Most storage units don't end with one big moving day. They end with whatever is left: a nightstand, a dining chair, two lamps still in their boxes, and a pile of moving blankets that nobody wants to pay rent on anymore. That was the situation at an Extra Space Storage facility in Itasca on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Our crew emptied the whole unit that evening, and the bill was $280.
Here is how that job went: what was in the unit, how the price compares with hauling each piece one at a time, and what you need to line up with your facility before a residential junk removal crew shows up.
Key Takeaways
- A storage unit in Itasca with small furniture, boxed lamps, moving blankets and packing material was emptied for $280.
- The ticket listed 4 to 5 small pieces of furniture, but the crew cleared everything, down to the flattened cardboard.
- Booked one at a time, just three of those pieces would have cost $360. Loaded together, the whole unit cost less.
- From heading out to finishing took 1 hour 47 minutes, including the drive.
- Give your facility notice before the cleanout. Extra Space lists 10 days verbal or 15 days written, plus an empty unit and your lock off.
The Job at a Glance
| Location | Extra Space Storage, Itasca, IL (DuPage County) |
|---|---|
| Job date | Wednesday, October 28, 2026 |
| Service window | 4 to 6 PM, with a request to come as early as possible |
| Scope | Whole unit emptied: small furniture, boxed lamps, blankets and packing material |
| Crew | George |
| On the way | 4:37 PM |
| Finished | 6:24 PM |
| Final price | $280 |
What Was Inside the Storage Unit?
The ticket described it simply: 4 to 5 small pieces of furniture. Once you look at the photos taken two days before the job, you can see what that phrase leaves out. Storage units collect the things that protected the furniture as well as the furniture itself.
Here is what the crew was looking at:
- A wood nightstand with drawers, labeled "Storage" on a strip of paper
- A wood dining chair with a striped cushion
- A floral storage ottoman with a fringe skirt
- A small table under a moving blanket
- A round upholstered footstool
- A large round table top, wrapped in plastic and a moving blanket, plus a second round top on the floor
- A large flat panel wrapped in kraft paper and cardboard
- Two table lamps in U-Haul boxes
- Moving blankets, towels, packing paper and flattened boxes
None of it was heavy on its own, and that is typical. Small furniture is rarely the hard part of a storage unit. The hard part is that nobody wants to rent a truck and give up an evening for a load this size, so the unit stays rented for another month, and then another. If you are not sure about a particular piece, our list of items we remove covers nearly every household category.
Why Did the Whole Unit Cost Less Than Three Single Items?
Our single-item prices are built for one-off pickups, where a truck makes a whole trip for one piece. Load pricing works differently: you pay for the share of the truck you use. Here is how those two rates compare on this job.
| If booked one at a time | Single-item price |
|---|---|
| Nightstand (dresser rate) | $120 |
| Dining chair | $120 |
| Small table | $120 |
| Subtotal for just three pieces | $360 |
| Everything in the unit, as one load | $280 |
The $280 total matches our 1/4 load rate. That also covered the ottoman, the footstool, the round table tops, the wrapped panel, the lamps, the blankets and the cardboard. The takeaway is simple: once you have more than two pieces, ask for a load price instead of adding up single items.
What Does a Storage Unit Cleanout Cost by Unit Size?
Our truck holds 400 cubic feet. A standard unit with an 8-foot ceiling holds about 200 cubic feet in a 5x5, 400 in a 5x10, and 800 in a 10x10. That gives you a rough way to translate a unit into a price:
| Truck load | Price | What that looks like in a storage unit |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 load | $150 | A few boxes and one small piece of furniture |
| 1/4 load | $280 | Several small pieces plus boxes and blankets, like this job |
| 1/2 load | $430 | A packed 5x5, or a half-full 5x10 |
| 3/4 load | $550 | Most of a 5x10 |
| Full load | $650 | A packed 5x10, or a half-full 10x10 |
Treat those as a guide, since few units are packed floor to ceiling and furniture leaves gaps. Mattresses and box springs carry a $50 surcharge each, and dense materials are priced separately. There were none of those here.
How Fast Does a Cleanout Pay for Itself?
Storage rent is the number that makes this decision easy. RentCafe's Itasca storage listings currently show climate-controlled averages of about $114 a month for a 5x10 and $231 for a 10x10. At those rates, a $280 cleanout equals about two and a half months of a 5x10, or a little over one month of a 10x10.
So if you are paying rent mainly to avoid dealing with what is inside, the cleanout usually pays for itself quickly. Everything after that is money you keep.
How the Evening Went
The appointment window was 4 to 6 PM. Two notes on the ticket shaped the visit: call on the way, and the earlier the better. Here is how it ran, from the job log:
- 4:37 PM: On the way. The crew headed to Itasca, inside the requested window, with the call-ahead request on the ticket.
- At the unit: Everything goes. The furniture, boxed lamps, wrapped table tops, blankets and loose cardboard all went on the truck, which is what emptying a unit really means.
- 6:24 PM: Finished. The unit was empty and the job was closed out.
The 1 hour 47 minutes between those two timestamps includes the drive, so the time spent at the unit was shorter. We also have a general checklist on how to prepare for a junk removal pickup, and most of it applies at a storage facility too.
What Do You Need to Do With the Storage Facility First?
Emptying the unit and ending the rental are two separate steps. The cleanout handles the first one, but only you can handle the second. Before you book, sort out these details:
- Give notice. Extra Space Storage's move-out FAQ asks for 10 days of verbal notice or 15 days of written notice. Other companies set their own terms, so check your rental agreement.
- Know what closes the rental. Extra Space lists three things for move-out day: an empty unit, your lock removed, and an inspection by the manager. Plan to take your lock off after the truck leaves.
- Check access hours. Gate hours and office hours are often different. Share the gate code or plan to meet the crew, and let us know about any elevator or loading rules.
- Don't count on the on-site dumpster. Many facilities don't let tenants dump in their trash containers, so ask before you plan around one.
One more reason not to let an unwanted unit drift: under the Illinois Self-Service Storage Facility Act, a facility owner can enforce a lien on the contents and sell them after following the required notice process. Closing the unit on your own schedule is much better than sorting it out after a default notice.
Could You Donate Some of It First?
Often, yes. A solid wood nightstand or a clean upholstered footstool can have a second life, and you don't need us to give it one. If you have the time, here are two local routes:
- Furniture and home decor. DuPage and Chicago South Suburbs Habitat for Humanity's ReStores take donations during business hours and offer a free donation pickup. Each store decides what it can accept, so send photos or check first.
- Clothing and other textiles. The DuPage County drop-off recycling guide lists where residents can take textiles and other materials your curbside cart won't handle. Check what each site accepts, because rules on items like towels and blankets can vary.
When we haul a load, usable pieces are pulled out where we reasonably can, cardboard goes to recycling, and metal is separated as scrap. You can read more about how we donate and recycle what we collect. Our guide to the best ways to get rid of unwanted furniture also covers selling and refinishing.
What About Doing It Yourself?
You can, and for a very small unit it can make sense. But a storage unit has one drawback that a garage doesn't: there is no curb. If you live in the village, Itasca's refuse and recycling service runs weekly through Republic Services with household carts. That service is tied to your home, so every piece still has to be loaded into a vehicle, driven home or to a disposal site, and unloaded. A large round table top or wrapped panel may not fit in a car at all.
Renting a truck, making a transfer station run, and paying disposal fees can eat up an evening, and the cost adds up quickly next to a $280 load. If you are comparing cleanout companies, our guide to storage unit cleanout services and our list of questions to ask a junk hauler before booking are good places to start.
Five Ways to Keep a Storage Unit Cleanout Cheap
- Pull your keepers first. Anything you take home comes off the load, and a clear unit is quicker to quote.
- Photograph the unit from the door and from the back. Open a box or two so we can see what is inside. Better photos mean a tighter estimate.
- Remember the packing material. Blankets, flattened boxes and paper take up truck space. Mention them, or tell us if you plan to keep them.
- Pick a time inside the facility's access hours. A crew waiting at a locked gate helps no one, and a call-ahead note like the one on this ticket keeps things smooth.
- Book before your next billing date. A cleanout scheduled to line up with your notice period can save you another month of rent.
Storage Unit Cleanouts in Itasca and Nearby
Itasca sits on our western run out of Chicago, which also covers nearby Schaumburg, Bloomingdale, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook. You can see the full list on our service locations page. Hours are Monday to Friday 7am–7pm and Saturday 9am–3pm. We also do commercial junk removal if a business is clearing out a unit it no longer needs.
Want to see how other jobs priced out? Read our real-world write-ups on a basement cleanout in Clarendon Hills and a garage clean-out in Mundelein.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a storage unit cleanout cost in Itasca?
Pricing is based on how much of our 400-cubic-foot truck the load fills, from $150 for a 1/8 load to $650 for a full load. The unit in this case study, with several small pieces of furniture, boxed lamps, moving blankets and packing material, came to $280.
Do I have to be at the storage unit during the cleanout?
Plan on being reachable, and arrange gate and unit access with us before the visit. On this job the ticket asked the crew to call on the way, which is an easy way to coordinate at a storage facility.
Will you take everything in the unit, including cardboard and moving blankets?
Yes. On this job the crew took the furniture, the boxed lamps, the moving blankets, and the flattened cardboard and packing paper. If you want to keep anything, tell the crew before loading and it stays out of the load and out of the price.
How much notice do I need to give Extra Space Storage before moving out?
Extra Space Storage's FAQ lists 10 days for verbal notice or 15 days for written notice, with the unit emptied, your lock removed, and the unit inspected by the manager on move-out day. Check your own rental agreement, since it controls the details.
Can I just leave unwanted items in the unit when my lease ends?
No. Facilities generally expect the unit to be empty before they close out the rental, and Extra Space Storage lists an empty unit as a move-out requirement. Leaving items behind can delay the close-out and keep the bill running.
Ready to stop paying rent on it? Request a storage unit cleanout quote, text photos to (224) 386-4836 for an estimate before anyone drives out, or call (888) 308-7556.