Psssst!! Have you heard? My book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, is out!
If you haven’t heard, where have you been?? I’ve been yakking about it for what seems like forever!
I’m looking forward to hearing your decluttering stories as you use the plan in the book to get your clutter out. I’ve loved seeing reviews from advance readers saying they’ve already started decluttering huge amounts of junk.
As you start filling up Donate Boxes, It’s quite possible you’ll have this thought: I just wish someone would come take it all away.
Or more realistically:
I just wiiiiiisssshhhh someone would come and take it allllll awaaaaaay.
If you’ve had those thoughts and you’ve seen 1-800-GOT-JUNK? trucks or advertisements, you’ve probably wondered how their service works. I know I have.
So I’m happy to share their answers to some of my questions about the process. I find that understanding a process takes me far. Dreaming about what a service might do while assuming they probably wouldn’t do everything I’m dreaming they’d do . . . just paralyzes me.
Realistic information is much better.
Q: For a successful experience with 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, what should someone have already done before they call you? For example, does everything need to be sorted before the crew arrives?
A: They will remove junk from wherever it’s located, and they won’t leave a dent or speck of dirt behind. When they say we’re your full-service junk removal company, they really mean it. When they arrive, just point to the junk you want removed. You will want to have items sorted, but they can simply be put in areas throughout your space.
My thoughts: This means you could realistically have a Donate Room instead of a thousand Donate Boxes!
Q: Does the crew help with sorting at all?
A: No
My thoughts: That’s okay. Decluttering at the Speed of Life will make sorting a breeze. You’ll totally be able to do it.
Q: Do they climb into attics or basements?
A: Yes. They go to the “junk” and take it away.
My thoughts: Woohoo! No need to haul your donations up and down stairs (or attic ladders). Sort it where it is and let them climb.
Q: What happens to the junk that’s hauled away?
A: They do their best to donate and recycle as much as they can. When you use 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, you’re helping to keep junk out of the landfill and giving back to the community, too.
My thoughts: Whew. That’s nice.
Q: How is the service priced? By the hour? By hazard level (i.e. climbing into attics)? By the pound?
A: The price is based on volume (how much space your junk takes up in their truck). When they arrive, just point to the junk you want removed and they will provide you with an all-inclusive price – it’s that simple.
My thoughts on using this service.
It would be mentally freeing to know that my main job was to make decisions about the things in my home and then make a toll free phone call. Having someone else decide what actually happens to that stuff (and then make it happen) would be nice.
We’ll soon be finishing up the cleanout of my inlaws’ home. I’ll definitely remember this easy-to-remember number in case we need it.
Thanks to 1-800-GOT-JUNK for answering my questions and for sharing information about Decluttering at the Speed of Life on your blog!
--Nony
We used a similar service when we moved (to take away the stuff we weren’t taking with us), and it was great. Kind of pricey I thought, but the ease was worth it!
They don’t serve my (rural) area. We do, however, have at least one charity that will come take donations. That means we only have to deal with removing the trash 🙂
1-800-GOT-JUNK was a godsend when I had to start cleaning out my mother’s house. She died suddenly after a terminal cancer diagnosis and lived in a big city three states away. I came into town for a few days to get the ball rolling. Because my mom lived in a city the option of renting a dumpster was out. I set up an appointment over the phone and they came and took away WHATEVER needed removing from ANYWHERE in the house. Heavy sofa on the third floor, no problem. Icky bags of who knows what from the depths of a basement, removed with a smile. Rubbermaid bins of old toiletries too heavy to drag a few feet, they easily took them down three flights of steps. They were a bit pricey but well worth it as they provided a solution where there seemed to be few options. As anyone who has cleaned out a family home after a death knows, it is an incredibly difficult task both physically and mentally. Even after two full truck loads it seems like we barely made a dent – but that’s another story. Can’t wait to read your new book!!
There’s no 1-800-GOT-JUNK service where I live, but I can donate things via a woman in our congregation who goes to a Free Store nearby, & my recycling goes with two other people in our congregation who take their recycling all the time & are willing to take mine too.
When I got rid of old mattresses and bedsprings, they were the only folks who would come and get them. They were on time and courteous. It was about 60 bucks (I think I remember) but I really had no other way of disposing of them and They were old when I got them 25 years before, so – ready to be retired, for sure!
Awesome! Based on this post I have just made the call to get some stuff out of my house practically immediately. It’s worth money to me to not have to wrestle them (*) out of my house to the dump, or list them for sale or give-away (and one of them is too heavy for me to lift, but probably not too heavy for the 2 sturdy people who will come). I just want them gone!
(*) “them” =
4 (!) lawnmowers
2 air conditioners
2 ladders
1 sewing machine