How the unit clear works
Stand in the doorway, shoot the room. The flat price comes back in seconds — to whoever's phone is booking, in whatever state they're in.
Lock the window between packed-up and keys-back. For a Sept 1 flip, book by Aug 25 and you choose the slot.
Carried down whatever the stairs are, donation sorted at the truck, receipt to the group chat — and the walkthrough finds bare floors.
What a student unit costs to clear
| Volume / piece | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Most student units — quarter truck | $325 |
| Bigger unit — three-eighths truck | $455 |
| Large shared apartment — half truck | $580 |
| Twin mattress / queen mattress | $111 / $139 |
| Box spring | $124 |
| Futon | $150 |
| Desk / bookshelf | $112 / $97 |
| Mini fridge | $155 |
| TV (medium) | $91 |
| Bagged load — 10 bags | $178 |
| Box lot (per box) | $42 |
$75 minimum; stair carry from any floor and disposal included — no walk-up fee. The $325 unit clear splits to roughly $81 each in a four-person share, less than one bill-back for one abandoned mattress.
The Boston-specific reality
The student belt runs on one calendar: leases end August 31, keys change September 1, and everything not moving out has to disappear in between. The tempting shortcut — the curb — is a worse deal here than anywhere: Massachusetts bans mattresses and CRT screens from the trash, so they'll still be sitting there when the landlord walks through; the famous "Allston Christmas" piles get picked over for the good stuff and rained on within a day; and left-behinds get photographed and billed against the security deposit at the building's hauler rate plus admin. The receipted clear costs less than the deduction, every time.
The units themselves are Boston-shaped too: triple-decker walk-ups with narrow turns (the three-flight carry is included, no fee), chopped-up brownstones off Comm Ave, and the newer Fenway towers where the freight elevator wants a reservation and the management office wants a COI — we handle both at no charge.
Where the student belt turns over
Allston and Brighton are the heart of it — BU and BC territory, the highest-turnover blocks in the city. Mission Hill and Fenway flip with the Northeastern and BU calendars. Cambridge turns over around Harvard and MIT — Central, Inman, the grad-student walk-ups — and Somerville's Davis and Porter Square triple-deckers run on the Tufts cycle. Same flat price in all of them, and we pre-stage crews across the belt for the last week of August.
Who's usually booking
- The group chat — four roommates splitting $325 beats anyone's share of a deposit deduction.
- Parents, remotely — half our September student bookings come from a parent's phone in another state; photo in, receipt back, done.
- The one responsible roommate — clearing the ghost roommate's abandoned room before it costs everyone.
- Student-housing offices & landlords — block-scheduled clears between tenants; see the landlord turnover page.
Where it all goes
A student unit is mostly reusable, and that's the quiet win of booking a pickup over feeding the curb: futons, desks, dressers and mini fridges route to donation with receipts available, mattresses go to recycling (the trash ban means they can't legally go curbside anyway), metal frames to scrap recovery, and electronics to certified e-waste processors. Only the genuine junk is junked.
What student-belt customers say
"Fast, on-time and my junk is gone!"
"Really great service!!! I got Richard and he and his teammate were super friendly, helpful, and efficient. They basically take care of everything for you."
"Communication was excellent, the haulers were so fast and efficient and work so hard. Very grateful for the help today!!"
Student cleanout questions, answered
How much does it cost?
$325 quarter truck clears most student units; $455 three-eighths; $580 half truck. Pieces from $42 (boxes) to $178 (10 bags). $75 minimum, stairs included.
How fast is a clear?
About an hour once we're in the door. During the Sept 1 rush, booked windows beat same-day hopes — book by Aug 25.
Can we split it?
However the group decides — the flat price makes the math easy (~$81 each, four ways, on a $325 clear).
What about the roommate who left stuff?
Cleared with everything else, and cheaper than the deposit bill-back their pile would trigger.
Why not the curb?
MA bans mattresses and CRTs from the trash, rain beats the scavengers to the good stuff, and landlords bill left-behinds against deposits.
Can a parent book and pay?
Yes — fully remote, receipt to whoever paid.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a student apartment cleanout cost in Boston?
Flat truck-fill: a quarter truck at $325 clears most student units, three-eighths $455, half truck $580 for big shared apartments. Pieces price openly: twin mattress $111, futon $150, desk $112, bookshelf $97, mini fridge $155, medium TV $91, ten bags $178, a box lot $42. $75 minimum; the carry down any triple-decker stairs and disposal are included.
Can we split the cost between roommates?
That's the point of the flat price — $325 for the unit splits to about $81 each in a four-person share, and however the group chat decides is fine with us. It's less than one person's share of a typical deposit deduction for a left-behind room.
Can my parents book it from out of state?
Yes — the whole flow is remote. Anyone can send the photo, get the flat quote, book the window and pay from anywhere; the receipt lands wherever the money came from. Half our September student bookings come from a parent's phone.
Why can't we just put everything on the curb?
Massachusetts bans mattresses and CRT screens from the trash, so those will be left sitting there — with your unit's paperwork trail nearby. The rest gets rained on before it gets adopted. And landlords photograph left-behinds and bill them against deposits at their hauler's rate. A receipted pickup is cheaper than the deduction.
When should we book for a September 1 move-out?
By August 25. The Aug 29–Sept 2 windows are the busiest of the year and fill in order; book by the 25th and you pick your slot. Prices are the same either way — there is no September surcharge.
What happens to the furniture?
Sound pieces route to donation partners with receipts available, mattresses go to recycling per the Massachusetts ban, metal frames to scrap, electronics to certified e-waste processors. The good stuff gets a second life instead of a rainy night on the curb.