What size dumpster do you need when moving out?
Most people moving out of a house need a 10 or 15-yard dumpster, because the can only has to hold what you are leaving behind, not everything you own. Take a 20-yard if the house has a full attic, garage or storage building that has not been cleared in years, and skip the dumpster entirely for an apartment move with a pickup load or two of junk.
Size it by what stays behind
10-yard — a two or three-bedroom house where you have already been giving things away: broken furniture, worn-out mattresses, old toys, the boxes nobody opened since the last move. About 12 feet long, 8 wide and 3.5 high, roughly three pickup loads.
15-yard — the same house plus a garage or carport that has collected years of lawn equipment, lumber offcuts and paint-stained shelving. A useful middle size that local suppliers here commonly stock and some national brokers skip.
20-yard — a move that is really a clearout: a full attic, a storage building out back, or a family home being emptied after decades. If most of the contents are going in the can rather than on the truck, read the whole-house cleanout guide instead; that is a different job.
No dumpster — an apartment or a small rental where the junk is a recliner, a mattress and a few bags. That is a pickup trip to the county convenience site or a junk-removal call, and a rented can for it is paying for empty air.
Timing it around the move
Have the can set a few days before the moving truck, not on the same day. Seven days is the standard rental in this market, which is enough to purge before the move and sweep out what is left after it. Extra days commonly ran $10 to $25 each as of August 2026.
Plan the driveway for two trucks. A roll-off needs a straight run of roughly 60 feet to set the can, and a moving truck or trailer needs room to back up to the door. Put the dumpster where it will not block the loading path, and remember it cannot be moved once it is full — repositioning an empty one is commonly charged at around $150.
If you are renting, get the landlord's OK in writing before anything is delivered. Many apartment complexes and some rental houses do not allow a roll-off at all, and a can that has to come back out early is paid for twice.
What to take out before it goes in
Donate or sell first. Working furniture and appliances often go for nothing to someone who will collect them, and that is space and weight you are not paying to bury. Scrap metal — an old grill, a bed frame, a push mower — is worth setting aside for a scrapper.
Keep the banned items out. Old paint, pool chemicals, fuel cans, car batteries, tires and anything with freon, such as a garage freezer or window AC unit, are refused or surcharged by the landfill, and the cost comes back to you. Moving day is when these turn up from under the sink and the back of the shed, so pile them separately.
Pine Belt Dumpsters is an information site for the Hattiesburg, Petal and Laurel area and is not currently taking orders; we do not own trucks or haul. Whoever you rent from, confirm the size, the tonnage included and the rental days in writing, and ask them to confirm their insurance.
Get in front of local providers
We’re not a hauler and we don’t quote prices. Tell us what the job is and we’ll pass your request to local dumpster providers who can service it. A request for contact, not an order — nothing booked, nothing charged.
Keep reading
- What size dumpster do you need for a bathroom remodel? — Dumpster size for a bathroom remodel: why a 10-yard fits most single-bath tear-outs, when to size up, and why tile and mortar hit the weight limit first.
- Do you need to be home for dumpster delivery? — Dumpster delivery when you are not home: what an unattended drop needs, how to mark the spot, and the few cases where it is worth being there in person.
- What size dumpster do you need to tear out a deck? — Dumpster size for deck removal: when a small deck fits a 10-yard, why most raised decks need a 20, and how footings, composite boards and treated wood matter.
- Cleaning out a garage — what size? — Dumpster for a garage cleanout: when a 10-yard is enough, when a packed two-car garage needs a 15-yard, what not to load, and the trouble with old appliances.
- What size dumpster for a whole-house cleanout? — Dumpster size for a whole-house cleanout: why a 20-yard fits most three-bedroom homes, when a 30 fits better, and how flooring and weight change the answer.
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