A garage cleanout in Pensacola usually stalls on the same few things: half full paint cans, an old gas can, a propane tank from a grill that is long gone, and a stack of damp cardboard boxes nobody has opened since the last move. The furniture and boxes are easy. The hazardous leftovers are what make people give up. This plan splits the work over one weekend and tells you exactly where each pile goes in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
What is a garage clean out?
It is a one time sweep where everything in the garage gets a decision: keep, donate, recycle, drop off as hazardous waste, or haul away. It is different from organizing. You are not buying bins yet. You are getting the floor back so you can see what is worth organizing.
Saturday morning: pull everything out and sort into five piles
Start early, before the afternoon heat, and pull items onto the driveway. Sort as you go:
- Keep. Only what you used in the last year or need for hurricane season (generator, tarps, extension cords, a working cooler).
- Donate. Working tools, outdoor furniture, bikes and household goods in good shape. Our furniture donation guide covers what local charities accept and who picks up.
- Hazardous. Paint, stains, solvents, gas, oil, pool and lawn chemicals, batteries, propane tanks, fluorescent bulbs. Keep these upright, lids on, away from the other piles.
- Tires and metal. These have their own rules, covered below.
- Haul. Broken shelves, old furniture, boxes of junk, worn out gear and anything nobody wants.
Open every cardboard box before you decide. Boxes stored on a garage floor in a humid summer often hide water damage, and you do not want to donate or keep something that is ruined underneath.
Where the hard stuff goes
This is the part that keeps garage cleanouts from finishing. Most junk haulers, including us, do not take paint, chemicals or tires, so these need their own trip. Limits below are as posted by each agency in 2026; check the page before you load up.
| Item | Escambia County | Santa Rosa County |
|---|---|---|
| Paint (oil based and latex) | Free at Perdido Landfill HHW, up to 20 gallons | Free at the HHW Center, Central Landfill |
| Gasoline | Up to 10 gallons | Accepted (gasoline and diesel) |
| Used motor oil, antifreeze | Accepted (antifreeze up to 10 gallons) | Accepted, including oil filters |
| Propane tanks | Accepted | Accepted |
| Fluorescent bulbs | Up to 10 per customer | Accepted |
| Batteries | Accepted, including car batteries | Rechargeable and coin cell accepted |
| Electronics | Accepted at HHW | Accepted at HHW |
| Car tires | Perdido Landfill, max 5 per household, fee per tire | Central Landfill, up to 10, fee per tire |
Escambia's HHW drop off is for residents only and does not take materials from businesses. As posted in October 2026 it is open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Santa Rosa's center is at the entrance to the Central Landfill on Da Lisa Road in Milton and is free for residents. Our household hazardous waste guide goes item by item.
Two more options for the leftovers:
- Lawn mowers. ECUA bulk pickup accepts lawn mowers if they are drained of gasoline and oil.
- Tires with bulk pickup. ECUA takes up to 5 tires per month, separated from the rest of the bulk pile, and no commercial equipment tires.
Sunday: donate, drop off and clear the haul pile
Make the hazardous waste run first, while the car is still empty. Then drop donations, or wait for a scheduled charity pickup. What is left on the driveway is your haul pile.
If you are an ECUA customer, bulk pickup takes one pile per week up to about 6 feet wide, 6 feet deep and 6 feet high, requested by 1:59 p.m. the day before your collection day. A full garage usually makes more than one pile, and ECUA does not take construction debris or remodeling materials. For everything else, our junk hauling service picks up garage clutter like boxes, shelving, old gear and small furniture with a truck and trailer.
How much does it cost for someone to clean out my garage?
There is no single number. Price depends mostly on how much there is, what it is, how far it has to be carried and what disposal costs at the landfill. Doing the sorting yourself and taking hazardous items to the free county drop off lowers the cost of the rest. Our post on junk removal cost in Pensacola breaks down each factor.
Get the haul pile gone
Once the piles are sorted, text photos of the haul pile to (850) 273-8546 with your ZIP code and whether there are stairs. We text back a price and the soonest pickup time, and the price is confirmed before anything is loaded. Same day pickup happens when available, and your first pickup is $20 off when you mention the website.