So. My basement workshop. I admitted how messy it was a few months ago.
Then building Clara’s dollhouse prompted me to tidy it up a bit — enough that you could actually see some of the floor.
But when we completed the deck project it all went downhill again: sawdust, scrap wood, and general chaos piled back up in the basement.
I promised myself I’d deal with it once the deck was finished. After many hours, phone calls, and quite a bit of hauling, I’m happy to report there’s been major progress.
My secret weapon was The Bagster. I’d seen the bags at Home Depot and finally decided to give one a try. It’s basically a small, flexible dumpster: less expensive and easier to manage than renting a traditional dumpster.
The clutter had begun to cause real anxiety and interfere with new projects, so I had to do something. I sorted the mess into three groups:
- Items worth saving for future projects.
- Pieces I gave away via local classifieds and reuse programs like Habitat for Humanity ReStore, freecycle, and Craigslist.
- Everything else that nobody wanted — old, rotted scraps that I finally decided to Bagster.
The Bagster bag cost $29 and unfolds to hold about three cubic yards and up to 3,300 pounds. For pickup, the full bag must sit within 16 feet of the street so the truck’s crane can reach the straps.
At first we thought the bag looked small once it was unfolded. We worried the long, rotting balcony railing and leftover deck scraps wouldn’t fit.
The railing was nearly too long, but it fit. After that we kept piling in the rest of the scrap. By the end of the afternoon the bag was essentially full, though the yellow straps still touched — which is required for pickup.
Once loaded, I scheduled pickup on the Bagster website. They ask for the first weekday the bag is ready and promise pickup within three business days. The fee varies by location; in our county it was about $100. With a $20 coupon I found, our cost came to roughly $80, plus the $29 bag — still far less than the $300–$400 quotes I received for a traditional dumpster. Compared to renting a truck and paying dump fees, Bagster felt like the affordable option.
Less than 48 hours after filling the bag, a Waste Management truck arrived to remove it. We didn’t have to be home, but I stayed to see the pick-up and to capture the moment — half excited, half worried the bag might split and drop wood across the driveway.
The driver hooked the crane to the bag’s yellow handles, lifted it, and it came up cleanly with no ripping. It was surprisingly satisfying to see that car-sized container of scrap wood hoisted away.
I even recorded a short clip of the pickup — I was definitely holding my breath as it rose into the air.
This felt like a literal and figurative weight lifted. Those rotten pallets — left outdoors by previous owners — had been taking up basement space for too long. Clearing them out has been invigorating and may be the start of a basement organization project I’ve wanted to tackle for ages. A man cave? Maybe — meaning a place to cut wood and blast music, not a lounging TV den.
Have you tried The Bagster or a similar service? Did it seem small at first until you packed it full? For many renovation cleanups, renting a truck feels excessive once you factor in rental, insurance, and fuel. The ideal solution would be borrowing a neighbor’s truck in exchange for homemade cookies — but until that day comes, Bagster was a convenient, cost-effective way to reclaim my workshop.