The Weekend Garage Cleanout Checklist (Ocala & Gainesville Edition)

The average garage accumulates a decade of "I might need this." Here's a realistic one-weekend plan that ends with your car actually parking inside again.

Saturday morning: the four-pile sort

Work in zones — one wall at a time — and move everything into the driveway as you sort. Empty floor space is motivating; a half-sorted garage is not.

• ✓Keep — things you've used in the last year. Be honest.
• ✓Donate/sell — working items someone else would actually want.
• ✓Recycle — cardboard, scrap metal, electronics. (We offer recycling pickup too.)
• ✓Haul away — broken furniture, dead appliances, mystery boxes, the treadmill-turned-coat-rack.

Watch out for the items pros can't take

Set aside paint, chemicals, fuel, propane tanks, and batteries — junk removal services can't legally haul hazardous materials, and they don't belong in the regular trash either. Marion and Alachua counties both run household hazardous waste programs for exactly this stuff. The full list is in our guide to what junk removal companies won't take.

Saturday afternoon: book the haul-away

Once your "haul away" pile is staged in the driveway or garage, photograph it from a couple of angles and book your pickup online. Small piles run $99–$149; bigger cleanouts are quoted from your photos by truckload — ¼ load $199–$225 up to a full load $499–$599. See pricing.

Pick a Sunday window and the pile disappears while you organize what's left. Your card is authorized at booking but only charged after the pickup is completed.

Sunday: the part nobody tells you

• ✓Put up wall hooks and shelves before moving things back in.
• ✓Keep one "exit shelf" near the door for future donations.
• ✓Take a photo of the finished garage — it's the best defense against re-cluttering.