How much there is
A rough count of the big pieces by room is a good place to start, not an inventory down to the lamp. The pieces nobody will miss: the dresser, the mattress, the dining set, the washer that was replaced last year, the pieces still in the garage from before. The City's own bulky item pickup page1 asks residents for an itemized list, such as "one mattress, two chairs, and a desk", so it sends the right-sized truck. The rest of the picture builds around that list.
What the items are
A mattress is large and awkward, and a refrigerator or a washer is heavy.
LA Sanitation says it will gladly take couches, tables and chairs, mattresses and box springs, toilets and sinks, carpet rolled and tied, large wood pieces or doors, and electronic waste1 on its curbside bulky pickup for the single-family households it serves. The City's list is one place to read what counts as a bulky item.
Where in the house they sit
Carrying a piece from a driveway apron is one job; the same piece from a back bedroom down a hallway is another.
About 36 percent of the city's housing units are detached houses,2 and about 37 percent of households live in one;3 the median home was built in 1965.4 What to say about a given house is the room each piece sits in, and the walk from there to the driveway.
Houses in Los Angeles
Census Bureau figures for the city's housing, from the American Community Survey.
36%
of the city's housing units are detached houses
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, Los Angeles city (via Census API)
37%
of households live in a detached house
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25032, Los Angeles city (via Census API)
1965
the median year a Los Angeles home was built
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, Los Angeles city (via Census API)
Stairs, narrow doors and the path to the driveway
Count the flights of stairs between a room and the driveway, and say so on the call. Say the floor each piece sits on and whether the stairs are inside or outside the house.
About 44 percent of the city's housing units were built before 1960.5 Say so when a doorway on the way out of a room is narrow, when a stair turn is tight, or when a hallway runs long between a bedroom and the front door; those are the pieces a short description can cover.
The driveway and the garage door
Where the truck can park against the house decides the walk. A driveway that lets a truck pull in close to the garage keeps the walk short, while a driveway blocked by other vehicles, or a street where parking is tight, lengthens it.
When the City's free pickup already covers an item
For a household with LA Sanitation curbside service, the City's own bulky pickup is in the picture. The City says the service is an unlimited curbside service at no additional charge1 for the households it serves, on the regular trash day. A sofa, a mattress, a chair: all on the City's list.
LA Sanitation also runs a free monthly Saturday drop-off at five locations across the city,1 from 8am to 4:30pm, as the other City route. The City also prints a shorter list of items it says it cannot pick up at the curb, including paints, solvents or chemicals, construction materials, commercial appliances, medicines or needles and fluorescent lights. The free options guide sets the City's routes out, and the bulky item pickup guide reads the lists.
What to tell us when you phone
A short description on the phone covers the pieces a hauler cannot see from a distance: what the pieces are, where they sit, how a truck meets the house.
| What to describe | What to tell us when you phone |
|---|---|
| How much there is | A rough count of the big pieces, by room |
| What the items are | Name the big pieces, not every lamp |
| Where in the house | The room each piece sits in |
| Stairs and tight turns | How many stairs, which turns are tight |
| The driveway and the street | What the way to the driveway looks like |
| The garage door | Whether the garage is clear to the door |
| The City's pickup | Which items you have already looked at |