I don’t know about you, but cleaning out our basement seems to be an ongoing effort. A few weeks ago, though, we made a big push to get everything really cleaned out.

We’re still working on the organization and, of course, it doesn’t help that I continually bring in new stuff and we’re always working on projects, but it’s getting there.  After the initial major cleanup effort, we ended up with a rather large pile of garbage in the back yard, just outside the basement steps.  (Our poor neighbors.)  It was there for a few weeks.  Yes, my husband mowed the grass around it and it looked pretty ghetto.  Our own little refuse pile in the backyard.  I then received a very timely e-mail asking if I’d like to test out the Bagster Bag.  “Well, I happen to have a pile of trash in my backyard right now.”  (Do you think my neighbors called them?)  I wrote all about buying and filling the bag HERE.

Life got busy again and the Bagster Bag sat full on our driveway for a few weeks.  (Poor neighbors.)  Finally, I got my act together and went to the Bagster Bag website to schedule a pickup.  It was very easy to schedule and I was able to pay for the pickup online, so I didn’t have to be home when the bag was retrieved.  Of course, I wanted to be, so I could see exactly how this bag would be whisked away.

I had a house full of little boys when the truck arrived, so we all ran to the porch to watch it in action.  I bet the Bagster Bag pickup guy didn’t know he was going to have an audience when he pulled onto my street.

This large arm that’s tucked into the side of the truck was swiveled (navigated under the power lines) and extended out to where the bag was on our driveway.

The boys were enthralled.

The bag was then hooked onto the extended arm of the truck…

 …and maneuvered into the back of the truck.

I think I yelled something like, “Don’t mind me taking pictures.  I’m a blogger.”  I don’t know if he heard me, but he sort of nodded and smiled and then I think he tried to pretend little boys weren’t watching him and a lady wasn’t taking pictures of him.

 …and all of the trash was taken away.  Bagster Bag and all.

The bag and the pickup ended up costing about $170.  (The bag costs $29.95 and the pickup can range anywhere from $79-$249 depending on your area.)  Do I think it’s worth it?  Honestly, yes and no.  I think it’s worth getting if you’re doing some renovation work and you will have a large amount of debris all at one time.  It’s about 50-70% less than a dumpster rental, so it’s a great option if you’re considering between the two.  If you live close to a dump and can simply drive your junk there and pay a small fee to drop it off, that would obviously be a less expensive option.  In our case, the dump is about an hour drive and we probably had two pickup trucks full, so it was probably about the same for gas and drop-off fees (and this saved us a ton of time.)  I was very impressed with how much the bag would hold and how easy the entire process was, so the Bagster Bag gets a thumbs up for being no fuss and hassle-free.  It’s definitely worth considering as an option next time you’re tackling a large project.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this review of the Bagster Bag, but all opinions are my own.  I had a big pile of trash in my back yard and I felt sorry for my neighbors, so it was a good time to test it out!