When the day arrives to sell your home, a cleanout becomes a top priority. Hiring a crew to haul everything away is an option, and so is renting a dumpster and doing everything yourself. A little help from your friends is appreciated, as are the potentially lower costs associated with DIY cleanouts. You do want to rent the right dumpster, however, and taking photographs can help the cause.

Don't Rent the Wrong Dumpster for the Job

While wishing to save money makes sense, don't fool yourself into going with the cheapest dumpster. There are ways to convince yourself a dumpster is the right size when its too small. A lower price can lead you to rent a dumpster intended more for the back of a restaurant than the front of a sold home. Assuming you can "break things apart" to fit into the smaller dumpster might court disastrous. With the wrong dumpster, you may end up running out of space too soon. As a result, you could lose time waiting for a new dumpster. Costs go up due to the increased dumpster rental days. You may even end up calling a junk removal company to take over after losing too many days. 

Using Photos to Rent the Best Dumpster

Rather than try and guess what dumpster is the best one, discuss things with the dumpster rental company. Besides discussing the job, you could employ a "show, don't tell" approach to get the best recommendation. You can show someone the particulars by taking photographs. Maybe take two sets of photos to reveal:

1. What's Going Out: Take photos of all the belongings you intend to throw into the dumpster. Doing so allows a representative from the rental service to get an idea about the best length, height, and width.
2. Where the Dumpster's Going: While one dumpster size may be preferable, a slightly smaller one makes better sense based on how much space you have available. Is the dumpster going onto a driveway? Take photos of the intended area to get the best size recommendation.

Taking extra pictures won't hurt. Even taking aerial drone photos of the dumpster's intended spot might help.

Take a Second Round of Pictures

After it is filled and ready for hauling, take pictures of the remaining junk. The dumpster rental service representative might suggest a smaller, less-expensive unit for the remaining task. The extra step doesn't require much effort, and you could save some money.