The three piles, and where each goes
| Pile | Who moves it | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The shipment | The pack-out crew | Weight allowance, not dollars |
| 2. The car load | You, on I-25 | Trunk space |
| 3. The leftovers | Nobody — unless arranged | $241–$431 typical, flat |
Piles one and two get all the planning attention; pile three gets discovered ten days before the walkthrough. This page is pile three's budget line, so it stops being a surprise.
Decide the boundaries early — it is a weight-allowance play
The quiet PCS budgeting move is deciding what does not ship. The sun-bleached patio set, the college futon, the treadmill that survived two duty stations — each costs real allowance to ship and arrives as junk with mileage. Draw the line early: if it would not survive the next move's cull, retire it at this one. A futon is $111 here; shipping it to the next base and junking it there costs allowance plus whatever that town charges.
The pile assembles itself late — plan for that
No PCS leftover pile exists until the pack-out exposes it: closets surrender their secrets as the boxes leave, the crawl space is remembered on day two, and the garage is always last. That is normal, not disorganization — so the junk pickup belongs after the pack-out, before the walkthrough, when the pile is finally real and can be priced accurately from a photo. Book the slot when your pack-out dates confirm; during PCS season, everyone's gap lands in the same few weeks and windows genuinely fill.
What pile three costs
| Load | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Charcoal / propane grill | $59 / $71 |
| Queen mattress | $103 |
| Futon | $111 |
| Couch | $126 |
| Typical PCS leftovers (quarter truck) | $241 |
| The bigger purge (half truck) | $431 |
| Full truckload (16 cu yd) | $732 |
Minimum job $75, no sales tax on the service in Colorado, and the number is fixed from your photos before anyone is dispatched — the crew clears house, garage, and yard in one visit, and the receipt goes in your file as proof it was disposed of properly, not left for the next tenant.
Sell first — this town makes it easy
The Springs' PCS churn cuts both ways: while you are leaving, a wave of families is arriving at Carson, Peterson, and Schriever furnishing houses on tight timelines. Working furniture priced to move sells in days here. Run one Marketplace cycle the week before pack-out — every sale shrinks pile three and puts gas money in the console. What has not sold by the deadline is exactly what the flat price is for.
The hazmat line: what no truck takes
The garage's liquid shelf is its own pile: gasoline, liquid paint, chemicals, and propane tanks go to the county's household-hazardous-waste drop-off or the exchange rack, not any hauler's bed — including the pack-out crew's and ours. The hardware around them is ordinary inventory: mower drained $65, tires $22 each, the grill minus its tank $59–$71, dried-out paint cans $30. Handle the liquids one weekend early and the final week has no chemistry in it.
The walkthrough standard
Whether it is base housing, a property manager, or a landlord in Security-Widefield, the inspection expectation is the same: empty means empty — house, garage, yard, and nothing gifted to the curb or the community dumpster corral (the classic move-out violation that bills back through the deposit). One cleared pile three, with a receipt, closes the loop cleanly and keeps the deposit conversation boring.
A worked leftover pile
A typical Fort Carson-area move-out, post-pack-out: the grill ($71), the futon that was not worth its weight ($111), a worn mattress ($103), and the garage's accumulated bags — altogether a quarter truck at $241 flat, cleared in one late-afternoon window two days before the walkthrough. The bigger version — add the couch and the bedroom set that did not make the cut — lands at the $431 half truck. Both smaller than the stress suggested.
How booking works
Photograph the pile once it exists — or describe it — on the quote page, or text (719) 247-5775. Flat price in about a minute, two-hour window in the pack-out-to-walkthrough gap, secure card payment, receipt to your email for the file. Same-day usually works if you book by mid-afternoon — even in PCS season, though earlier is smarter then.
The bottom line
Budget the move in three piles: allowance ships one, the car takes two, and pile three has a published number — $241–$431 for most PCS leftovers, sold down first by this town's hungry secondhand market. Price yours the day the pack-out leaves, and roll out with the walkthrough already won.
Frequently asked questions
How much does move-out junk removal cost for a PCS in Colorado Springs?
The typical PCS leftover pile — the grill, a worn couch, the garage overflow, the things the pack-out declined — runs a quarter to half of our truck: $241 to $431 flat. Single items price individually (couch $126, mattress $103, grill $59 to $71), bigger purges hit $587 to $732, and the minimum job is $75. Crew, loading, hauling, and disposal are all inside the number, with a receipt for your records.
what won't the movers take in a pcs pack out
Plan around the standard refusals: anything flammable or hazardous (propane tanks, gas in the mower, paint, cleaning chemicals), perishables, and — practically — the stuff that is not worth its shipping weight. That last category is the quiet one: the sun-bleached patio set and the college futon cost real weight allowance to ship and arrive as junk with mileage. Deciding what does NOT ship is a budgeting decision, and the leftover pile is where those decisions land.
when should the junk pickup happen in the pcs sequence
After the pack-out, before the final walkthrough — that gap is when the true leftover pile finally exists and can be priced accurately. The pile always assembles late: closets surrender their secrets during the pack-out, and the garage is discovered last. Book the slot as soon as your pack-out dates are confirmed; PCS season means everyone's gap lands in the same few weeks.
Can you work around a housing walkthrough deadline?
That is the standard booking: same-day windows are usually available if you book by mid-afternoon, next-day almost always, and the crew clears everything from inside — house, garage, yard — so the place shows empty for inspection. The receipt doubles as proof the items were disposed of properly rather than left for the next tenant or the dumpster corral.
is it cheaper to sell things before a pcs
Often — and this town's constant arrivals make it unusually easy. Incoming families at Carson, Peterson, and Schriever are furnishing on tight timelines, so working furniture priced to move sells in days. Run one listing cycle the week before pack-out; every sale shrinks pile three. What does not sell by the deadline is exactly what we price flat.
Do you take the propane grill and the garage chemicals?
The grill yes — charcoal $59, propane $71 — but the tank stays behind: swap it at any exchange rack. Gasoline, paint with liquid in it, and garage chemicals are household-hazardous-waste items for the county's drop-off, not any hauler's truck. Everything else in the garage — the mower (drained, $65), the tires ($22 each), the pallet wood ($33) — is ordinary priced inventory.
Photograph pile three and get its flat price in about a minute on the quote page, or call (719) 247-5775.
Serving Colorado Springs & El Paso County
Frequently asked questions
What won't the movers take in a pcs pack out?
Plan around the standard refusals: anything flammable or hazardous (propane tanks, gas in the mower, paint, cleaning chemicals), perishables, and — practically — the stuff that is not worth its shipping weight. That last category is the quiet one: the sun-bleached patio set and the college futon cost real weight allowance to ship and arrive as junk with mileage. Deciding what does NOT ship is a budgeting decision, and the leftover pile is where those decisions land.
When should the junk pickup happen in the pcs sequence?
After the pack-out, before the final walkthrough — that gap is when the true leftover pile finally exists and can be priced accurately. The pile always assembles late: closets surrender their secrets during the pack-out, and the garage is discovered last. Book the slot as soon as your pack-out dates are confirmed; PCS season means everyone s gap lands in the same few weeks.
Is it cheaper to sell things before a pcs?
Often — and this town s constant arrivals make it unusually easy. Incoming families at Carson, Peterson, and Schriever are furnishing on tight timelines, so working furniture priced to move sells in days. Run one listing cycle the week before pack-out; every sale shrinks pile three. What does not sell by the deadline is exactly what we price flat.