Why the June 12 deadline is the whole story
The University of Denver runs its spring closing on a hard clock. Residence halls have to be completely vacated by 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2026, with the closing meetings and final checkouts stacked into May 12–19 and finals week. Miss the 9 a.m. cutoff and an improper-checkout fee can land on your student account — and that fee doesn't care that the reason you're late is a mattress you couldn't fit in the Subaru. The problem every June is simple: the stuff that can't come home (the mini-fridge two roommates split, the futon from a Facebook Marketplace deal, a mattress you're not driving back to Kansas) has to be out, and campus dumpsters aren't sized for it. That's the exact gap we fill — book the window, we show up, the room's clear before your parents' car is even loaded.
How a DU move-out pickup works
Snap the mattress, the mini-fridge, whatever's staying behind. Flat price back in seconds — no walkthrough, no "we'll quote on site."
Same-day is usually open, but during the June 12 rush lock a slot a day or two ahead so you're cleared before the 9 a.m. deadline.
A vetted crew lifts everything from the room — up or down the walk-up stairs — and hauls it. Good stuff gets donated. You lift nothing.
What a move-out actually costs around DU
Flat and photo-quoted — the carry-out, the drive, and the disposal are already baked in. Here's what the usual end-of-year suspects run:
| Move-out item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Mini-fridge | $115 |
| Twin mattress | $82 |
| Full mattress | $94 |
| Queen mattress | $103 |
| Box spring | $92 |
| Futon | $111 |
| Desk (standard) | $83 |
| Dresser | $126 |
| Bookshelf | $72 |
| Armchair / papasan | $77 |
| Bags of move-out trash (10) | $132 |
$75 minimum. Two roommates clearing a whole apartment usually land on a truck-fill flat rate — a quarter load is $241, a half load $431 — one number for the entire room, mattress and mini-fridge and trash together. No Colorado sales tax on the service.
For context, local Denver haulers quote roughly $60–$99 for a single small item and $148 or so for a quarter truck — our flat number includes carrying it down the dorm or walk-up stairs and the disposal, confirmed before we roll.
4 ways to clear a dorm room by June 12
| Option | Cost | Speed | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campus dumpster | Free | Now | Not sized for mattresses or fridges; overflow gets charged back to your hall |
| Drive it home / to a store | Gas + your back | Hours | A twin mattress and a mini-fridge don't fit a packed car; someone has to lift it |
| Denver Large Item Pickup | Free | Up to ~9 weeks | City-trash homes only (not dorms/apartments), curbside, you'll be gone before it comes |
| JunkRabbit | From $75 flat | Same day | None — flat photo price, we carry it out, donation-routed |
Does Denver pick up dorm junk during move week?
Not in any way that helps a student on a June 12 clock. The city's free Large Item Pickup program (Denver 311 · 720-913-1311) only serves city-trash single-family and small-multi homes — dorms and most apartment buildings around DU aren't even on it. And where it does run, it comes only about once every nine weeks on a rotating zone schedule, takes a max of five large items, and is curbside-only, meaning you'd have to muscle the mattress to the street and then leave campus long before the truck ever arrives. Waiting nine weeks is not an option when your key is due back at 9 a.m. Friday. That's the whole reason we exist for this crowd — we come the day you're leaving, carry it out of the room, and it's handled.
What students leave behind (and we take)
- Mini-fridges & microwaves — the shared-appliance graveyard of every dorm floor.
- Mattresses & box springs — twin, full, or queen from an off-campus rental.
- Cheap furniture — futons, papasan chairs, particle-board desks, bookshelves, a lofted-bed frame.
- The whole apartment — two or three roommates' worth of couch, mattresses, and move-out trash in one truck-fill.
- Move-out bags & boxes — the closet you swore you'd sort and never did.
Where your good stuff ends up
End-of-year at DU produces an astonishing amount of perfectly usable stuff — mini-fridges with one year on them, futons, lamps, unopened supplies. We route anything clean and resellable to donation first: ARC Thrift Stores, Goodwill of Colorado, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore all take usable furniture and appliances across the metro, and you can ask for a tax receipt. Mattresses that are still sound go toward recycling rather than the landfill. What's genuinely done gets disposed responsibly, and every load rides tarped — which on the Front Range also keeps the tip fee from doubling for an uncovered truck. It's all inside your flat price.
Walk-ups, dorm stairs, and the DU-area reality
Student housing around DU is a mix of residence-hall floors and older Platt Park and Old South Pearl walk-up apartments — and both mean stairs. A mattress down three flights, a mini-fridge out of a top-floor unit, a futon that never should have gone up in the first place: that carry-out is exactly what we do, and because Denver is flat ground it's just stairs — no elevator, no hill, no surcharge, it's in the flat price. Street parking on the Pearl Street blocks gets tight during move week; we handle the truck placement so you're not coordinating it between finals.
When DU students call us
- Residence-hall checkout — the room cleared and the improper-checkout fee dodged before 9 a.m. June 12.
- Lease-end on an off-campus rental — Old South Pearl or Platt Park apartment emptied on the deadline.
- Graduating and driving out of state — the furniture that isn't worth the U-Haul, gone.
- Roommate split — one whole apartment, one flat truck-fill, one stop.
- Parents flying in — the pile handled so the drive home isn't a Tetris nightmare.
Why DU students pick JunkRabbit
- Flat price from a photo — you (and your parents) know the number before we arrive; no on-site upsell.
- We do the lifting — carried out of the dorm or walk-up, down every flight, no surcharge for stairs.
- Booked to your deadline — a locked window before the 9 a.m. June 12 cutoff.
- Donation-first & licensed — usable stuff donated; a licensed, insured Denver hauler with tarped loads.
What DU move-outs say
"Checkout was 9 a.m. and I still had a mattress, a mini-fridge, and a futon at 6 p.m. the night before. Sent a photo, they came that evening, flat price, room empty. No fee on my account."
"Three of us split an Old South Pearl apartment. One flat truck-fill for the whole thing — couches, three mattresses, all the trash. Down two flights, no stair charge. Easiest part of finals week."
"Graduating and driving to Texas, didn't want to haul my furniture. They donated the fridge and the desk and sent me a receipt. Fair price, same day, done before my flight."
DU move-out questions, answered
When do the halls have to be empty?
9:00 a.m. Friday, June 12, 2026, with closing meetings May 12–19. After 9 a.m. an improper-checkout fee can apply — we schedule right up to the afternoon before.
How much for a mini-fridge and a mattress?
Mini-fridge $115, twin mattress $82, full $94, futon $111 — flat and photo-quoted. Together in one stop is one number. $75 minimum, no Colorado sales tax.
Do you serve apartments, not just dorms?
Both — the residence halls plus student rentals across Platt Park, University, and Old South Pearl (80210). Walk-up stairs are in the flat price.
Can I book same-day during move week?
Usually, but June 12 fills up — if you know your date, book a day or two ahead to guarantee your window.
Move-out junk removal around DU
Frequently asked questions
Can you do a DU move-out on the same day I call?
Usually yes. Same-day is normally open around the University of Denver, Platt Park and Old South Pearl. But the week of the June 12 residence-hall deadline is the one time slots fill, so if you already know your checkout date, book a day or two ahead and lock the window you want.
When exactly do DU residence halls have to be empty?
DU's spring residence halls close for the year at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2026, with closing meetings running May 12–19. After 9 a.m. on the 12th an improper-checkout fee can apply, so the room needs to be cleared and your junk gone before that cutoff. We schedule pickups right up to the last afternoon before you leave.
How much does it cost to haul my dorm stuff?
Flat and photo-quoted: a mini-fridge is $115, a twin mattress $82, a full mattress $94, a futon $111, a desk $83, a dresser $126, a bookshelf $72. Two roommates splitting a whole apartment usually land on a quarter-to-half truck-load flat rate. The $75 minimum covers a small single-item run, and there's no Colorado sales tax on the service.
Can you take the mattress and the furniture in one trip?
Yes — mattress, mini-fridge, futon, desk, papasan chair, the pile of move-out trash, all in one stop. Send one photo of the room and you get a single flat price for the whole thing, not a per-item surprise at the curb.
Do you cover DU-area apartments, not just the dorms?
We cover both — the residence halls on campus and the student rentals and apartment buildings across Platt Park, University, Old South Pearl and the 80210 blocks around DU. Third-floor walk-up with no elevator? The carry-down is in the flat price, Denver's flat so there's no hill surcharge.
What happens to the stuff that's still good?
Move-out season is full of perfectly usable furniture, mini-fridges and unopened dorm supplies. Anything clean and resellable we route to donation — ARC Thrift Stores, Goodwill of Colorado, Habitat for Humanity ReStore — so it gets a second life instead of a landfill. What's worn out is disposed responsibly, and every load is tarped.