A dumpster is a pretty expensive way to go for decluttering and I don't recommend it. We use it for throwing away the old drywall, cement, etc.
Just set up trash containers in the house (I just bought brand new ones, lined them with trash bags and labeled each--toss, donate, save)
When donate is full ---take immediately to the nearest salvation army or other charity. Otherwise, you may be tempted to rethink your gift. The toss bag goes out with the weekly trash collection.
the dumpsters are arranged through the commercial trash companies.

I just wanted to add that for us with pay-per-bag town trash collection, it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to rent a dumpster.

In our yellow pages, they are listed under trash removal or refuse or dumpsters. They come in various sizes and rent by the week or by the month. In our town, the homeowner has to have a dumpster permit ($50/month) to have one on the street. We have alleys but dumpsters aren't allowed in the alley. Shop around because different places do charge different prices.

I encouraged my friend to use a dumpster just because she was stuck and needed some quick relief. We can pay for extra trash pick-up, but that would take breaking things down, being responsible for having it all ready to do the night before trash pick-up and making time for several weeks to get it all gone. All of the things they found overwhelming in the first place. We had already been decluttering the inside of the house for five months and were putting out 10 large bags a week, not even counting all of the trips to the thrift stores.

Our trash bags are also limited to weight, so things like books and magazines can add up to lots of bags really fast. My friend filled three small dumpsters for around $250. It would have cost her that much to have tried to load her van and do dumping station drop-offs. Plus, you have to decide how much your time is worth. She just didn't have time to do that for a solid week. And last, but not least, due to all of the clothing and cardboard which had piled up in her garage and shed, we were dealing with a shrew infestation. Hard to make yourself put small amounts of those messes in bags, but the dumpster worked out fine.

Look under waste management, solid waste, garbage pick-up, etc. Check out names and phone # on any dumpsters you see at stores. They deal with cubic yards, which I had a hard time visualizing, so ask for measurements of the dumpsters. Our smaller ones are flat fees with four pick-ups for a month. Large one (like construction) are done by weight.

We used them for construction here, but I really wish I had just gone ahead and gotten a small one at the old house. We had lots of odd shaped items which ended up hard to get rid of and all of the extra effort was not worth the time I had to use.

Gloria

I should add that while we were remodeling--we found that having a guy with a truck pick the stuff up and take it to the dump was lots cheaper. We also did have a dumpster on the job site for bulky stuff. l would guess that diferent communities have various rules for trash. My daughter in law has to carefully arrange their cardboard, and they roll paper stuff.\
We have to separate our trash; trees & grass, and recyclables.
marge

People use dumpsters here also, as getting rid of stuff (at the dump) by the pound would cost WAY more. And, when you factor in the price of gas and your time.... it really is a no-brainer here!

Our neighborhood once got a HUGE one that all dues-paying members could use for free one Saturday. You should have seen all the JUNK that left my neighborhood....

We get dumpsters through our regular county waste management system. They cost $60 to rent. So I'd call your city/county trash organization first, and see if they have a similar setup.

The other thing I've looked at is 1800gotjunk.com, but they're a lot more expensive.

I got a dumpster earlier this year when I cleaned out my garage and I would do it again in heartbeat! The best part was the liberating feeling as I flung junk into it. For a packrat like me, it really encouraged me to get rid of stuff. And because the inside of the thing was, shall we say a tad scuzzy, I had absolutely no second thoughts about jumping in to retrieve anything I had thrown in...

Where do most people get their dumpters and how much do they cost? How do you get rid of the stuff you put into it...do you haul it off yourself or someone that you rented it from does it? Curious....thanks.

See the above posts for where to look in the phone book. The company which owns the dumpster hauls it off and dumps it. Price is usually based on weight on the bigs ones. It might be a flat fee on the small ones. The prices will vary a lot based on where you live. The companies are really good to answer questions if you tell them what you are trying to do. They realize that an individual doesn't rent a dumpster all of the time and might not know the drill.

Gloria

Leibrook,

Lots of people have offered suggestions on the dumpster, but I'd like to offer suggestions on the guilt part.

1. Try to stop feeling guilty about what you have versus what other people have. My husband is getting ready for his third trip as a volunteer for Katrina clean-up, and NOT ONE PERSON has blamed you for the hurricane. There will always be people who have more or less that what you and I have.

2. You sound like you would like to match up people who need clothing with the clothing you don't need. You can try www.freecycle.com if it's in your area. Or, just pack up the clothing and give it to a thrift store or charity or church rummage sale whatever. Let the people who need it find it there--they aren't going to find the clothing while it's packed in boxes in your garage. Feel good that you shared, and don't think of it as a missed garage sale opportunity. Remember, a garage sale would just be another thing to do on an already long list of things to do.

3. Try to refine your definition of "treasure". You might treasure your high school yearbook, but do you treasure your old math book? Just because something was a part of your life, doesn't mean it has to hang around forever. Also, anything from the past that makes you feel bad needs to go in the dumpster right away. Flylady helped me with that one--all the unfinished projects that I felt guilty about went to the curb in a hefty bag. What a relief that was!

4. A "treasure" is not meant to be stored in the attic. Family heirlooms (whether they have monetary value or not) are treasures if they bring back happy memories when you see them, and you won't see them in the attic. Display them with pride in your home, and share the stories behind them with your guests.

5. What did you give away before that you missed? Could it be replaced? If, for example, I had 2 extra serving dishes, and one used to be Grandma's, I would keep Grandma's (sentimental woman that I am) and give away the others. The day might come that I would NEED an extra serving dish for a party and wish I hadn't given away the extras, but I could buy new ones at the dollar store, or borrow from a neighbor, with no trouble.

6. Remember that de-cluttering can be a ongoing process. Some decisions are easier than others. You can clean out the same box five times before the box is empty. It took me forever to eventually give up all the Tupperware that I loved in theory but NEVER used.

7. Don't consider what you paid for something as a reason to keep it. There's no point in keeping a $50 waffle iron if you don't make waffles, and there's no point in keeping a $200 coat if it doesn't fit--the $200 is already spent so let the coat go.

7. Use your new house as an opportunity to "upgrade" the look of your new home. For instance, ask yourself, "Do I really want that ugly old throw pillow in my NEW living room?" or "Do I really want to clutter up my NEW kitchen with those awful cannisters Aunt Helen gave us for a wedding gift?".

8. Avoid keeping things "just in case". Like extra blankets "just in case" one wears out. Or an extra hairdryer "just in case" the other one breaks. Or extra dishes "just in case" you ever have 40 people for dinner (honestly don't most of us just use disposable plates now for big parties, or is it just me? LOL).

9. (This was a hard one for me...) Don't save things "for good" and use the "bad" stuff instead. Enjoy using your "good" towels, enjoy using your "good" dishes, etc.

10. It is OK to have empty storage areas in the new house. One more time: It is OK to have empty storage areas in the new house. Just because you have space to keep something doesn't mean you need to keep it. You will LOVE the feel of open areas, and you will learn to love opening a closet without having to duck. LOL You will love having closets where ALL the clothes fit, and you will love having kitchen cabinets that contain only the items that you use regularly. You will love seeing your treasures displayed, and you'll love knowing your attic is empty except for the dust.

Best wishes for a happy new home!
Julie

We rented a dumpster when we did big remodeling projects in our kitchen and bath. used for the construction debris mostly. got it thrpough the yellow pages (Dumpster/garbage collection,etc) and it cost a couple hundred dollars for a week. i felt free to throw in bags of household garbage, broken "stuff' etc. But I wouldn't recommend it for clearing "clutter". i still have clutter and I find sneaking it out with our regular garbage is best. First, give what you can to friends and neighbors. Donate what you can. Salvation Army ,Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul will send trucks to you but are very picky about what they will take. when we donated, They wouldn't take anything electrical (sewing machine, lamps,etc) nor wicker nor fabric (afraid of bedbugs?). Hold a garaage sale or estate sale if you have big cluttery furniture,, clothing, toys,baby items, etc. Books are hard to get rid of. Most libraries don't want book donations. I was lucky, I've found donation bins for books, clothing and shoes, as well as a second hand store (a pet charity) that will take just about any gently used items. Anyhow, good luck with your clutter. Use my method-if it's smallish, sneak it in with your regular trash. Use black lawn-leaf bags if you must. Stores like Home Depot and Lowes sell "Contractor bags" that are essenttially big heavy plastic bags. And remember what my mother in law told me about clutter : "Once it's gone, you never have to deal with it or clean it or think about it again." This is the MIL from He// who used to actually throw out the Christmas gifts I gave her. Yeah,right!

Jannie, I am sure they took care of it already as the OP posted FIVE years ago...