Good news: a professional garage cleanout requires almost no prep — that's the point of hiring one. But 30 minutes of thinking before the crew arrives makes the walkthrough faster and the result sharper. Here's the checklist we wish every customer had.
The Night Before (20 minutes)
- Do a mental lap, not a physical one. Walk the garage once and answer one question per zone: "If this disappeared tonight, would I replace it?" No = it goes. You don't need to touch anything.
- Pull the irreplaceables. Photos, documents, jewelry, anything with a story. Put them in one box inside the house. Crews stage "not sure" items for your call, but the truly precious shouldn't be in the sorting flow at all.
- Check pockets, drawers and boxes you plan to discard. Once a dresser is on the truck, whatever's inside it is gone. Two minutes per piece of furniture.
- Flag the heavy stuff. Anything over ~150 lbs (safe, piano, shop equipment) should be disclosed at booking so the crew brings the right gear.
The Morning Of (10 minutes)
- Move the cars to the street or the far side of the driveway — the truck needs to back close to the garage door.
- Contain pets. An open garage door for two hours plus an open gate is a dog-escape scenario. Plan for it.
- Know your keep-verdict style. Fast deciders finish walkthroughs in 5 minutes. If you're sentimental, that's fine too — just decide in advance who has the final vote in your household. (Crews stay diplomatically neutral. Always.)
- Have a parking goal. Tell the crew what the garage is for: parking the SUV, a workshop corner, a gym. Every zoning decision flows from that answer.
What NOT to Do
- Don't pre-clean. Sweeping before a cleanout is like doing dishes before the dishwasher installer comes.
- Don't buy storage products yet. Most garages already own more bins and shelves than they use — you'll see what you actually need after the reset.
- Don't haul anything yourself. You booked muscle. Save your back.
- Don't schedule anything for the same morning. The job takes two hours, but you'll want ten minutes at the end to walk it, grin, and take your own photos.
That's it. Thirty minutes of prep, two hours of crew time, and the garage that's been on your list for years is off it. Book your slot here — and if you're curious how the two hours actually run, read How It Works.
About Sort Squad: garage cleaning and organization — two pros, one truck, two hours, $699 flat, everywhere in South Florida. Doors up. Junk gone. Book online here.