So. My basement workshop. I owned up to how messy it was a few months ago.
Then building Clara’s dollhouse prompted me to tidy it up a smidge – as in, look you can actually see some of the floor.
And then the deck happened and it all went to crap again. A big sawdusty, scrap wood cluttered pile of it.
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.
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).
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)
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.
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.
It certainly didn’t help when our first piece of scrap (the rotting railing to our old balcony) was nearly too long to fit.
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…
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).
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.
Out came the truck’s crane and the gentleman hooked up its strap to the two yellow handles on my bag.
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.
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…).
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?
Jenna says
Thank you for sharing this!!! My husband and I are exposing a brick wall in our home and this is could be the perfect disposal solution…up until this point we’ve just been dumping little bits at a time in the various dumpsters in our alley which is probably not the best way to do handle it! ha!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, so glad!
xo
s
heidi says
Missed opportunity for a couple of nice bonfires with friends! At least it’s out of the way though.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, we’re actually not allowed to burn stuff in our county! Too close to city lines I guess!
xo
s
Dlichten says
FYI – Home Depot has metal pegboard in classic and powder coated in awesome bright colors. Makes me wish I had a workshop!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s fun!
xo
s
Kearney says
if you lived here in NC i would so let you guys borrow one of my husband’s trucks to haul stuff. it’s not your most eco-friendly mode of disposal but we burnt our old kitchen cabinets in the backyard fire barrel when we recently did our reno. charlotte does have bulky item pick up, you just have to call to schedule. it’s “free” thanks to the $$$ we pay in city taxes.
Rebeca says
We used and loved it. It works well. I was not there for pick up so your video was interesting. We cleaned our basement and it fit everything in.
Christy Niebaum says
Ohhhh! We’ve been wanting to try this, but weren’t sure how it would work out.
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) says
What a great service! I really needed that years ago when we tore out our poorly remodeled basement to redo it. Thanks for sharing the video!
Megan says
We never have used the Bagster but we did rent a dumpster for our gut job of our entire upstairs a few years ago. It wasn’t all that much and we even rented the biggest we could get and still filled it up. It’s amazing how nice it feels to get rid of stuff. Speaking of, I need to continue my purge for our next demo! Here’s a shot of what we rented while doing our upstairs demo – http://thebrickbungalow.blogspot.com/2010/12/upstairs-pictures.html We got rid of a lot of left over junk from previous homeowners (wouldn’t it be nice if they did that before selling the house?!) and of course, everything from the demo.
YoungHouseLove says
That must have felt amazing!
xo,
s
Rebecca A. says
No TV in the workshop? When I was in high school my dad added an old TV (circa 1980s) and an old stereo system to the garage workshop. He would have football/baseball games on while he worked. Even if he wasn’t watching, he could hear the game or see the replays.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome.
xo,
s
Sara says
We used the bagster for our kitchen renovation. We ended up filling it up with broken up tile and plywood and had to buy a second one! Luckily our trash pickup charges a much lower fee if you have two Bagsters picked up at once. I think it was around $40 for the first and $20 for the second.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome!
xo,
s
LauraCinIndy says
I’ve always wondered why you didn’t have a truck. You’d be surprised how wonderful it is to own one. There’s nothing we can’t haul and a full load at our local landfill is only about $28.00. It may be worth the insurance etc just for the freedom it would allow. Off topic..bummer you’re not coming to Indy for book signing! But congrats!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We have definitely considered it, but even paying for a Bagster and borrowing John’s sister’s SUV a few times a year is a lot more affordable for us than buying a truck and paying for insurance and gas. We did the math and it’s sadly not even close.
xo,
s
Kate says
Strangely enough, I just saw a bagster commercial last night and thought to myself “I wonder if John and Sherry have ever tried one??” It must’ve been foreshadowing
YoungHouseLove says
No way! I didn’t know they had commercials! So funny.
xo,
s
Kate says
I glanced thru the comments but didn’t read in depth so forgiveness please if this is a duplicate question. Why didn’t you burn the wood scraps? Is it not allowed ion your city? A little fire pit action would have gotten that pile gone for free!
Good to know though about the bagster, my mil is working on cleaning up some property, will def need a dumpster or some trash service.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, not allowed in our county.
xo,
s
Rebecca M says
We used a bagster when we gutted our bathroom.It was awesome! We left it in the driveway and a few days later they dragged our stuff out. The drywall and wetbed and all sorts of hazardous stuff was all taken with them. It was a little more costly here in NJ, but totally worth it!
Katie Sooy says
My husband’s version of your basement is his “man trench” AKA our side yard. Hidden from the majority of the back yard, his man trench is HUGE and full of sawdust, power tools, saw horses, wire, firewood, sheds, mowers, and the occasional empty newcastle bottle. You name a man item, and it has found it’s way to his man trench. By far my favorite part though, the fact that there are 7 left-handed gloves out there…what ever happend to a pair? My husband always manages to lose his right glove. Oh how I love him!!! =)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo,
s
Leah says
That’s a cool concept, I wonder what they do with the bags afterwards? Half the world away, for us getting a “skip” seems to be a lot cheaper, while I can’t recall exactly what it costs, we have had massive ones and it’s never clocked over to $200. I love getting a skip and having a good tidy up!
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone know what they do with the bag after? Maybe they recycle it and use it again? I know you don’t get to keep it since its so full when they come for the pickup.
xo,
s
Lena says
I was actually wondering the same thing. lol I’m willing to bet they make a killing by reselling those bags.
Addie says
Please tell me Clara was awake when they picked up the Bagster! That kind of truck coming right to your house is a toddler’s dream come true!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes she loved it!
xo,
s
julia says
the ads for the bagster looked too good to be true – so happy you tried it and it worked! amazing idea, whoever came up with it.
xo julesinflats.com
lauren says
What a difference in how your basement looks.
Lana says
Couldn’t you just have a big bonfire?!? :) Like the big bag though! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s actually not allowed in our county!
xo
s
Allison says
Not only do we have a big truck (hubs is a truck guy, what can I say), but my in-laws have several trucks. One has a hydraulic lift gate so you can lower the gate to the ground and wheel something like a fridge onto it and just pull the level to raise it up to bed height.
They ALSO have a legit dump truck (with a regular crew cab, not the giant kind). When we built our house we loaded up the trash pile and hauled it to the dump. So nice to just pull a lever and all our trash go sliding out. We only had to pay the dump fee since it’s not our truck! Something I’ve learned since knowing my husband: anything you need…his parents might have it. AKA: borderline hoarders
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- you’re HOOKED UP!
xo
s
Lisa says
What an amazing clean up job! You need to slap on that picture a big, fat PROGRESS!!!! I’ve never used the bagster, but it looks super handy. I also didn’t read through all the other comments here, so maybe someone already mentioned this, but Waste Management recycles a HUGE percentage of the waste that they pick up, and they actually make more money now from recycling than they do from actually charging people/business/towns/counties to pick up trash. If you’re a nerd like me, (and you always say you’re pretty nerdy), you might find a CNBC documentary about the big trash business and recycling fascinating! haha!!!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s totally fascinating! Haha!
xo
s
Christina D says
Wow I’m super excited to learn about this Bagster awesomeness!!! I think hubby is even more excited :) We will be renovating our bathroom next year I think this is the perfect option!! Thanks for the post!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to help! Good luck with everything Christina!
xo
s
Kathy says
How COOL! I’ve never seen Bagster before. Ya learn somethin’ new everyday on YHL! thanks–
Crystal says
I’m glad that yall shared this! I never knew the thing existed at all.
We just recently moved out and had a lot of junk to get rid of (and I mean A LOT). We waited until the last minute to realize that we had so much stuff that needed to go that we were scouring Craig’s List for someone who had dumpster space that we could dump our stuff in while we still had the UHaul. We got lucky and found a local guy who picks up junk. He came over with his truck and attached trailer and hauled our stuff away PLUS cleaned the garage for only $160. It was a godsend. Our local landfill only offers free entrance 4 times a year, the other days it is about $15/cu yd to dump! We could not have dumped it ourselves for $160.
YoungHouseLove says
So smart!
xo,
s
jessica says
So I am just curious…why didn’t you just burn all the wood?
jessica says
Oh, I just read another comment :) glad the bagster worked for you! Good to know!
YoungHouseLove says
In our county burning’s not allowed (also a lot was pressure treated wood from the deck which isn’t good to burn).
xo
s
Angie says
You did just say, “Does anyone smell a man cave?” Yeah, you said that.
Bonnie says
My dad had a portion of the basement setup for him to do carpentry and woodworking. I used to love going into his workshop to see what he was working on, and watch him glue, clamp and stain. To this day the smell of sawdust fills me with nostalgia.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s sweet.
xo
s
Cindy says
This is brilliant on Waste Management’s part. I love this concept!
Lisa says
been wondering about bagster for four years! To see the process was surprisingly compelling… I’m so glad we are not in your neighborhood, as the time it would have taken for my husband and I to plan and execute the midnight raid on your Ikea-esque dumpster would have put our tv watching in peril. It seems like if the bag were somehow retrieved and reused, it could be a viable green option, except for the co2 from the wood in the land fill. Speaking of co2, we burn our scraps, is there anything I should know? Toxicity?
B. Love the Penguin Classics. How cool would it be if Shades of Gray (Grey?) came so prettily covered? No one but reader has to know.
An added bonus to my husbands employment are the maps he is given, but then shortly expire. They are SO appreciated as wrapping paper! Do you hate me?
Also–LOVE the test tubes, are they really glass? I think a mood board of science paraphernalia would be crazy cool. But no, don’t do it; don’t want to see giant glass beakers go for more than $25, thank you. LOVE YOU GUYS! Mwah!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, one good thing to know is that burning any pressure treated wood (some pallet wood and all deck wood is PT) isn’t a good idea since there are nasty chemicals that get released into the air. In our county burning isn’t allowed at all, but I think the best way to go about it if it’s allowed is just to burn pure wood (nothing sealed or chemically treated). And as for that map wrapping paper – sounds amazing!!! And yes, I think those test tubes really are glass. HAha!
xo,
s
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog says
I can so relate to the metaphorical weight lifted … sometimes that’s even more important in the process than the actual physical progress. Congrats … I feel the man cave coming! As in manly cutting and measuring and stuff. :)
Julia at Home on 129 Acres says
We went with a big 40-yard bin when we did our big clean up at our new place. 5.39 tons later–or “freakin’ heavy” in my husband’s words–we had a relatively clean barn, driveshed, field and indoor pool room (turns out that empty pools become dumpsters really easily). We also have access to a pick-up truck, cargo van and two trailers through both of our dads, so DIY dump runs have also been part of our method of removing renovation messes.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow! That’s a ton of stuff!
xo
s
Leo Croes says
Interesting project and design. I know I tend to collect a lot of things in my garage from past projects. So Might have to take a look at it. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy says
My Son got 2 bagsters at Lowes. He talked to Lowes and called bagster and told them they were in an ally and described the area. He was told all was fine. BUT when they came to pick them up he was told they could not get them. Now he is stuck with 2 filled bagsters in the parking spot in his ally—-not a good outcome.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no!!! That’s terrible!
xo
s
Julie Smith says
A dumpster in Dallas, TX is less expensive (and a lot less trouble) than a bagster.
Elizebeth says
Got to try the bag next yr. last week we clean the shed and the house since the city was picking up waste trash( old tires, rims, old wood, ect.) we put the stuff out on the yard a day before the pick up and with in an hr. everything was gone. People picking up my trash, love it. If you where my neighbor I would lead out my truck. I do to my family and to the little old lady that lives in front of us. I am the only one with a truck in my family. I bought a truck after high school and a dolly. This way I just don’t have to ask for help on moving. I pretty much move things myself I say to myself don’t buy nothing you can’t carry. What I do need to buy is a new truck, after 20 yrs. with me it’s running on its last life.
SueP says
We have used Bagster successfully several times; particularly while cleaning out my MIL’s home…long story. Suffice it to say 3 Bagsters and 100 hours. *sigh*
When we reno’d our kitchen 3 years ago, we used Tubs, Inc. because they will deliver to the driveway of even a townhouse, like ours. With Bagster, as you said, you have to leave it on the street, and that’s a lot of hauling of construction debris. Tubs, Inc. was about $199 I believe for a smaller (3 cu yard) dumpster of the traditional variety. In the Mpls. St. Paul area.
But Bagsters work great and are a good value!
Heather says
That mess would have been picked up curbside on our regular trash day for only $15 with just 24 hours notice. It sounds like we’re pretty lucky!
YoungHouseLove says
So lucky!!!
xo,
s
Lena says
Oh, and the basement looks great by the way! I was actually doing a search on your site because I remembered you posting the video of the mess but thought I missed the clean up.:-) I’m weird but that’s the kind of organizing I love!
Lou says
I don’t really want to be a whiny-pants but my basement is making me sooo frustrated. They partially finished it before we bought the house and it’s just the most awkward layout in the history of layouts, ever. It’s long and narrow with weird hunks cut out of it. Low ceilings, one tiny window. Two doors to the rest of the basement (necessary, but more awkward) and one teeny window. We don’t use it for anything and in a small house (and for a person who REALLY hates wasted space) I can’t stand it. What do you guys do when you are completely stuck? Does that happen?
YoungHouseLove says
One of the best things we have ever done in random spaces like that is just put the furniture on furniture movers and move it around to find out a layout that works. Sometimes you just have to see things to realize “yes, it’s finally balancing those weird doors or that high window or that odd bump out” so you can’t picture it in your head. If you don’t have anything down there to move around I’d just think about functionally what you would like to use the space for. If it’s reading, maybe bring down a chair and a lamp and just move them around to find a cozy nook, etc. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Paula says
These remind me a lot of the sandbags my husband filled in Afghanistan called HESCOs. Basically, the Army goes in and needs to fortify, so they fill up a bunch of things that look like square versions of the bagsters, but they have metal frames, stack then two deep and a few high, and very quickly and cheaply they are bulletproof inside their new base walls. The military version of a desert remodel ;)
Georgia says
Whoo hoo on the basement clearout. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of standing in an organised room! I’m really pleased you reviewed the bagster. Before we did our big move to Singapore this June, I was looking at it, but I read a bunch of negative reviews (mainly to do with the collection of it). In the end we went with a 20′ dumpster (which we filled to the gills!!!!!!, even with me doing a run to Good Will every day for weeks!!)
Brittany says
Wow! That is way cool!
Jackie says
If you can have a fire pit in your city, burn the pallets, we do all the time or I’m sure someone would take them to burn
Bess says
Had no idea about the Bagster, very useful! My dad will be happy to hear about it since he always has left over wood scraps and things from projects and jobs! I love how the people show up and use a crane, it would be fun to watch too.
harmony says
Do they at least re-use the bags? It just seems silly that you have to buy the bag and then pay for pickup seperate.
YoungHouseLove says
I think they do. They keep them and hopefully recycle/resell them. We learned that some folks use the bag and have others haul or pick them up (if they have friends, programs that will grab them in their county, etc) so that’s probably why they keep it separate.
xo
s
Ana says
I paid the yard man to haul out the construction debris from my backyard and he filled not one but two Bagsters on Friday. They came early this morning, and I didn’t even hear them, just got an email saying, “We picked them up.” So I went to the window and sure enough they were gone.
Another money-saving tip: Amazon sells them for about $23. I totally forgot to look up a coupon code, but it wasn’t too bad for the haul-away of both Bagsters ($240) compared with an actual dumpster. And when the customer service lady asked how I heard about them, I gave her your blog’s name — maybe you’ll get a new advertiser. :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome!
xo
s
Sarah says
We used bagster last summer! They were great to work with and didn’t have any problems coming down our driveway. We did speak with the guy (and I think he was the same guy you had) and he gave us great tips on where to better put the bagster next time. We stuffed ours with shingles from our shed so I was really nervous it’ would break and leave a horrible mess!