Frequently asked questions