[This article was originally published in April 2022 and has been expanded and revised.]
Every few years or so, many folks look around their homes and realize that they need some decluttering in their living spaces and to get rid of some junk.
And all of this well-intentioned decluttering and cleaning up will most likely result in the need for some serious residential junk removal. So, how do you deal with that?
Granted, after a cold and blustery winter it often seems like a natural thing to open the windows, air out the house, and clean things up once the weather's nicer. And that's all well and fine. But the truth is that there are many times when we just have had enough of the clutter and decide to do something about right then, no matter what time of year it is.
For others, it's not so much a particular time of year as much as it is a time of life.
As families get older, the kids move out, and the parents have less people in the home and more time on their hands, the temptation to simplify and "downsize" their lifestyle a bit can be quite strong.
Nothing extreme, of course. Just some decluttering and removing unneeded and unwanted items from their home.
This could be old clothes, broken down equipment and furniture, unwanted books, magazines, and other materials. In some cases it might include all the old stuff they've been "storing" in the garage or unused bedrooms after realizing it's mostly things they no longer want or need. All the excess clutter and even some useable but unwanted items like furniture or electronics might go.
For some people, this might also involve going through items in their yards, storage sheds, tool sheds, and even rented storage units.
Of course, this can be quite a large undertaking depending on how extensive the decluttering process is and how much "stuff" there is to sort through and get rid of.
While very few people are actual hoarders, many of us do suffer from an inability to get rid of things we don't really need or even want. And this is one of the main causes of household clutter.
Although many homeowners and renters may not think of the garage as part of their home's "living space" it's the average garage that often ends up becoming a free "storage facility." In fact, it's been estimated that approximately a third of all residential garages have no room for a car!
For example, a recent article noted that,
A survey of detached homeowners in Sacramento, California, published in February, showed that when there isn't space enough for both storing a car and household items, the cars are the items that end up moving elsewhere. The survey found that 37 percent of homeowners didn't store a single car in their garage.
And that's just the family garage. Many homes have attics or basements - or both - and in a vast majority of cases these areas are filled with stored belongings.
As the late comedian George Carlin famously said in one of his monologues,
That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is- a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it.
The problem is that all of our "stuff" inevitably leads to clutter, and clutter eventually leads to an increased level of stress and even chronic, low-level anxiety. But the solution is relatively simple:
Decluttering, cleaning up, and residential junk removal.
With that in mind, we created this simple checklist to guide you through the clutter removal process:
We're not judging, but it is a truth that most of us in the United States probably possess more things than we need and more stuff than we can use. And the longer we stay in one place , like a house, the more we seem to accumulate.
How bad is it?
The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) shared this on their website a few years back,
- The average American home has 300,000 items. (LA Times)
- Twenty-three percent of adults pay late fees on bills because they lose them. (Harris Interactive)
- One out of four houses with two-car garages keeps so much stuff in it they can’t even fit a car in the garage. (US Department of Energy)
- On average, every American throws away over 68 pounds of clothing. Per year! (The Huffington Post)
- Americans spend about $1.2 trillion a year on non-essential items. (The Wall Street Journal)
We're not saying that Americans are a nation of hoarders either. While that is a real issue for some and can be a tragic one, at that, the simple fact is that many homeowners can benefit from doing a bit of decluttering and clearing out of things.
For some people, this can be a major undertaking - almost on the scale of cleaning out the home of a genuine hoarder. People who have lived in the same home for more than 10 years or so are often shockingly surprised at how much stuff and junk they've collected and accumulated.
This has been a sobering reality that many homeowners have confronted recently with the vast number of homes that have been sold. The owners sold their homes and, after 10, 12, or even 20 or more years of living in them, they had to pack up and move.
And the sheer volume of things they possess came to light in the packing process!
While you may not be preparing for a move, you may still want to take stock of what you have, what you need and want, and start culling and sorting while you declutter and clean up.
But once this has been done and you're now left with piles of things to be disposed of, what do you do with all that?
Your local Junk King junk removal team is ready to help you give your home a clean "reset" with our expert junk removal services. Once you’ve got all your unwanted things cleared away and giving yourself more room in your home, it's quite likely you'll have more than a few piles of old things to get rid of.
That won't be a problem with a quick call to Junk King, however. We’ve got you covered!
At Junk King, we understand the importance of decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your home. And we also realize that the end result is often piles of things that now have to be gotten rid of.
Relax and let Junk King take care of the junk and all your other unwanted stuff!
Our professional and expert residential junk removal services can provide you with an easy solution for clearing out your clutter and hauling away your unwanted junk after the holidays.
All that clutter you're tossing out does not have to end up in a landfill. That's because Junk King works had to recycle every bit of material as possible. Which means that you can feel good about doing the eco-friendly thing by working with us.
And not only do we recycle but we also send usable items to local non-profits and other donation centers to help your community and reduce waste. One person’s unwanted furniture, clothing or electronics can be a great gift for someone less fortunate!
Our professional and insured trash removal team will show up on time at your home on time, as promised, and we'll even call 15 to 30 minutes before we arrive.
Once we're there we’ll give you a free estimate based on how much room your junk items take up in our truck. You simply point and we'll load your unwanted clutter and other items into our junk removal trucks - and all without any hidden fees!
Just make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).