Happy Wednesday and welcome to May! Mother Nature finally humored us and allowed some sunny and warmer weather. So, how did we welcome in May? Well, we started by cleaning out our attic. So, the burning question is Got Junk? And what to do with it?
As you know we are moving in three short weeks! Yesterday my husband and I cleaned out our attic. I’m embarrassed to say many of the boxes in the attic have sat there unopened for 15 years. So, we did some tough love and went through each box and decided what we could donate or what to keep. Got Junk? Yes.
Being the sentimental junkie that I am, I couldn’t part with many of my boy’s toys from their childhood. I have boxes of Fisher-Price Little People sets such as the farm, garage and main street. These toys are not made anymore but were replaced with chunky people and animals. (because of a choking hazard) Naturally these are now collector’s items so we MUST keep them for our grandchildren. My children managed not to choke on them so I’m guessing my grandchildren will be equally as clever.
I also kept about 10 bins of legos, along with each instruction booklet, tons of G.I. Joe’s and clothes, baby books, a Winnie the Pooh lamp, an entire set of Pirates, a castle, pirate ship and a Moby Dick toy. I also couldn’t part with an enormous hobby horse Chase got when he was one year old and a red Radio Flyer wagon. Also kept were tinker toys, finger puppets of Sesame Street characters and a few Big Birds and dolls. Yes, I am a hoarder.
So, what did I part with? Actually a Lot!! Our community has a “free” page on Facebook where you take pictures of things you want to give away for free and it’s first come, first served. This time, because I didn’t want to hassle with holding particular items for people, I just took several pictures of the pile and posted it for free. We worded it “driveway pick up-no holds”.
Immediately after posting, we got a text from a local woman. She was interested in several of the items and came right over. She ended up taking over half of the pile! Kindly she offered to pay for it but we really just wanted to give it away so we won’t have to move it again. One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure, right? She did score a nice glass patio table, some cute vintage yard carts and plastic tubs. So happy it all went to a good home! And less for us to worry with.
We’ve also taken truck loads of things to the local Good Will. I know you’re like me, you hate to throw anything away when someone else can use it. We still have a pile of things in our driveway (apologies to our neighbors, it won’t be there long) to give away. If we don’t hear anything back today from the free page, we will take it down to the Good Will. We still have old skis, poles, boots, golf clubs, sporting equipment, etc. (I did keep our son’s tiny ski boots, because they were just too precious to part with! See?)
Also, there are clean out services like 1-800-Got-Junk? I always assumed this was a free service but it’s not. You send them a picture of your junk and they will give you an estimate. They will get rid of unwanted appliances, furniture and electronics and will recycle, resell or donate items appropriately. We have an old refrigerator, washing machine and a few pieces of large unwanted furniture that we need to get rid of. Most Good Will sites won’t take many of these items and so what do you do with them otherwise?
There are several reputable junk removal services in our area (Bucks County) so I did a little research. According to Home Advisor, the top five companies are:
1-Junk Luggers
2-TIMS-Truly Impeccable Maintenance Service
3-Junk King of Bucks County
4-1-800-Got Junk?
5-College Hunks Hauling Junk
So, how much can you expect to pay for junk removal? More than you may think. According to Home Advisor the average for 2 hours worth of junk removal is $285. Wow! More than I’d hoped to pay. The low end of the spectrum is about $60 and the high is $700. So, our new plan is to look into other ways to dispose of some of our things without paying dearly for it. I guess if you are in a rush you might be willing to pay for junk removal. We aren’t there yet!
The new plan is to dispose of the large appliances for less. Much less. It turns out Peco Energy will come pick up your working refrigerator for free AND give you a $75 rebate! The catch is it must be in working order and you must be able to prove it by leaving it plugged in so they can make sure it is cold, etc. So, today I scheduled to have our extra fridge hauled away. It’s a good thing we are starting a few weeks early since this can take a while due to their scheduling. If you are interested, you can call Peco at 1-800-494-4000. They will ask you about 100 questions, but they are coming to pick it up Friday! Yay!
The next thing is the washing machine. Technically it still works but sounds like a jet plane taking off when it goes through the spin cycle. We are ordering a new washer/dryer set and Lowe’s will haul the old ones away for free. I’m guessing Home Depot will do the same.
Now we just need to donate the other items to Good Will or locally Good Stuff Thrift Store. I have to say, it feels really good to purge and get rid of the excess “junk”. This will definitely make our move much easier. There will be less to pack up on this end and unpack and put away on the other end! My lesson/advice here is to plan in advance and sell, donate and recycle everything possible. As we discovered while going through boxes, a moving company will literally pack trash so save yourself some time and headache on the other end of your move and plan ahead! Why pay to move trash??
Well, I have much more cleaning out to do before the next Good Will trip! I hope you have a lovely day! xo Dell
P.S. I couldn’t get rid of this either…