If you’re in the middle of packing up your life into boxes, your wheelie bin is probably the last thing on your mind. But moving house has a habit of generating far more rubbish than an ordinary week.
Think years of clutter finally cleared out of the loft, broken furniture nobody else wants, and mountains of leftover packaging waste after everything’s packed and ready to go. All of that has to go somewhere, and the bin is usually the first place people turn.
To make things trickier, moving day rarely lines up neatly with collection day. It’s a common scenario: completion falls a day or two after the bin’s last been emptied, with the next scheduled collection not due until after you’ve already handed over the keys.
That leaves a genuine dilemma: do bins need to be empty when you move house, or should you risk leaving a full bin behind for the new owners?
The short answer is yes, your bins should be emptied and, ideally, cleaned before you move house. It’s considered good etiquette to leave them empty for the next occupants, even if this means taking extra rubbish to the tip or asking a neighbour for help.
Here’s what you need to know about clearing your bins before moving day, including some tips to deal with rubbish along the way so it doesn’t all pile up at the end.
Why Do Bins Have to be Empty When You Move House?
Bin collections are usually fortnightly on an alternating cycle (rubbish one week, recycling the next), so there’s a chance your completion date may fall in the middle of that cycle.
That’s often right when you’re clearing out cupboards, the loft, and anything you’re not taking with you, and have the most rubbish to get rid of with nowhere to put it until the next collection.
Whatever the reason, that rubbish still needs to go somewhere before you leave. It’s simply not fair on the people moving in to leave that rubbish behind for them to deal with. Some property sale agreements even include a clause confirming the property, including bins, will be left clear. Leaving rubbish behind that stops the buyer moving in freely can, in some cases, count as a breach of that agreement.
This makes a difference to the impression you leave: turning up to your new home and finding bin bags dumped in the front garden, still waiting for a collection day that’s a week away, is not exactly the welcome anyone wants.
Worth saying too: sorting the bins isn’t something your removal company will do for you. We’re there to move your furniture and belongings safely, not to deal with household rubbish, so it’s down to you to have this sorted before we arrive.
Sorting the bins isn’t something your removal company will do for you, so it’s down to you to have this sorted before we arrive.
What We Recommend on Moving Day
Having packed and unpacked more houses than most, here’s the process our team suggests:
- Take the rubbish out first. Empty your bin completely in the days before you move, rather than leaving it until the last minute.
- Give it a clean. A quick rinse, or a splash of bleach left to sit before a final rinse, gets rid of any lingering smells so it’s fresh for the next person, or ready to go straight into your new house.
- Deal with last-minute rubbish properly, not by leaving it behind. Moving day always throws up a bit of extra waste, such as packaging, old boxes, bits you decide not to take. Bag it up and take it to the tip yourself, or keep space in the car to drop it off on your way, instead of leaving it out for someone else to deal with.
A quick rinse, or a splash of bleach left to sit before a final rinse, gets rid of any lingering smells so it’s fresh for the next person, or ready to go straight into your new house.
What to Do With Rubbish You Can’t Fit in the Bin
Rather than everything ending up as a last-minute bag by the back door, sorting things out as you go keeps the pile more manageable for the bin at the end.
Here’s how to deal with the more awkward stuff:
- Make tip runs part of the plan. Instead of leaving it all to moving week, taking a car boot’s worth to the local recycling centre in the weeks before you move helps stop rubbish building up faster than the bin can handle.
- Bulky furniture. An old sofa or wardrobe that won’t suit the new place is usually the trickiest to shift. Before resorting to a tip run, see if anyone in the family or on your street could use it, or check whether a local charity can collect it directly from your door. Online marketplaces are another option if you’d rather sell than give away, and most let you set collection as a condition so you don’t have to deliver it yourself.
- Appliances and electricals. Ask your buyer whether they’d like to keep a washing machine or fridge as part of the sale. This is a handy way to avoid moving heavy appliances altogether. Anything you don’t want can often be taken back through an electrical retailer’s scheme, with smaller items like kettles or toasters dropped off at your local recycling point.
- Clothes, linens, and books. These rarely belong in a general waste bin. Charity shops and clothing banks are the easiest home for wearable clothes and bedding. Books are best taken to a library or charity shop since the glue in their bindings makes them unrecyclable through kerbside collection.
- Garden waste. If you’ve been tidying the garden ahead of a sale, make sure any garden waste bin is emptied before you go rather than left for the new owners, and pass on spare tools or pots to neighbours or a local allotment.
Whatever’s left after all that can go to your local recycling centre, a council bulky waste collection (charges vary widely by council, with an average minimum charge of around £32 across the UK, so it’s worth checking your local rate first), or a professional clearance service if you’re dealing with a lot in one go.
Charity shops and clothing banks are the easiest home for wearable clothes and bedding.
How Can We Help
With your bins sorted, you can turn your attention to the move itself, which is where we come in.
With over 130 years of experience moving homes across Swansea, Ammanford, Carmarthen and beyond, we’re on hand to take care of the rest. Whether it’s a full house move, office relocation, or something a little more delicate like a piano or antique, our team has done it all before.
Get in touch with Falconer Removals today to see how we can make your move as smooth as possible.
