Tag Archives: junk removal

Protect Our Planet

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Protect Our Planet

We have all been left with the task of having to care about our planet to help and make it greener and safer for our future generations. That is why we need to make sure that we recycle whatever objects we can and keep them out of our ecosystem. With so much junk that gets disposed of everyday it might be a little daunting to try and recycle as many objects as possible. With a knowledgable and great staff at a local junk removal company getting your carbon footprint to be smaller than what it is now can be a huge and vastly improvement. Plastics, glass and many other objects are but a few that can be taken into account and should be separated for recycling purposes at all times. Not only will it help out our environment but make planet earth a very enjoyable and pleasant place to be living on for all of us. So help us protect our planet and get rid of that trash, clean out, garage clean out etc and many other tasks.

Los Angeles Junk Removal

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Junk removal in Los Angeles is a growth business. Since 2008 and the implosion of the housing market in Los Angeles junk removal has experienced a growth spurt. More and more real estate agents are turning to junk removal companies to help them clean up properties, more contractors are relying on junk removal to clean up their job sites, and individual homeowners are turning to junk removal services to help them de-clutter.

But junk removal in Los Angeles also comes with its dark side and with its bad apples. Luckily, you can avoid these bad apples (mostly) and we’ll show you how.

The most common way junk removal companies in Los Angeles scam customers is the tried and true bait and switch. You call up a junk removal company and say, I have This, That, and This Other thing. And they say, Great! That will be $170. Then a couple hours or a day later that junk removal company arrives at your door, they look around at your stuff, and then say, “Oh that will now be $500.” Because of stairs, because they had to park the truck on the street, because one of the workers stubbed their toes…

So how do you avoid this tactic?

First and foremost know who your junk removal company is before you hire them. How? There are dozens of internet review sites online like Yelp and Angie’s List. Chances are your junk removal company has been review by other customers. You can also check with the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau to see if your junk removal company has had any recent complaints.

When you book your appointment ask the junk removal company you called if their price quote includes labor. Junk removal companies frequently provide low junk removal quotes, but conveniently leave off the labor charges. If you plan on having your junk removal service dispose of hazardous materials, ask how much extra they’ll charge for disposal of toxic materials.

If your junk removal company in Los Angeles does try the bait and switch, send them packing. Bait-and-switch companies rely on psychology to bully you into paying extra. Don’t give in. Hold firm to a quoted price and if they don’t want to do a job for that price, send them packing and find a new junk removal company that honors their original price.

Lastly, if a quoted price seems too good to be believed, it probably is too good to be true.

Yard Waste Removal

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The city of Los Angeles generally supplies green trash bins for yard waste and debris. But what happens if you need to get rid of a lot of yard waste? For instance, trees knock down from a Santa Ana wind or clear brush? You have two options: you can call a junk removal service in Sherman Oaks, or you can rent a dumpster.

Dumpster rental is often the cheapest solution. You can rent a smallish dumpster for a few hundred dollars and keep it for a week. However, dumpster rental may require a permit if you need to place a dumpster on a street. You are also required to do all the labor if you rent a dumpster.

Using a junk removal service in Sherman Oaks is more expensive but its a quicker method of getting rid of yard debris. A junk removal service supplies both the truck and labor. 

Get Rid of Hoarding

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Hoarding is sometimes hard to recognize. People often confuse being messy with being a hoarder, or vice versa. People often make excuses for hoarders or they tend to ignore the problem altogether. “She’s not a hoarder!” I once heard a cousin of a hoarder declare, “She’s just artistic!” 

Hoarding is not a problem that should be ignored or written off as “being messy” or “being unusual”. Here are five warning signs:

1. Collecting Odd Items, Junk, and Trash 

If a person goes out of their way to collect items that are broken beyond repair, serve no real use, or that are simply trash is a very large warning sign that someone is hoarding. Dragging garbage out of a dumpster or off a curbside and bringing it into a house is not normal behavior for any person.

2. Inability to Throwaway Items

Throwing things away is part of our every day life. We throw away garbage, trash, and broken items every day. But a hoarder often times can’t throw anything away.  They’ll make excuses, “Oh I’ll fix that toaster.” They’ll rationalize, “But this food isn’t spoiled!” And a lot of times hoarders will simply refuse to throw anything away. 

3. Distancing Oneself from Friends and Family

Hoarders often feel great shame about their hoarding behavior. They are often so ashamed of their hoarding they refuse to let anyone into their homes. Frequently hoarders cut themselves off from friends and family. And they’ll also use every opportunity to avoid having visitors inside their homes.

4. Collecting Too Many Animals

Does a person have a lot of cats or dogs? Ten or twenty? Do they all seem cared for or do they seem left to fend for themselves? Animal collection or animal hoarding is a very serious sign of hoarding. Animal hoarding should be reported to your local animal control or ASPCA.

5. Parts of a Home Become Unusable  

Hoarders can fill up rooms and rooms with junk and trash. Are their parts of a house that have been rendered unlivable and un-passable by accumulation of junk? This is a sure sign that you are dealing with a hoarder who has a very advanced hoarding problem.

If you need help with cleaning up after a hoarder or advice on where to go next click here … 

Staying Green

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Sometimes staying green can be a very difficult task. It is more expensive to recycle an old cellphone than it is to chuck it and just be rid of it. The sad truth is, that being green can all add up in the end and sometimes be even more expensive. It shouldn’t matter as long as you are doing right by the environment and doing good for all of us involved in this planet.

Electronics such as cell phones contain lead and cadmium and mercury. All of these are harmful to the environment because they can leak and dissolve into the groundwater or even worse into the air if they were to catch fire.

When contacting a Junk removal Company to hire for services, always make sure that they recycle all E-Waste that can be harmful to the environment. Companies should usually state this as a badge of honor so you won’t have to look too much but in the case that it’s not stated it’s always a good idea to ask.

To save you the trouble, we have found one of the best Junk Removal Companies that deals with E-Waste and the recycling of most of the material that they will haul off. Contact them and be sure that your junk removal services will go smooth as planned.

Clean Out an Apartment

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I manage several apartments in the Northridge area. Northridge is a great section of the San Fernando Valley. It has a nice mix of families, middle class professionals and students. I rent mostly to students who go to Cal State Northridge. So I end up turning over units pretty frequently. About half my apartment units are vacant at some point during the year. So I spend a lot of time cleaning out apartments and getting them to rent again. 

If you manage or rent apartment units I’d highly recommend using a junk removal company in Northridge to reduce time spent turning over units.

I am pretty careful about who I rent to and most of my tenants are good, hardworking kids, but when they move out they always leave something behind. Without fail. And typically its big and heavy and impossible to put into my normal dumpster. This is the right moment to call a junk removal company. They’ll come in, remove all the junk and any trash from the unit, and after that its just a matter of sending in my super to clean and make any small repairs that need to be made.

I would estimate that junk removal companies in Northridge have saved me hours and hours of labor. And cut down my turn around time by days.

Junk Removal Questions

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A junk removal service pops up every day in Los Angeles. It is a business with a fairly low bar for entry. Really all you need is a truck and a strong back. But how do you know you are getting your money’s worth when you hire a junk removal service? Here are some questions to ask your junk removal service before hiring them.

1. How Do You Price Your Junk Removal Service?

Junk removal services in Los Angeles will generally charge based on volume (i.e. how much you fill the truck with) or a flat rate per load. You also want to find out whether their quote includes labor or whether they charge a separate fees for labor. Also you want to find out if a junk removal service charges more for electronics, like computer monitors, and large bulky items like appliances and televisions

2. Will Your Junk Removal Service Remove All My Junk?

When you call a junk removal service make sure you describe all the junk you want removed. Some junk removal services in Los Angeles will not dispose of certain types of junk. Some junk removal service may not handle certain small jobs, or large jobs.

3. How Will You Get Rid of My Junk? You can your junk recycled or disposed of properly at a local landfill. You don’t want your junk to be dumped illegally.

4. Are You a Licensed and Bonded Junk Removal Service? License and bonding is a requirement for most businesses operating in Los Angeles. Also a company that has a license shows a commitment to responsible business practices.

5. How Long Have You Been in Business? Junk removal services come and go in Los Angeles at a rapid rate. Finding a junk removal service that has been in business for a while ensures you are doing business with a junk removal service that has a long standing reputation.

Tips to Help Our Environemnt

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With all the landfills getting dumped on a daily basis you have to wonder how long we can last with all this trash. If you think about all the trash that gets dumped on a daily basis you might get depressed and think that there is no hope for humanity. That is one way of looking at things but have you ever looked in the mirror and decided that you want to make a change and help in preserving our future? There are many personal steps we can all take in order to help out our environment and ensure that our loved ones and their children have a planet to call home. Here are some easy steps you can make in order to reduce the amount of junk you dispose of everyday.

1.The first one is an oldie but a goodie. Recycle your cans and bottles! Nothing can be easier and in the long run pays off because you can get cash for all those bottles and containers.

2. Re-use those scraps of paper for various uses! Remember that not your loved one left you this morning? Well you can keep it and re-use by leaving another note on the back!

3. If you change your own oil, make sure you save it and take it to a location that can dispose of it properly. That one will really help our environment.

4. Turn off all your lights and appliances when not in use. This one is also a no brain-er as it saves you money when you aren’t wasting electricity.

As you can see there are many things you can do to save money and also help our environment and protect our planet.

Construction Debris Recycling

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Back in the old days most, if not all, construction debris was sent to the landfill. And the old days aren’t that old. Sending construction debris directly to the landfill was a pretty regular practice fifteen years ago. Now things are different.

General contractors use hauling services that recycle construction debris on a regular basis. What do these hauling services recycle? Wood can be recycle quite easily into other wood products. Recycled concrete is highly sought after by contractors who turn that concrete into aggregate. Even things like bathroom fixtures are frequently recycled. Items like faucets and fixtures recovered from older homes are often resold to people seeking an antique look in their bathroom or those seeking to restore a home to an original style.

How do you make sure your general contractor recycles? First and foremost ask if your general contractor uses a hauling service that recycles. You can also ask your general contractor to provide recycling receipts from the recycling centers they use to dispose of construction debris. 

Recycling construction debris isn’t just the smart thing to do, it can also save you time and money. Many larger cities are expediting permits and reducing the cost of permits for those who choose to recycle construction debris.

Cleaning Out Your Garage This Summer? Recycle, Don’t Throw Out

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Summer is here and its time to clean out your garage. If your garage is anything like mine you’ve probably got boxes piled to the ceiling and you just want to get rid of that stuff. And if you don’t want to do it there is an entire mini-industry based around garage clean outs (click here to find out more about junk removal and professional garage clean outs).  

But before you start hauling all your garage junk to the garbage STOP. Okay, now that we’ve got your attention, before you throw out the stuff in your garage consider donating to local thrift shops and charities instead. Why?

Donating Unwanted Items Keeps Them Out the Landfill

Donating items can keeps them out of the landfill and gives those items a second (and sometimes third and fourth) life. Less trash in the landfill means a better environment and less trash left behind for our kids and grandkids.

Donating Unwanted Items Helps Charities and Local Stores

Many charities depend on income brought in by associated thrift shops to fund their charitable efforts. Also charity thrift shops often provide dignity and employment to disabled individuals and provide valuable services to your community. 

Donating Unwanted Items Helps You

Donations to charity can provide you with a valuable tax write-off. Make sure you ask for a receipt from your charity.

Be sure you check with your charity of choice or thrift shop of choice before donating. Many charities have rules about what they will and will not except (some don’t take appliances older than a certain date for instance). Also be aware that thrift shops don’t accept paints and other household hazardous materials. You may also want to ask your thrift shop or charity of choice if they have an “Items Wanted List” and no doubt some of the things you’ve cleaned out of your garage are on them.