My van after even the smallest jobs becomes trashed with pieces of wire,boxes bags etc. Ive got a black trash bag in there but HATE that back there. Anyone have any clever ideas on how to handle trash? it really drives me nuts!

That is what the tv and subwoofer boxes are for. :)

+1

lol! thats ok when you have them but for smaller jobs where there are smaller parts/boxes/mount boxes they just seem to get thrown back there. I dont want to bring a trashcan into the customers home.

maybe its time I invent something :)

Or use a milk crate with a trashbag in it

[Link: rubbermaid.com]

Small install parts go in in the morning...trash comes out in the evening. Hose off when needed. Repeat.

Silk screen your logo on the side to make it official :-)

+1 and every van has a trash bucket.

I keep several kinds of trash bags on board. As well as the sub/AVR/TV box suggestion to keep trash. I also allocate an hour or 2 to each job to deal with trash. It is important to clean out the van/truck after each job to stay organized. The trash aspect of things is part of the project, so bill for it like anything else. See if this helps to do this consistently since you are getting paid. :)

Every time I stop for gas I empty the small stuff out at the gas station.

Customer boxes get cut up and put in their trash cans.

Big stuff like wire spools get broken up and tossed in job site dumpsters or my own if there isn't one at the job.

I have a small trash can behind the passenger seat for front trash...sandwich bags. pop cans, misc paper and such. in the back i have an old staple bucket, its small and holds a fair amount of small stuff that doesnt go into tv/sub/speaker boxes. easy to move around while trimming our too, wire strippings, short pieces of wire, plate bags and stuff, when full just dump it in the onsite trash bin or next gas stop

One could use a home depot bucket for more room/bigger jobs

Just today i spent 3 hours organizing and cleaning the inside of my trailer, and charging all batteries to full. Usually i do the cardboard box thing and throw the trash in the dumpster.

For small jobsite trash (bags, ties, wire ends, etc) I have a small drawstring bag with a carabiner attached to my tool bag.

Mine is a Husky branded one I got at HD a while ago, but something like this:

[Link: qualitylogoproducts.com]

Nevermind the trash in the Van. I've got a garage filled to the roof with TV boxes, foam...etc.. from jobs. The worst are the boxes full of cut drywall and dust. Every once it a while I clean it up and the sense of relief lasts about a day. It's just another one of life's endless cycles we all wish would to stop - along with laundry, diapers, dishes. I swear I've spent half my life dealing with these.

Besides a canvas tarp, I regularly bring something like this with me. [Link: restockit.com]. It is ideal for trim-out and installs when you reuse the same tools in different areas. New wall plates have a place, plus there are dividers for inserts, tools and garbage as you travel from room to room. I empty this and the tarp droppings in a trash can that is bungy'ed to a rack in the van.

I also begin each day with a throw-away coffee cup (Costco bag of 100) that gets all the food wrappers and small garbage whenever I return to the van and empy my pockets.

I've been using the black bags and box solutions.

I'm thinking of trying out putting a line item in the quote for trash management. If they don't go for it, leave all boxes in the garage and trash bag on the curb. Might be worth a try, bill for my time involved with dealing with the trash, if they choose not to pay for it, then don't do it. At least the option is there.

People were complaining here that their drill boxes "get" busted. When a kid talks that way, we realized that nothing "got" busted, but that the kid did it. The trash "seems" to get thrown back there?

You can have the best trash system in the world, and if things "seem" to happen, you'll end up with a neat and empty trash can and a trashy van. Just as I had to learn to always put my long drill bits in with the sharp end all facing the same way, not "let them" get in there in either direction, anything will work for you if you do it and will not work for you if you don't do it.


This is one hell of a challenge, and I have never been able to do it. A friend once compared this to the waitress who prepares the salt and pepper and sugar containers, etc. before going home. But the waitress, at that point in her day, is not now shut out of the house on the street, more than half the time in the dark, a good many days out there an hour later than she wanted to leave. This can be shifted to the morning, but who wants to start their day on yesterday's job?


I expect people to think they are being charged for the time that I am at work at their place, not with some overhead labor that they can't see; at least this seems right when we charge by the hour. A charge for cleaning up is the perfect reason to charge for rolling the truck itself, a charge separate from the hours on the job.



This is an ideal solution, but it "seems" to fill up with miscellaneous crap and the tools "get" shifted from one bay to another -- I never do this, you know. Be aware that, at least around me, there will be a several month period when HD will not only have stock on these, but the customer service people will not understand what you're talking about when you ask for them, and if shown a picture will swear they have never carried it.