So you've bought the house that you're going to use to begin the road to real estate wealth.

We are going to assume that you have already been through the house with a contractor prior to purchasing it so it's not the first time you've seen the house. You have just come from the closing to survey your new purchase. All the previous occupant's stuff (well some of it anyway) should be out of the house.

In all actuality, if you buy houses that make sense financially, the previous occupant will have left a small moving truck worth of junk for you to dispose of. We frequently buy houses from estates and take them "as is". We get 50 years' worth of Ma and Pa's leftovers after they've all been picked and fought over by the kids. This is frequently a good thing - as the majority of furnishings in our home are from just such leftovers. This will make good fodder for another column - so back to the topic at hand.

The first decision to make is to decide what needs to go and where it should go. In some locales, the trash companies will pick up a good size load of leftovers. Trash men are especially friendly if you help them throw stuff on the truck and give them a tip for their lunch or break. This may work in some places for a small amount of stuff.

If you have a large amount of trash, you should consider a dumpster. Construction dumpsters can be rented for varying prices from local companies. These are called roll--offs because the are delivered on a truck and rolled off the truck onto a firm surface (usually the driveway) with a winch. They are rolled back onto the truck the same way.

Call around if you decide you need one of these. I have seen them go for $150-$500 a week in Oklahoma. They are all emptied at the same dump. There is just a difference in overhead and sometimes the condition of the dumpster. I can only imagine the rates in major metropolitan areas with more limited dump space.

Part of the decision making process is walking through and deciding what has to be thrown out and what can be saved. Keep in mind that you may want to tear out the carpet and the pad and they will take up a great deal of space. I would recommend that you always get a 20-yard dumpster. Check the prices.

However, if you're like me, I always underestimate how much junk I will throw away. Remember that dumpsters are rented by capacity as well as by the number of times they are emptied. Some vendors also charge a daily fee. One full 20-yard container will cost less than a 13 yard if it has to be dumped twice. You will have to do the math and compare rates as they vary a lot by locality. Next time we'll talk about what to do first and put some order to the various tasks.