The short answer
Estate cleanouts are volume jobs, so they price off the truck-fill ladder: $241 quarter, $338 three-eighths, $431 half, $513 five-eighths, $587 three-quarters, $661 seven-eighths, $732 full. Two full trucks is $732 + $732 = $1,464.
What lands where, in this metro:
- A one-bedroom apartment or a small condo, mostly furniture: half to three-quarters, $431 to $587.
- A post-war ranch in Raytown, Overland Park or Prairie Village with a full basement: one full truck, $732, sometimes more.
- A two-story in Brookside or Waldo with a basement and an attic: usually two trucks.
- A Johnson County or Lee's Summit house with a three-car garage, a walkout basement and a shed: two trucks is the honest expectation.
Why Kansas City estates fill trucks
Houses here have storage, and storage gets used. Four decades in a Prairie Village ranch fills a basement, a garage and a crawl. There is no attic-only apartment version of this in the metro — almost every house has a basement, and the basement is where everything that was too good to throw out went.
The pattern is nearly universal: finished half of the basement holds furniture and a spare bed, unfinished half holds canning jars, paint, Christmas decorations, a chest freezer that has not run since 2011, and boxes of paperwork. The garage holds the mower, the workbench, ladders and bicycles. The main floor is the part the family has actually seen.
Walk the whole house before you estimate volume. Most people underestimate by a factor of two because they only counted the rooms with furniture.
The part everyone gets wrong: sorting time
The removal is a day. The sorting is the weeks. Set the order before anyone starts carrying:
- Keep. Family distribution first. Put a sticker on it and move it to one room.
- Sell. Estate-sale companies operate across the metro and will tell you honestly whether the contents justify a sale. Mid-century furniture, tools, firearms, sports memorabilia and jewelry are the categories that carry a sale here. Brown furniture from the 1980s generally does not.
- Donate. Good-condition furniture and household goods. Schedule early; donation pickups book out and reserve the right to decline at the door.
- Haul. Everything left. That is the truck.
If the house is on the market, your agent will want the haul day before photos, not after.
Paper, photographs and the things nobody wants to throw away
Before the truck comes, pull anything with an account number on it. Estates generate an enormous amount of paperwork, and it is scattered — a desk drawer, a filing cabinet in the basement, a shoebox in a bedroom closet. Boxes of books are $45 each to remove, and a filing cabinet or storage cabinet is $74, but nothing should leave until someone has opened it.
Photographs are the other one. There is always a box of them, and there is always a family member who wanted it. Ask before the day, not during.
Item prices, if you would rather itemize
Smaller estates sometimes come out cheaper by the piece:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Sofa | $126 |
| Recliner | $98 |
| Queen mattress + box spring set | $143 |
| Dresser (standard) | $126 |
| China hutch / cabinet | $160 |
| Large solid-wood armoire | $197 |
| Dining table (6-8 seat) | $163 |
| Upright piano | $290 |
| Standard refrigerator | $164 |
| Chest freezer | $146 |
| Washer + dryer | $133 + $128 = $261 |
A worked example from a Raytown ranch: sofa + two recliners + queen set + dresser + china hutch is $126 + $98 + $98 + $143 + $126 + $160 = $751. At that point the full truck at $732 is cheaper and takes more, so that is what you would be quoted.
The Kansas City specifics
The piano. An upright is $290 and a baby grand is $438. A generation of Kansas City houses has one in the front room, and the family almost never wants it. Nobody buys them either. Price it in from the start.
The chest freezer in the basement. $146, and it is at the bottom of the stairs. Empty it a few days ahead if it still has anything in it — an unplugged freezer in an August basement is a problem you only make once.
Two states, one family. Plenty of estates here involve a house on one side of State Line Road and heirs on the other, or out of state entirely. The price is identical either side, and you do not need to be present — plenty of these jobs are booked from a different time zone with a neighbor or an agent letting the crew in.
The shed. Cass County, Platte, the outer edges of Johnson County. If there is an outbuilding, open it before you estimate. It is usually another quarter to half truck on its own.
How a cleanout day actually runs
- Crew arrives, walks the house with whoever is there, confirms what stays.
- Anything marked keep gets moved to one room or left where it is, your call.
- Basement and attic first, because that is the slow part.
- Loading, disposal, and a sweep.
- If it turns into more than one truckload, the second load is the same ladder pricing — no return-trip fee.
Carry-out from any floor is included. Steep 1920s basement stairs in Waldo, pull-down attic ladders, a walkout at the back of a Lenexa split — none of that changes the price.
Booking it
You can book without an estimate visit. Describe the house, pick a truck size, and adjust on the day if it is bigger than expected — the ladder just moves a rung. Crews cover Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a full house estate cleanout cost in Kansas City?
Most run one to two full trucks. One is $732, two is $732 + $732 = $1,464. A small condo or apartment is often a half to three-quarters truck, $431 to $587.
Do I need to be there?
No. Many estate jobs here are arranged by an out-of-state family member with a neighbor, executor or agent providing access.
What happens to the piano?
It goes. An upright is $290 and a baby grand is $438, and carry-out is included even from a front room with a tight turn at the door.
Should I hold an estate sale first?
If the contents justify it, yes — sell first, then haul the remainder. Estate-sale companies work the whole metro and will tell you whether a sale is worth it. What is left over is normally still a full truck.
Can you clear the shed and the garage too?
Yes, and you should open both before estimating. An outbuilding on a Cass County or outer Johnson County lot is commonly another quarter to half truck, $241 to $431.
Does the price change if the house is on the Kansas side?
No. Identical prices in Prairie Village and in Raytown.