Estate cleanout in Charleston, SC: options and costs

A whole house is more than curbside bulk pickup is built for. James Island PSD and Moncks Corner cap bulk pickup at two items a week, and the county drop-off sites are for residents with a local photo ID. Most estate cleanouts end up as a mix: donate what's usable, then hire a crew or rent a dumpster for the rest. Angi puts an estate cleanout at about $1,250 on average, with most people spending $275 to $4,000. That is a national figure, not a Charleston quote.

Why curbside pickup won't clear a house

Town bulk pickup is set up for a couch or a mattress, not thirty years of belongings. The limits that matter:

James Island (James Island PSD): 2 bulk items or 1 claw scoop of homeowner material a week. A claw scoop is about one 96-gallon cart's worth. The PSD also says property owners and managers are responsible for eviction clean-outs.
Moncks Corner: two bulk items a week.
Summerville: bulk items are collected monthly.
Mount Pleasant: furniture and appliances go out on garbage day, and the Town lists no item limit.

Other towns have their own rules, so check your town's bulk pickup page before you carry a houseful to the curb. Curbside still helps. Setting out a couple of items a week while you sort the rest costs nothing.

Donate first

Anything a charity will take is something you don't pay to haul. Three Habitat for Humanity ReStores cover the metro, and each has its own rules.

ReStore	Where	Pickup	Won't take
Charleston Habitat	731 Meeting Street, Charleston, and 469C Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant	Scheduled online, "in the Charleston area". The page doesn't say whether it's free.	Broken, stained or damaged items
Dorchester Habitat	101 Greyback Road, Summerville	Free for large items, Dorchester County residents only	Mattresses, box springs, cribs, car seats, paint, large tube TVs, particle-board furniture
Berkeley County Habitat	1 Belknap Dr, Goose Creek (address per Habitat.org)	Free for items outside the home: garage, porch or driveway	Used mattresses, TVs, computers, pianos, entertainment centers, paint

All three want items in good, sellable condition. Expect a ReStore to take the solid furniture and working appliances and leave the mattresses, worn upholstery and anything broken.

Pro tip book the donation pickup before you book a hauler. What the ReStore takes comes off the paid load, and junk removal is priced by how much of the truck you fill.

Hauling it yourself

The county drop-off sites are free for residents, but each county checks who you are and what you drive.

Charleston County: bring a government photo ID with a county address. A utility or tax bill with a matching county address is accepted alongside photo ID. Double-axle trailers, box trucks and moving vans need an appointment at 843-720-7111. Furniture and mattresses go in Zone 2 and appliances in Zone 3. See Charleston County convenience centers.
Berkeley County: valid photo ID, and pickup-sized vehicles only. Box trucks and trailers over 12 feet aren't allowed at the centers and go to the county landfill instead. See Berkeley County convenience centers.
Dorchester County: residential waste only, nothing larger than a 3/4-ton pickup, single-axle trailers only. See Dorchester County convenience sites.

If you're planning to rent a truck for the job, read our guide to taking a moving truck to the dump first.

A house also holds things that can't go in a general load. Our guides cover old paint, TVs and electronics, mattresses, appliances and tires.

Renting a dumpster

A dumpster works if you have family to do the carrying and a driveway to park it in. ZTERS' Charleston page lists these prices for a 10-day rental, with no date shown:

Size	ZTERS Charleston price	Weight allowance
10-yard	$675 to $825	1 to 2 tons
20-yard	$755 to $905	2 to 4 tons
30-yard	$800 to $935	4 to 6 tons
40-yard	$890 to $990	5 to 8 tons

Hiring a cleanout crew

A crew does the carrying, loading and disposal. National cost guides put the job at:

About $1,250 on average, with most people spending $275 to $4,000 and a full range of $50 to $6,000 (Angi, estate cleanouts, no date shown)
$625 to $2,000 for a whole-home cleanout, and up to $4,000 for larger estates (LawnStarter, December 2025)

Most junk removal companies price by truck space, so the total follows how many truckloads the house fills. National guides put one full truck at $450 to $800 depending on the guide, and Lowcountry Junk Pros lists $625 to $800 for a full truck in its 2026 Charleston prices. Our junk removal cost guide has the full tables.

Several companies serving Charleston list cleanouts by name on their own sites:

College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving lists estate, garage and basement cleanouts, plus donation pickup.
Lowcountry Junk Pros lists house, estate and hoarding cleanouts.
Good Junk lists estate, garage and REO cleanouts.
LoadUp lists property cleanouts and prices per item.
Junk King says it handles jobs from single items to full cleanouts.

If the house needs more than clearing, see our guides to hoarding cleanup and construction debris removal.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an estate cleanout cost in Charleston?

No Charleston-specific figure is published. Angi puts the U.S. average at about $1,250, with most people spending $275 to $4,000 (no date shown). LawnStarter (December 2025) puts a whole-home cleanout at $625 to $2,000, and up to $4,000 for larger estates. For scale, one Charleston company, Lowcountry Junk Pros, lists a full truck at $625 to $800 in its 2026 prices, and a house often takes more than one truck.

Can I put a whole house of furniture out for bulk pickup?

Not all at once in every town. James Island PSD allows 2 bulk items or 1 claw scoop a week, and Moncks Corner allows two bulk items a week. Summerville collects bulk items monthly. Mount Pleasant lists no item limit. Check your town's page before you empty a house to the curb.

Can I use the county dump if I inherited a house but live somewhere else?

Charleston County's convenience centers ask for a government photo ID with a county address, and accept a utility or tax bill with a matching county address alongside photo ID. If your ID shows an address outside the county, call Environmental Management at 843-720-7111 before you load up and ask what they'll accept for the estate's address.

Will a charity pick up furniture from an estate?

Some will. The Dorchester Habitat ReStore offers free pickup of large items for Dorchester County residents, and the Berkeley County ReStore picks up for free when items are outside the home, in a garage, porch or driveway. Charleston Habitat schedules pickups online in the Charleston area. All three want items in sellable condition, and the Dorchester and Berkeley stores don't take mattresses.

Bottom line

Donate what's sellable first, because a charity pickup costs nothing and shrinks the paid load. Then decide between a dumpster, if you have the people to fill it, and a crew, if you don't. Get quotes priced the same way, by truck space or by item, and ask each company what share of the load it expects to donate.

How do we know this?

We check every rule, address and hour on this page against the official source, and re-check on a schedule. Spot something out of date? Tell us.