When you have stuff you need to get rid of that you can’t just leave on the curb with your regular trash, things can get a bit stressful. It can be hard to know what to do with your items, what the safety considerations are, and how much you can be expected to pay to get rid of stuff. The following will explore some of the things you might want to know about junk and rubbish removal.
What It Means To Hire A Junk Removal Service
When it comes to hiring a junk removal team, there are two options you have before you. You can hire for full-service, meaning that people show up to the house or office and help you carry things outside and load it up into a dumpster or vehicle and take it away for you. This option tends to be more time-saving because you’ve got the extra hands to help with the carrying and lifting and people who know how to make the most of the dumpster or vehicle space you’re working with.
The other option involves renting the dumpster and doing the lifting yourself. This allows you to work over a longer period of time if you need to. The dumpster will be delivered and picked up at a set time, leaving you several days to sort through things if you need them.
Ask The Right Questions
When considering a junk removal team for either full-service or dumpster pick up and drop off, it can be helpful to ask a few questions. You want to know whether the team is insured, what sort of items they remove, what their expected time frame is, what their expected price is, whether items are recycled, and what areas they work in. For example, if you’re looking for a company that states that they handle rubbish removal Sydney, but you’re in the greater Sydney area, you want to see if there are any additional cost or time considerations that come with the work. Sometimes time consideration is very important.
Junk Removal Is Not Trash Removal
Trash means waste that can’t be repurposed. This can include all the regular nasty things like single-use plastics, food coated cardboard products, coated paper products, and many others. Trash is what you put out in little black bags every week (or every two weeks if your city government is wacky and you’re a champion). It’s what goes to the landfill, (and yes, that means it’s contributing to one of our many human-made problems. Any waste that isn’t recycled or composted is trash.
Junk, in contrast, refers to items that are more often bulkier or heavy. Things that aren’t going to fit in a trash bag either from weight or size or are things that can be stripped, repurposed, or recycled. A junk removal Springfield VA team typically knows what can go where to make the best use of what you’re trying to get rid of.
Junk Removal Teams Don’t Take Just Anything
Contrary to popular belief, there are some things you can’t expect a junk removal team to take care of for you. Some junk is unsafe to remove in the standard way. Things like radioactive waste, propane, mercury products, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers can put people in harm’s way if they’re not handled separately. If you have something that you’re unsure of due to it posing potential harm or hazard to the removal team, be sure to discuss it ahead of time. The company you’re working with might be happy to arrange for the questionable items, but they might not have the facilities or procedures in place to ensure that items are dealt with appropriately. It’s important to separate aerosol cans even if they are empty as they still might contain highly pressurized air, which can cause explosions if crushed. Ask ahead of time for anything else that should be kept separately.
You Have More Junk Than You Know
This isn’t a judgment; it’s an observation. We’ve all got more stuff than we realize. When making estimations about the size of the container you need, understand that there’s a very good chance you might want to do another load. This means that if you need to be finished by a certain date (like if you’re moving, for instance), you should probably give yourself a bigger buffer than you first expect. Once the first round is handled, you’ll still have space for the next round if you need it.
It’s Harder To Get Rid Of Junk Than You’d Thought
The emotional side of decluttering or downsizing is always a bit heavier than we’re expecting. Even things you hate suddenly look rosy when they’re about to be tossed into a pile of garbage. Again, give yourself plenty of time if you’re working with your own possessions. Take breaks when you notice you’re starting to struggle with putting things in the “junk” pile. Making decisions, especially about what to keep in your life and what to get rid of, is incredibly emotionally taxing, hence decision fatigue. When things start getting overwhelming, take a break and let your mind have a moment where it’s not making decisions about what you’ll keep around (these sorts of choices are tied to our survival instincts as having the things we need keeps us alive, meaning it’s even more emotionally taxing than your standard everyday choices like what to have for dinner).
Tipping Junk Removal Teams Is Common
While tipping isn’t required or expected, it is something that is appreciated in the junk removal industry, especially if a job was particularly tough (involving three flights of stairs or a rainstorm, for example). If you’re unsure what a good tip is, think about how much you offer for other services like lawn care or food service. Consider if there were any challenges that made the job harder than it would typically be, like needing to scramble down into a crawl space (trust us, it’s happened) or working through a blizzard. The world has its flaws, but seeing that those who work hard are rewarded doesn’t have to be one of them.
The above information should help you figure out the basics of junk removal. It can be daunting at times, but try to envision yourself in the future—feeling light and free without all this junk weighing you down. Future you will be happy you figured it out.
