Get the junk out!

Yeah, so you’re ready to move. You’re ready to call the big moving trucks in and holy MOSES – how big a truck ARE you going to need? Have you thought about the stuff that you’re taking WITH you? Do you really need all that stuff? Is this stuff that you will EVER use again? Or will it get immediately dropped in a garage – never to be seen again? Or shoved up into an attic for your great grandkids to discover a few decades from now – PROBABLY after you’re gone?  Or will you eventually end up dragging it off to a landfill anyway?? Yup, it bears some thought.

If you don’t really see an immediate need for these items, maybe you ought to consider getting RID of some of it before you bring in the semi truck to move all your stuff. Think it might be a good idea?  Now if you only identify a few things that you can junk, then maybe a pickup truck is all you need. In many cases though, it’s going to take more than that.  Those garbage trucks you see cruising around in the early morning? Those are the sizes that most junk removal companies use. And that’s PROBABLY the size your house is going to need if you want to do some pre-move cleanout action.

So what IS junk?

In most cases, it really doesn’t even have to be junk per se – it’s just something that you don’t use or see a use for in the near future. A lot of the stuff around here that junk removal places pick up actually ends up being donated to some of the thrift stores or charity places in the Raleigh Triangle area.  And that is a great way to do things. Very little of what is really picked up really ends up in the actual landfill. Through a conscientious program to donate / repurpose much of the “junk” that is collected, removal companies often end up with a much higher re-utilization rate than homeowners do.   When you know who will take, who needs, and who WANTS all these different things, many times it’s not much more than a phone call or few to get these items where they ARE wanted – and out of your way.

Where are the likely candidates for removal?

Attics, garages, closets – those are the usual biggest and quickest places to start weeding out junk. Seriously, if you use something every day, it’s likely NOT going to be stashed away.  So we want to start in the places that things ARE stashed.  It’s also pretty likely that you might have some broken down electronics stashed somewhere. Some people hold on to that stuff thinking one day the parts that they may need might be on there. Seriously, when’s the last time you stripped ANYTHING down to scavenge parts?? Get rid of it.

Last tips

Be cold. Be unmerciful. Be efficient. IF you have doubts about something pitch it. If you immediately know when you pick something up that this will NOT be needed, go ahead and save yourself the angst – pitch it now. What you get rid of now will NOT need to be accounted for in the new house.  And likely end up saving you on having people lug it OUT of your house, load it ON a truck, drive it to your new house, load it OFF a truck. While junk removal isn’t free, it’s going to be cheaper than moving something – we guarantee it!