What do I do with all the stuff I'm not taking? Clearing out before an Inner West move

Inner West Removals · 26 June 2026 · 6 min read

Every move has two piles: the stuff that’s going on the truck, and the stuff that isn’t. The second pile is the one people leave until the morning of the move, and it’s the one that quietly costs them, either in removalist hours spent shifting things you were going to bin anyway, or in a bond deduction for a heap of junk left on the kerb. In the Inner West the timing is fiddlier than most places, because the rules for getting rid of the second pile depend on which council you’re in. Here’s how to clear it properly before move day.

Why clearing out first saves you money

Removalists charge for time and truck space. A wardrobe you don’t want, a dead fridge, six tubs of things you haven’t opened since the last move: every one of those is paid for twice, once to carry it out and once to carry it in, before you finally get rid of it at the other end. Sorting the keep-pile from the throw-pile a fortnight out means a smaller truck, a shorter day and a lower quote.

It also makes the move itself safer and faster. Inner West homes are tight to start with: narrow terrace hallways, internal staircases, no spare room to stage boxes. The less there is in the way on the day, the cleaner the carry, which matters a great deal if you’re a renter trying to leave the place in entry-report condition.

So the sequence is simple: declutter, book the council collection, then book the removalists for what’s left.

The catch: which council are you in?

This is the part competitors gloss over. The Inner West isn’t one waste service, it’s two, and the line runs right through the area. Most of the Inner West (Marrickville, Leichhardt, Balmain, Annandale, Stanmore, Petersham, Dulwich Hill, Rozelle, and the western side of Newtown) sits in the Inner West Council. Glebe, and Newtown east of King Street, sit in the City of Sydney. The two run their bulky-waste collections on genuinely different rules.

	Inner West Council	City of Sydney
How it works	Book a clean-up for the next available date for your street	Book a free pick-up weekly or as needed
Volume per collection	Up to two cubic metres	About one cubic metre for houses; up to four for apartment buildings
Extra collections	An extra two-cubic-metre collection is currently $170.60	Book again the following week, free
Put items out	The evening before collection	The night before collection

The practical upshot: if you’re in the City of Sydney slice, you have more flexibility, because you can book a free collection every week in the run-up to your move. If you’re in the Inner West Council area, you get a set slot and a two-cubic-metre cap, so book early and, if you have a big clear-out, plan for either a second booking or a trip to the tip (more on that below). Either way, confirm the current rules on the council’s own page when you book, because limits and fees do change.

A two-week clear-out plan

1. Two to three weeks out: sort. Three piles, honestly. Keep, donate or sell, and throw. Be ruthless with the throw pile now while you have time, not at 7am on move day.
2. Book the council clean-up. Inner West Council: book your slot for the next available date for your street. City of Sydney: book a weekly pick-up timed to land a few days before you move. Aim for the collection to happen before move day, never after, so the kerb is clear when you hand over.
3. Deal with the tricky things separately. Paint, batteries, e-waste, soft plastics and textiles don’t go in the clean-up pile or the bins. Both councils collect them free from your door: Inner West Council’s HomeCycle and the City of Sydney’s doorstep recycling. Book these early too.
4. Donate or sell the good stuff. A solid lounge or a working appliance is worth more rehomed than kerbed. Inner West marketplace and buy-nothing groups move furniture fast, and it’s one less thing on the truck.
5. Put the clean-up pile out the evening before collection, neatly on the kerb, not blocking the footpath, doors and locks off any fridge. Not a day early, not a day late: an unbooked pile is illegal dumping.
6. Then book the removalists for what you’re actually keeping. That’s the quote that should be smaller than you feared.

If you’ve left the clean-up too late

It happens. Settlement moves, leases roll over fast, and the clean-up calendar doesn’t always line up with your move date. The backstop in the Inner West Council area is the weekend transfer station at Leichhardt on Moore Street, open Saturday and Sunday. Mattresses, whitegoods, metals and e-waste are taken free; bulky waste like broken furniture is charged per load, you’ll need proof of residence, and it’s card-only. It’s not glamorous, but a Saturday-morning trailer run clears the throw-pile in one go so it isn’t there scuffing walls on move day or eating into your bond after it.

Why this is worth getting right

A move that starts with a clear-out is a smaller, cheaper, calmer move. You pay us to carry what you’re keeping, not what you’re tossing. The kerb is clean when you hand over the keys. And the dead fridge, the broken bed base and the box of paint tins are gone the right way, recycled or rehomed, rather than dumped or dragged to the new place to deal with later.

Once the throw-pile is sorted and booked in, you know exactly what’s left to move, which is the point at which a removals quote actually means something. Tell us what’s staying on the truck and your addresses at both ends, and we’ll plan the day around it.

Cleared out and ready to move? Get a free, no-obligation quote and we’ll size the truck and crew to what you’re actually keeping.

Common questions

Does the council charge to take away old furniture and a mattress?

In the Inner West Council area your booked clean-up is free for properties paying the domestic waste charge, with a limit of two cubic metres per collection. A mattress is fine (it goes in the mattress category). If you have more than one clean-up's worth, an extra collection of up to two cubic metres is currently $170.60. Always confirm the current limits and fees on the Inner West Council clean-up page. In the City of Sydney area (Glebe, Newtown east of King Street) the pick-up is free and you can book it weekly or as needed.

How far in advance should I book the council clean-up before I move?

Aim for two to three weeks out so the collection lands a few days before move day, not after. In the City of Sydney area collections run weekly, so a booking made the day before (by their cut-off) is collected that week. In the Inner West Council area you book a slot for the next available date for your street, so book early in busy end-of-month and start-of-year periods.

Can I put the clean-up pile out on the street the day I move?

Put items out the evening before your collection date, neatly on the kerb and not blocking the footpath, per council rules. Putting a pile out on a random day is illegal dumping and the bill can follow you. If you are a renter moving out, an uncollected pile left on the kerb is exactly the kind of thing an agent can deduct from your bond, so time the collection before you hand over the keys.

What do I do with paint tins, batteries, e-waste and soft plastics?

Don't put them in the clean-up pile or the kerbside bins. Both councils run free doorstep recycling for the tricky things. Inner West Council's HomeCycle service collects soft plastics, textiles, e-waste, batteries and more from your door (up to four collections a year). The City of Sydney runs an equivalent doorstep recycling collection for batteries, electronics, polystyrene, paint and clothing. Both are free and ideal for clearing the shed and the laundry cupboard before you move.

I've left it too late to book a clean-up. What now?

Inner West Council runs a weekend transfer station at Leichhardt (50-54 Moore Street, open Saturday and Sunday). Mattresses, whitegoods, metals and e-waste are accepted free; bulky waste like broken furniture is charged per load. Proof of residence is required and it's card-only. It's the backstop when the clean-up calendar won't line up with your move date. Confirm current hours and fees on the council page before you drive over.