Month: February 2016

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You Are What You Do, Not What You Say You’re Going to Do

Posted on | by chad

This quote resonated with me from the very first day I heard it, and it remains embedded in my brain. We all have experienced people or businesses that say that they will do something (or many things) and inevitably fail to live up to their word. It isn’t necessarily because they are liars or frauds. Often times things come up that must be attended to.

For example, Joe might tell his friends he is going to exercise tomorrow and he may have honest intentions to do so. However, the night before he stays up late watching a movie, which leads him to hitting snooze that following morning. No problem, he can exercise when he gets off work. Unfortunately, his afternoon meeting lasted longer than he intended and no longer has time to make the gym. These type of things happen to people and businesses all the time!

However, you are more likely to achieve your desired outcome if systems are put in place to prevent these unforeseeable occurrences. Here at 123JUNK we have put many systems in place to make sure that we are practicing what we preach.

One example is a system we call Operation Donation. This is where we track the amount of donations that each individual on our team has donated for that particular month. Then, at the end of this month, we tally up all of the scores to see which member of our team donated the most items. Whoever ends up with the most donations is then rewarded with a substantial bonus to their paycheck. In fact, 123JUNK invests 1% of its revenue back into this program to insure that our donation promises are being delivered.

The beautiful thing about this system is it incentivizes everyone in the company to donate as many items as they possibly can. This system has dramatically increased our average donations per month because it’s tracked and rewarded. If you want to be a “doer” and not a “sayer”, you need solid systems.

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We Love Real Estate Agents and They Love Us!

Posted on | by chad

Some of our favorite people are real estate agents. Why? Because we need each other.

It’s nice to feel needed, and when you’re called upon to help, it gives such a wonderful sense of satisfaction to know your talents, skills and resources are helpful to someone else.

Realtors work diligently to learn their field so they can help their clients. And one of their skills is knowing how to better position a home for quick sale.

On our end, 123JUNK helps Realtors with the staging process by professionally removing unwanted items from homes around Northern Virginia and Maryland. We have wonderful relationships with many, many Realtors, who love our quick turnaround and diligence about protecting the property, and we often get our jobs by referral.

Stage Your Home for Quick Sale

One of the best strategies to sell a home quickly and for the most money is to stage it, a process that includes decluttering, depersonalizing and packing up.

Buyers want to envision themselves living in the home, and often they are looking for more space. Toss out items you no longer need, clear spaces and surfaces, and remove any personal or personalized items from view. Pack up and put into storage what you won’t need in the next several months, after all, you’ll be moving soon anyway. Be sure to clear cabinets and closets as well, as buyers will be looking there too.

With minimal furniture and belongings, your home will show beautifully. Your Realtor will go through your home with you, pointing out what should stay and what should go. They may also move furniture around to create groupings and improve flow.

123JUNK Will Take Your Stuff Away

No doubt, you will be getting rid of items. They might be things you don’t use any more, broken furniture, or outdated clothing, for example. 123JUNK will remove the items for you and either repurpose, recycle or trash them. You don’t have to worry that your grandmother’s end tables will be disposed of. We work with generous charitable partners who repurpose and recycle usable items back into the community for someone else to enjoy.

Real estate agents need us to provide professional junk removal, and we need them to provide a consistent customer base. It’s nice to feel needed. If you or a realtor you know need us, please call. We’d love to work with you!

Realtor Testimonials

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Trash or Treasure?

Posted on | by chad

Working at 123JUNK, we never know what we’re going to find when we get the call to haul junk from someone’s residence. Most of the time, it’s the normal items, like worn-out furniture, old appliances, or clutter. But sometimes, even we’re surprised!

Here are some of our unusual finds that we’ve come across over the years from around Northern Virginia and Maryland.

25 Loads

One of biggest jobs to date was the removal of 25 truckloads of clothing and newspapers from a residence.

No Vroom

We were called to remove nine motorcycles from a split level home that were located in the lower level. We’re not sure how the clients got the motorcycles into the home, but we had to remove them up the flight of stairs. Since they were non-functional, they were taken to the recycling facility.

If I Only Had a Brain

One client had amassed a rather large collection of animal skulls that was no longer wanted or needed.

Read All About It

Another client wanted us to remove about five thousand comic books and catalogs, hundreds of pairs of shoes, and thousands upon thousands of CDs, store-bought and mostly unopened. These were ideal items to donate.

Eek!

In some situations, as we’re removing junk, we sometimes uncover the remains of various animals, like snakes, rodents, and even cats.

Ka-ching

Our favorite find has to be the $1,500 in scattered coins that were uncovered once the clutter and trash were removed from a home. The homeowner allowed us to keep  all coins that we could find.

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere

We once did a job that consisted of 500 bottles of unopened wine. Some was bitter, but much of it was aged to perfection.

One man’s trash..

Very often items you no longer need or want can be repurposed for use with others, and we’re glad to assist to help both you and our community. As the adage goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Please call us when you need to clear out or clean up. 

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Giving to our community: A spotlight on a few of our charity partners

Posted on | by chad

February is the month for love, and at 123JUNK, we have to say that we love our community. Not only for what it gives us, but for what we can do for it. While we are known for hauling away junk and unwanted items, many people don’t know or understand what happens to those items after they leave the home.

Every week, 123JUNK delivers 2-3 TRUCKLOADS of donated items to our charity partners, who then resell the items to raise money for their organizations or causes. These items include furniture, household items, dishes, clothing, books and more.

This activity falls directly in line with our three-pronged philosophy of donate, recycle and dispose, which we love!

Two main charitable organizations we work with include:

• Pender ReGift Thrift Store in Chantilly, VA
• Loudoun Habitat ReStore in Leesburg, VA

“People can rest assured that their “not junk” items are not being thrown away,” said Maryann Weber, director at Pender ReGift. “This not only has the environmental impact of saving our planet, it also helps the poor.”

“In a way, I feel like Robin Hood, taking the items the ‘rich’ have donated and making them available for the poor,” she continued. “If someone is sent to us from the government, nonprofit or religious referrals, they get to pick out what they need for free. We’ve set up complete households and given clothing and household goods, and 123JUNK is our regular supplier of items.” A series of special storage facilities are set up where 123JUNK loads items for Pender and other charities to pick up weekly.

Community is a Core Value

Community is one of the Core Values at 123JUNK, and other ways we love our community is by donating our time and services. We provide ongoing gratis haul away service and silent auction donations, and conduct food drives in order to give back to the community.

If you have items to donate, please give 123JUNK a call.