The basement starts as useful storage. Then it becomes the place you put things you are not ready to deal with. A broken treadmill goes down there. Boxes from the last move follow. Holiday decorations, old furniture, your kids' childhood toys, tools from a project you never finished, a hot water heater from 2009 — it all ends up downstairs. A decade passes. Two. You stop going down there except when the sump pump alarm goes off.
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Basements in Lake County homes are among the most cluttered spaces we encounter. And they are also the easiest to reclaim once you stop trying to do it yourself and call in a crew.
Why Basements Get Out of Control
There is something about a basement that makes it a black hole for household junk. It is out of sight, out of mind. There is no social pressure to keep it clean the way there is for a living room or kitchen. And because it is large, it keeps absorbing things without ever reaching a visible breaking point — until one day you try to walk to the far wall and realize you cannot.
Lake County homeowners deal with an additional layer of challenge: older homes. Much of Willoughby, Mentor, Painesville, and Eastlake was built in the 1950s through 1980s, and those homes have been accumulating stuff for a long time. When estate cleanouts happen, when families sell a home that has been in the family for thirty years, the basement is almost always the hardest part.
The other problem is that basement junk is physically demanding to deal with. Old appliances, furniture, filing cabinets, and equipment are heavy. The stairs are often narrow. The ceiling is low. It is not a fun DIY project, and most people who start it alone give up after a few hours.
What We Haul Out of Basements
Professional basement cleanout in Lake County covers virtually everything you have down there. Here is what a typical job looks like:
- Furniture: old couches, chairs, shelving units, desks, dressers, cabinets, and entertainment centers
- Appliances: refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, water heaters, dehumidifiers, and sump pump equipment
- Exercise equipment: treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, weight benches, and free weights
- Boxes and bins: boxes of old clothes, books, documents, household goods, and mystery items that have not been opened in years
- Tools and hardware: old power tools, hand tools, lumber, hardware bins, and shop equipment
- Holiday decorations: artificial trees, lights, wreaths, and bins of seasonal items you no longer use
- Electronics and e-waste: old televisions, computers, printers, stereo equipment, and tangled cords
- Kids' items: outgrown toys, bikes, play equipment, car seats, and baby gear
- Construction debris: leftover lumber, drywall, flooring, and materials from old projects
- Miscellaneous: everything else that ends up downstairs with no clear category
How the Process Works
Booking a basement cleanout with Evergreen Removal is straightforward. Here is what to expect from start to finish.
Step 1: Free Estimate
Call us at (440) 664-3604 or reach out through the website. Describe what you have — a general sense of how much is down there, any particularly heavy or unusual items, and your timeline. We will give you a price range over the phone or schedule a quick in-person estimate if the job is large enough to warrant it. Either way, the estimate is free and there is no obligation.
Step 2: Schedule Your Pickup
Pick a date that works for you. We offer same-day service when scheduling allows, and can typically get to most Lake County addresses within one to two business days. Morning and afternoon windows are available. You will receive a call when the crew is on the way.
Step 3: We Show Up and Get to Work
The crew arrives, walks through the basement with you, and confirms what is leaving. You point, we carry. You do not need to move anything, bag anything, or organize anything in advance. We work efficiently and carefully — we are not rushing through your home, we are doing the job right.
Step 4: Everything Goes in the Truck
Every item gets loaded onto our truck. We do not leave you with a pile at the curb or make you deal with a bin pickup. When the crew leaves, your basement is clear.
Step 5: Eco-Friendly Disposal
We sort everything after pickup. Furniture and household goods in usable condition go to donation centers. Metal and appliances go to recyclers. Electronics go to certified e-waste facilities. We minimize what ends up in a landfill because responsible disposal is part of how we operate.
What Does a Basement Cleanout Cost in Lake County?
Most residential basement cleanouts in Lake County fall between $150 and $600, depending on how much needs to go. The pricing is volume-based — what fraction of the truck gets filled.
| Amount of Junk | Estimated Price | |---|---| | A few items (small load) | $100 – $175 | | Quarter truck (light basement clutter) | $175 – $275 | | Half truck (moderate basement) | $275 – $400 | | Three-quarter truck (full basement) | $375 – $525 | | Full truck load | $500 – $700 |
Heavy items like appliances, exercise equipment, or full furniture sets may add to the total due to the labor involved in getting them up the stairs. We will tell you upfront if there are any additional charges — no surprises at the end.
The estimate is always free. For most jobs you will have a firm price before we start.
Same-Day Service Available
We know that sometimes a cleanout cannot wait. A home goes on the market. A family member is moving in. The flooding from last week's storm made the clutter impossible to work around. Whatever the urgency, Evergreen Removal offers same-day basement cleanout service throughout Lake County when scheduling allows.
Call us in the morning and we can often have a crew out the same afternoon. That is not something you can get from a dumpster rental, and it is definitely not something you can pull off on your own in a single day.
Why Not Just Do It Yourself?
The DIY basement cleanout is one of the most common projects Lake County homeowners start and do not finish. It is not for lack of motivation — it is because basements are genuinely hard to clean out alone.
Consider what it actually takes: you need to carry heavy items up narrow basement stairs, load them into a truck or trailer, make multiple trips to a transfer station or donation center, sort electronics from regular waste, figure out what to do with appliances, and still have enough energy to deal with the dozens of smaller items in between. That is a full weekend — or more — of hard physical labor for a single person.
Professional crews do this every day. They work fast, they know how to move heavy items through tight spaces without damaging your walls or the items themselves, and they handle every step of disposal so you do not have to make a single trip to the dump.
Most people who hire us say the same thing: the cost was worth it for the time alone, and they wish they had called sooner.
Serving All of Lake County
Evergreen Removal provides basement cleanout services throughout Lake County, Ohio including:
- Mentor — one of our busiest service areas, including ranch homes with fully loaded basements
- Painesville — older homes and estate cleanouts with decades of accumulation
- Willoughby — our home base, fast response times throughout
- Eastlake — waterfront and lakefront homes often with large basements
- Wickliffe — residential cleanouts and move-out jobs
- Chardon — rural and semi-rural properties with large quantities of tools and equipment
- Madison — township and village homes with large storage needs
- Perry — eastern Lake County residents served without extra fees
Get Your Basement Back
Your basement is usable square footage. Whether you want to finish it, use it as a workshop, set up a home gym, or simply be able to walk through it without tripping, the first step is getting the junk out.
Evergreen Removal makes that step easy. One call, one visit, and the space is clear. We handle the heavy lifting, the hauling, and the disposal — all you have to do is show us what goes.
Call (440) 664-3604 or visit evergreenremoval.com to schedule your free estimate. Same-day service is available throughout Lake County, Ohio.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Basement Cleanout in Lake County, Ohio
Q: How much does a basement cleanout cost in Lake County? A: Most basement cleanouts in Lake County run $150–$600, depending on how full the basement is. Pricing is volume-based — a light basement with a few pieces of furniture and some boxes runs $175–$275. A heavily loaded basement with appliances, exercise equipment, and decades of accumulated items may run $400–$600 or more. Heavy specialty items like safes, pianos, or large appliances add to the cost due to the labor involved on narrow stairs. Estimates are always free.
Q: Do I need to be home during the basement cleanout? A: It's helpful but not required. You need to be present for the initial walkthrough so we confirm exactly what's leaving versus what stays. After that, you're welcome to go about your day. Many customers step out while we work and return to a clear space. If you can't be there at all, we can coordinate with a family member or trusted contact who can do the initial walkthrough.
Q: How long does a full basement cleanout take? A: A moderately filled basement typically takes one crew 2–4 hours from arrival to completion. A heavily loaded basement — appliances, exercise equipment, decades of boxes — may take 4–6 hours with a full crew. We work efficiently and don't drag out jobs unnecessarily. If you call in the morning with a same-day request, we can usually have you cleared out before dinner.
Q: Does Evergreen Removal donate or recycle basement items? A: Yes. After pickup, we sort everything at our facility. Furniture and household goods in usable condition go to donation centers in Lake County. Metal and appliances go to recyclers. Electronics and e-waste go to certified e-waste facilities. We minimize what ends up in a landfill. If you have items you specifically want donated — and they're in reasonable condition — let us know and we'll flag them during the walkthrough.
Need Help With This?
Evergreen Removal handles all junk removal and cleanouts in Lake County. Let us do the heavy lifting while you relax.