Side garages on Glasnevin's semis
Much of Glasnevin was built between the 1930s and the 1950s, and a lot of those semi-detached houses have a garage built onto the side. They tend to be long and narrow, with an up-and-over or timber door at the front and sometimes a back door to the garden. Some have been half turned into a utility room, with the washing machine at one end and storage at the other.
Their shape is what makes them fill up. Things go in at the front, get pushed towards the back, and stay there. After a few decades, the back half of a Glasnevin side garage can hold things that haven't been touched since they went in.
We clear these garages from the front, working back towards the far wall, sorting as we go. The van usually sits on the driveway or right outside, so the carry is short.
Moving somewhere smaller
In Glasnevin, a garage clear-out very often comes when someone is downsizing: moving to an apartment, a smaller house, sheltered housing or in with family. The garage is often the hardest part to face, because it's full of things that belonged to the whole household over many years.
We work at your pace. A few things that help:
- Measure the new place first. Knowing how much storage you'll have makes decisions easier.
- Start with what's definitely going with you. Mark it, or move it into the house, before we arrive.
- Invite family to look first. If children or grandchildren might want tools, bikes or furniture, give them a week to claim things.
- Sort the rest with us. We bring each item out and you decide. Anything you're unsure about goes in a separate corner.
- Clear in two visits if it helps. The bulk before the move, the last few things after.
If the rest of the house needs clearing too, see house clearance in Drumcondra and Glasnevin.
Things worth passing on
Older garages often hold things that still have plenty of life in them: solid hand tools, a good lawnmower, bikes, garden furniture, a well-made chest of drawers that moved out of a bedroom long ago. We set these aside for reuse where possible, so they go on to someone who'll use them.
Our guide to what happens to furniture after a clearance explains how reuse, recycling and disposal work. If you only need a few large pieces taken, furniture removal may suit you better than a full clear-out.
spotless.ieOld appliances and the spare freezer
The side garage is where appliances go to retire. We often find an old chest freezer, a spare fridge, a twin-tub or an early automatic washing machine, and a television or two.
- Fridges and freezers go for specialist appliance recycling because of the gases they contain. Switch them off and empty them a couple of days before, with a towel underneath to catch the water.
- Washing machines and dryers go for electrical recycling. Unplug them and turn off the water if they're plumbed in.
- Old TVs, radios and small electricals are recycled the same way.
Driveways, visitors and the roads near the village
Most Glasnevin semis have a driveway in front of the side garage, which makes loading simple: the van pulls in, the garage door goes up, and nothing has to come through the house. If your driveway is shared, or the car can't be moved that day, tell us and we'll park on the road and keep the carry short.
The roads close to the village, the Botanic Gardens and the cemetery can be busy with visitors, especially at weekends, so a weekday morning is often the easier choice there. Houses nearer the Tolka or out towards Finglas and Ballymun Road are usually straightforward.
If the person moving would rather not be there for the whole clear-out, that's fine. A family member can let us in, point out what's staying, and we'll send photos on WhatsApp as we go, so nobody is left wondering what has happened to what.
Clearing a Glasnevin garage before a move? Send a photo from the garage door and a couple from inside, with your moving date if you have one. We'll reply on WhatsApp with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Price, permit and getting started
Your price is fixed from photos and agreed before anything is booked. It depends on the volume, how easy the carry is, and any appliances or items that need special handling. If you'd like it done in two visits, both are included in the one figure.
Spotless holds waste collection permit NWCPO-25-13287-01 and is fully insured, so your things are handled and disposed of properly. Reusable items go to reuse where possible, metals, electricals and cardboard are recycled, and the remainder goes to licensed facilities.
Glasnevin's long back gardens often have a shed at the end that needs the same treatment; see shed clearance in Glasnevin. Over in Phibsborough and Cabra, our Cabra house clearance page covers whole homes. How garage jobs work in general is on our garage clear-out page, and if you want to make a start on the sorting yourself, the garage clearance guide breaks it into manageable steps.
