Are you accumulating old junk faster than you expected? Maybe it’s time to declutter if the broken mini fridge now serves as a footrest or the old TV is just wall art. As a result, we are left with the burning question, “How can I get rid of old junk?”
When you have old junk piling up, what do you do with it? The following 10 tips and tricks are provided by industry experts to help you get rid of junk quickly and easily.
1. Online selling of used items
When thinking about selling junk online, people usually start with Craigslist. Having said that, Craigslist isn’t the only way to sell your unwanted items. You can also use other apps and websites.
You can sell (and buy) name-brand clothes, shoes, and accessories on ThredUp or Poshmark that may not fit you or your style anymore.
Selling your unwanted electronics on Gazelle is a great option, as well as online auction sites such as OfferUp and Letgo.
It’s likely you will have some success selling that old desk or filing cabinet on Facebook Marketplace if you take some good photos of it and write a good description.
Instead of inviting a stranger into your home, you can post your unwanted items on social media where the person you are selling the dining set or elliptical to is more likely to know you personally.
2. Donate Unwanted Items
Do you have bags of shoes, clothes, and toys sitting in your trunk that you haven’t taken to the donation boxes you see around town? The options for donating gently used junk are increasing, and there are even more junk items that can be donated.
You can donate your old furniture, appliances, electronics, and even exercise equipment to national charities like Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army.
Large items that will not fit into a dropbox should be taken to the charity’s donation center. For more information, you can call or visit the charity’s website.
You can feel good about donating your sofa, washer, or lawnmower, knowing that you are keeping garbage out of landfills and helping people in your community.
3. Transform Junk into Hand-Me-Downs
You probably don’t want to spend your weekend hocking your stuff to a bunch of thrifty strangers. Instead, tell your friends and family about it.
Your stuff will be more likely to be taken off your hands by people who know you well and trust you. Then, send a list of the items you’re giving away to your friends and family.
Even if they don’t need a headboard or bed frame themselves, they probably know someone who does.
What’s even better? Visit loved ones you haven’t seen in a while and catch up with them now.
4. Throw away junk you don’t need
It matters not what it looks like as long as it’s free and it works for college students. You can advertise on college campuses by posting flyers or posters.
The students who see your flyers might not be in need of any of them, but they may have a friend or family member who could use a fridge or table until they can afford something of their own.
Even if you didn’t succeed at selling your junk, try giving things away by posting pictures of the items on a message board you belong to.
Another option is to utilize an app like Freecycle or Nextdoor, which allows you to give away items in your own neighborhood.
5. Upcycle items that you no longer need
Getting crafty and using your old junk can turn it into treasure. Even though an old, worn-out sofa or a discarded laptop can still be salvaged, a lot of that stuff has seen better days.
Despite some items not being in the best shape to serve the purpose you purchased them for, they can still serve a useful purpose elsewhere in your home.
Don’t be worried if you don’t feel creative. A lumpy sofa cushion can be turned into a pet bed by covering it with an old t-shirt, or a rusty tire rim can be turned into a fire pit by adding some stones and fire glass.
Imagination opens up a world of possibilities when you start using it.
6. Recycle your old stuff
Most people are unaware that a lot of junk items can be recycled, particularly things made of metal, wood, fibers, and foam, like old mattresses, furniture, and appliances.
It isn’t just a matter of throwing your old PC monitor or broken chair in the trash and moving on, but being green and living responsibly includes recycling as much of your junk as you can.
Bulky items like appliances and mattresses won’t be picked up by most regular recycling services, so you’ll have to transport them yourself to the recycling center.
Renting a truck and hauling equipment to transport your junk will take up a lot of your time and cost a lot of money.
7. Just Throw It Away
You also need to contact them and request a special pickup to have your bulky waste hauled away, regardless of whether you’re using a private waste company or your regular garbage collection service is government-run.
It is likely that you will have to pay additional fees and that there are restrictions on what kind of junk can be picked up. As well, your junk can take up to a week to be removed.
Unless you want to haul your bulky junk to a landfill or transfer station right away, you’ll probably have to load it into your own truck.
You need to bring proof of residence to the dump if you plan to leave your old mattress or recliner there.
You will also have to pay disposal fees. If you have bulky junk items like furniture and appliances, you can probably drop off a truckload for around $500. Alternatively, you can hire a professional junk removal service like Junk Wizard to get it removed for less.
8. Use a junk removal service
The people who take your junk away aren’t just the people who come with the big dump truck every week. If you have large, bulky items or several boxes and bags of small junk you need to be removed, then junk haulers are the ones to call.
The men and women that work for junk removal companies come to your home or office and take your junk from wherever it is and dump it into their truck.
A junk removal company is invaluable if you are dealing with heavy, bulky items that are hard to move, whether you are decluttering, moving, remodeling, or relocating.
While some junk removal companies just toss your junk in the landfill, there are numerous eco-friendly junk removal companies that will recycle your junk or donate it to charity instead of sending it to a landfill.
There is a fee for junk removal, but if you consider how much time, energy, stress, and money you could save by having someone else handle everything, it is a very small price to pay.
9. Keeping junk off the street
You can always just carry on holding on to your junk forever if none of these options seem feasible to you or you’re just too emotionally attached to that pool table or mini fridge in the basement. The problem is solved.
This is obviously a joke. LOL!
We can also help you estimate what a hoarder’s clean-up will cost if you’re looking to help them.
10. Get Organized!
Now that you’ve purged all the clutter, you only have to worry about how to keep it from piling back up.
Try to remain organized moving forward. The easier it is to locate everything, the less likely you are to buy more.
Prior to going shopping, make a list of the things you really need. You shouldn’t buy anything you don’t need. Don’t forget to get rid of anything that was in your home before you bought the new item whenever you purchase non-consumables.
Taking these steps will allow you to save a great deal of time, money, and space.
Junk Wizard offers fast, easy, and affordable junk removal at lower prices than other junk removal companies.
You can contact us by phone or using our online form if you would like to find out why Junk Wizard is the best Junk removal service in America or if you would like to book a pickup with us.
