Young House Love

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How We Liked Renting A Bagster Dumpster

So. My basement workshop. I owned up to how messy it was a few months ago.

Basement 2 Overall Mess

Then building Clara’s dollhouse prompted me to tidy it up a smidge – as in, look you can actually see some of the floor.

DHouse 1 Clean Basement

And then the deck happened and it all went to crap again. A big sawdusty, scrap wood cluttered pile of it.

Bagster 1 Basement Messy

But I made a promise to myself that once the deck was done I was going to take care of this issue once and for all. And I’m happy to report that after many hours, many calls, and some serious scrap-wood-carrying, some major progress has been made.

Bagster 9 Basement Clean

My secret? The Bagster. I walked by it enough times at Home Depot that I just decided to buy it and give it a try (so if this sounds like a Bagster ad, I promise it isn’t).

Bagster 2 John At Home Depot

The clutter was starting to give me anxiety and get in the way of doing new projects so it just. had. to. go. Bagster is basically a dumpster – just a cheaper, smaller, baggier form of one. So yes, after months of trying to decide how best to reuse or recycle my scrap wood pile, I just:

  • kept the stuff that I thought would be useful for future projects
  • gave everything else that I could to anyone else who would take it (free-scrap-wood ads on freecycle and craigslist worked for some of it, as well as contacting the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and a local wood-collection/pallet place – but there were still tons of scraps that no one wanted – even for free)
  • finally set my eco-induced guilt aside and decided to just Bagster the stuff that no one else would take (some of it was old and rotted anyway)
Bagster 3 Bag At Home

The bag itself was a $29 purchase and once folded it out, it promised to hold 3 cubic yards and up to 3,300 lbs. Assuming you don’t want their big trash truck on your driveway, you have to put the bag within 16 feet of the street (either on your yard or driveway) so that the truck’s crane can still reach it.

Bagster 4 John Folding Out

I have to admit, we both thought it looked kinda small once it was all folded out. We started to wonder if it would even hold all of the old rotting pallets that we wanted to get rid off, let alone my leftover deck scraps.

Bagster 5 Folded Out

It certainly didn’t help when our first piece of scrap (the rotting railing to our old balcony) was nearly too long to fit.

Bagster 6 Putting Railing In

But the railing fit and from there we just started piling other scrap in. By the end of the afternoon, the bag was pretty much at capacity. But the yellow straps could still touch (which are the rules) so I wasn’t worried about them rejecting my bag for pick-up. Although I was a bit worried that it would break when they tried to pick it up and I’d have wood scraps spilled across my driveway…

Bagster 8 Full

Once it was full I logged onto the Bagster website to schedule my pick-up. You tell them the first weekday it’s ready and they promise to send a truck within three business days. The pick-up fee differs depending on where you live, but for our county it was around $100. But thanks to a $20 off coupon code I found by Googling, our cost was only around $80 (not including the $29 for the original bag purchase). But compared to the $300 – $400 estimates that I got for a traditional dumpster, paying around 110 beans felt like a steal (I couldn’t have even rented a truck for the afternoon and paid the dumping fee for all that wood for that price). Plus, look at the awesome curb appeal (not).

Bagster 10 In Front Of House

Thankfully less than 48 hours after filling the bag, this big green Waste Management truck pulled up to take the eyesore away. We didn’t have to be home for the pick-up (the guy didn’t say a word to me), but I’m glad we were so I could capture the excitement / witness the potential disaster of wood raining down on us from a ripped bag.

Bagster 11 Truck Arriving

Out came the truck’s crane and the gentleman hooked up its strap to the two yellow handles on my bag.

Bagster 12 Hooking Up

And then up it went! No ripping whatsoever. It was awesome to see our car-sized container of wood get hoisted up like it was full of foam.

Bagster 13 In The Air

I managed to capture a little bit of the “action” on video. If you listen really carefully you might even be able to hear me holding my breath as it becomes airborne.

This was both literally and metaphorically a huge weight lifted off of me. Some of those rotten pallets (left outside for over a year by the old owners) have been taking up usable space in my basement for a while, and it’s downright invigorating just to have them out of my way. In fact, this may just be the beginning of a little basement organization / makeover project I’ve been dying to get to. Does anyone smell a man cave? Update: And by man cave I mean place-I-can-cut-wood-and-blast-manly-music (no lounge chair and TV or anything…).

Bagster 9 Basement Clean

Have you guys tried out The Bagster? Did it look super small at first (until you packed it to the gills)? Do you have another preferred method of removing renovation or project messes from your house? Sometimes we wish we had a big truck for these random occasions, but then we remember we’d have to pay for it, insure it, and gas it up (a daunting concept for us since we actually get a lot of our reno budget from only having to insure/gas one small car). We’ve decided the ideal situation would be a rich neighbor with a nice big truck that they’re happy to loan us in return for homemade cookies. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Comments

  2. Kate says

    I’ve been interested in using bagster for a few house projects but heard there can be issues with power lines. Did you guys have any trouble?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No issues! They’re on the other side of the street but they seem high enough from the pics that they wouldn’t have interfered on our street. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

    • Nicki says

      I have very low power lines in my alley and there was no problem lifting the bag up and out of the small space they had, basically a one car lane and power pole next to them.

  3. Kelly says

    I have seen this at our local stores and been tempted to try it. Off to look up pricing for our area. We had waste removal once and it cost about $275 so I’m thinking the Bagster may be in our future.

    Reply

  4. Rebecca B. says

    Wow, great to get that load off (bahahaha!) and see those bags in action. I’ve never heard of them but I know if we have a need I’ll feel confident to use the Bagster. And you made it look so easy!

    Reply

  5. Jen says

    Nice job and can’t wait to see how the space turns out in the future! We love The Bagster and have used it twice so far. The first time we used it was for our kitchen remodel and it really was surprising to see how much it held. The second time we used it was for our laundry room demo/backyard limb cleanup. Again, worked like a charm. Can’t wait to see you at the local book signing and thanks for making Richmond shine!

    Reply

  7. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    We’ve been considering the Bagster! Since we’re demoing the backyard (and thus have tons of concrete, wood, and faux facia stone) we’ve been afraid that it would a. be too small and b. not be able to carry the ginormous load we’d pile in there.

    Maybe we’ll give it a try. Do you think it could handle being full of concrete instead of pallets? Is there a weight limit?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’m not sure- maybe check their site for the weight limit! It sounds like people use it for kitchen/bathroom renos a lot, so it’s probably fulled with lots of heavy stuff. Here’s hoping it works!

      xo
      s

    • Monica says

      Hey Jess,
      I have used the bagster twice, once for the removal of a deck and the other was to remove a TON (maybe not literally) of dirt from a patio project as well as some busted up concrete from a sidewalk. For the patio project I did have to get two bags to fit everything (and because I was getting a little worried about the weight, I mean really who can eyeball weight, not this girl). Despite a fear that and I would receive a knock on my back door from the pickup guys informing me it was too heavy, they took everything!! No issues at all. After that I’m pretty sold on the sturdiness of the bags. Even at two bags it was cheaper for me than a dumpster (I’m in Minneapolis). Good luck!!

    • Amanda says

      Would the monthly Dallas bulk pick up not cover your needs? Are there limitations on bulk pick up?

  8. Taya says

    Way to go, John! My husband and I are also currently trying to tackle our basement which is filled with all sorts of things from tools, to paint, to our bikes (we live in a condo with no garage/outside storage), lots of unpacked wedding gifts, and other random odds and ends of life!

    Reply

  11. Kate D says

    I actually just used the Bagster myself for a kitchen remodel. I was gutting the whole thing (old cabinets, countertops, floor – everything) and used the Bagster. I agree that at first it looks kind of small; I started to wonder if I’d need 2 but in the end everything fit perfectly in one! Kind of like Mary Poppins’ purse.

    Reply

  12. Ana says

    Thanks for writing about these bags. I’ve got a pile of scraps from a home renovation and have gotten high quotes for dumpstering it. Wasn’t sure if the process would be as easy as it sounded, but now I think I’ll follow your example. Thanks, John!

    Reply

  14. sarah W says

    We used the bagster while redoing our basement, but we would buy the initial bag, then have a local contractor pick it up and take it away for half the price of the real bagster people. It worked great and they always came within a few hours.

    Reply

  15. Julia @ Chris Loves Julia says

    We have always wondered about these! We don’t have a workshop, so most of our reno-crap goes in the garage until we can find a way to get rid of it. We have filled (and unfilled) our garage twice already. And I mean FILLED with renovation debris. Mostly insulation and drywall and old, wet carpet. Yuck. Luckily, the last time my mom was in town, she was just as eager as I was to get the garage emptied and now we can park in it again!!

    http://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2012/07/that-dirty-secret-of-garage-has-been.html

    We only have one car ourselves (a Camry) but I think there are FOUR families in our cul-de-sac with pickups. Happily to help us out in exchange for cookies, gas money, a dinner party–we like to offer up choices. :)

    Reply

  16. Nicholin says

    We’ve thought of trying The Bagster, but they don’t have it available in our area. :-( But we take tons of things to Restore. Your basement is looking much more spiffy. Good on you!

    Reply

  18. Ariane says

    Good and gone ! Do you get the bag back or do you have to buy another one for next time ? I’m emptying a small barn on the edge of our property and I’ve been driving back and forth to the dumpster quite a few times lately to get rid of everything. I could write a book with what I found in there :) take care !

    Reply

  19. Beth @ BandBBuildALife.com says

    ….no. I’m pretty sure most ladies would prefer NOT to ‘smell’ a man cave. ;) But it would be a sweet project to tackle! I like to think of the bagsters as just really big versions of the blue Ikea bags…. which are also, in my experiences, indestructable. (Seriously, Ikea Bags are fantastic moving tools!)

    Reply

    • Kaitlin says

      My dad has used wood pegboard for years to organize his work tool shop, his personal workshop, the mudroom (all his various coats), and the laundry room to hang mops, brooms, etc. You can buy different kinds of hooks and rearrange things without hassle.

    • Callina says

      My husband uses pegboards to store all his tools–one thing I thought was cool was that he set them all up on the pegboard like he wanted to and then traced each tool with a Sharpie so he would know where it goes when he wants to put it back.

    • NYer says

      Julia Child’s was famous for the mapped pegboard in her kitchen to keep her pots organized (on display at the Smithsonian!)

  21. Tirsa says

    I had not heard of the Bagster before. Thanks so much for the info! The hubs will be very glad to hear about it. We rented a dumpster and completely filled it with some of our remodeling garbage and a lot of stuff left by the previous owners. However, we still have some things we need to get rid of. Although with the bagster being able to hold so much, DH might just want to include some of my stuff…

    Yep, your basement looks so much better. I won’t tell you what ours looks like. It might make you feel so good, you might stop working on yours. :-)

    Reply

  23. LauraC says

    I still can’t get over how much monkey grass you have – even after I know you have torn up so much of it! Good job on the clean up, I know that feels so good.

    Reply

  25. Joy Franks says

    All I could think of while looking at that big pile of scrap was, “FIREWOOD”! Basement looks nice and tidy already. I’ve always wondered about Bagster but we wouldn’t be able to get service on our little island. There’s lots of conveniences we don’t have here but that’s what makes it special.

    Reply

  26. Becca says

    Welp, that was interesting…but more importantly, I wanted to say that you guys are wonderful! I know this isn’t the right post to do this…but I can’t WAIT for you to come to Chicago! I think my roommate and I are going to have to make a road trip…. :)

    Reply

  27. Sarah says

    We’ve used the Bagster for a couple of projects and have been so impressed! It holds way more than you think it will. We put ours in our driveway, which is in the back of our house, adjacent to an alley. The Waste Management truck has to come down the alley & navigate low power/cable lines and seems to handle it just fine. Impressive!

    Reply

  29. Emma (Broke Ass Home) says

    I hadn’t even thought of a bagster! We have so many scraps of wood left over from the entertainment center. I don’t know if we have enough to justify it yet, but certainly soon. Thanks for the idea guys!

    Reply

  30. Erica says

    Wow I can’t believe how much cheaper bagster is in your area. In my area it is cheaper to get a dumpster from another company than WM than purchasing the bagster. I think one important thing about the bagster is to make sure it can all go in one bag. I had several friends in my area end up needing two bags and calling to get a dumpster anyways.

    Reply

  31. Kate says

    We’ve used these several times, really like them. However, I think our pick up fee was more like $150, so not quite as cheap, but still better than a traditional dumpster!

    Reply

  32. Maureen says

    What an improvement! And wow, do I totally feel you on this. I am also a victim of the eco-induced guilt. My scrap pile isn’t quite as bad as what you had, but I always have the mentality of “I may be able to use this later instead of it sitting in a landfill”. This inevitably leads to clutter. I, too, have decided to get over my guilt and de-junk the house once and for all. I can’t wait til we are done! I am definitely going to check this out! I am wondering, though, is WM your regular garbage company? Or do you have someone else?

    Reply

  34. Brenda says

    I’ve never even heard of the bagster. Great idea! Incidentally, I’ve been wondering for awhile how tall the basement room is. It seems so short, and John’s a tall guy. Does he have to stoop when he’s in there?

    Reply

  37. Elissa says

    We used Bagster twice just last year while we demoed our kitchen and bathroom. We had concrete/plaster walls that we broke down and dumped into it with no problem. It was really convenient for us as we ran into an issue that had us delayed in completing the job. We didn’t have to worry about having a dumpster picked up or costing us more because we still needed it for two weeks more than planned. We just called when we were ready. I highly recommend for smaller projects like ours.

    Reply

  38. Laurie says

    Looks like a great way to get rid of stuff. I keep accumulating junk in my garage just like your basement. Each project fills it back up. As for the man cave, you’re too good a wood worker to give up the “shop” as my Dad calls his. You’ll just have to hang a TV in the corner and protect it from the sawdust!

    Reply

  41. Jennifer says

    We used two bagsters for all the debris from our bedroom reno a few months ago. Think of several walls worth of plaster, wood framing and that awful chicken wire mesh. Fortunately, we’re allowed one free special pick-up per year from our city, so we didn’t actually pay WM to come and get the bagsters. They definitely hold a lot, though!

    Reply

  44. Paula says

    We just bought our first house, and while looking around on the waste management website for our trash pickup day I found our city offers FREE renovation waste pickup. You just call them, they add you to the schedule, and come pick up whatever you have by your driveway. We have done it twice, and they picked up ~35 huge contractors bags each time. (We gutted our entire kitchen, so had a ton of drywall and rotted subfloor, among other things.) It was amazing! We did have to cut some wood down to fit it into contractors bags, but it was such an great service, I will never complain about my property taxes! =)

    Reply

  45. Carly G says

    that is a really nifty idea! Glad it worked out without spilling. I like the new Clara/Burger picture on your banner too!!

    Reply

  46. Melissa G says

    We were so lucky when we had our floors redone! A friend of my husband’s works for a junk hauling place, so he came by, we slipped him a $50 and he took all of our old flooring away (over 450 sq ft of tile and marmoleum and plywood). He even loaded it for us in the junk hauling truck. Only way to go:)

    Reply

  47. Renee says

    You obviously know your house better than we, and you are certainly entitled to some individual space, but don’t you need the basement space for your equipment and projects?

    Reply

  48. Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says

    That’s pretty cool. We have no garage or basement so we are storing all of our extra wood pieces in a guest bedroom. Thankfully though our town doesn’t charge for construction debris dumping at our local dump. And we have tons of trucking friends that always either let us borrow their truck or their trailers to haul stuff, move stuff, or bring home oversized bought stuff.

    My best, Lynn
    *I love how you guys are trying to just move on and act like yesterdays announcements didn’t happen and that we are all back to normal again. Cause we’re not. I’m still perma-smiling…

    Reply

  49. Chad says

    We just fill up our truck, drive to the dump and unload all for $0 (even the gas is minimal, we live in a small community and it takes us 5 minutes max to get to the landfill). So paying to have your trash hauled off is a foreign concept to me. I had never heard of the bagster and wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t even service our area, which is the case with a lot of services when you live in a rural community. But I do think it is impressive that you filled up a bag that big from scraps from your basement! Can’t wait to see what you do to that space!

    Reply

  50. Meg says

    The bagster is amazing! When we demoed our bathroom, we picked up one of these and it worked really well. It was nice since it could sit as long as we wanted it too, without feeling the pressure with having a dumpster. But I will say, since we live in the city on a dead end with our neighbors car right next to the bagster, it was interesting! The truck had to back up and basically lift it OVER our neighbors car. It was incredibly scary and we were praying nothing would fall out/break!

    Reply

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