Month: February 2022

four men posing in front of company moving truck

What to Do With Your Unwanted Household Items

Posted on | by Linda Barrett

If you’re like others, you have many items around your home that you just don’t need or use any more. Perhaps you’ve replaced the furniture with newer versions. Or maybe the kids have outgrown their clothes and toys. No matter what the reason, you’re ready to get rid of these items. But…they might be in too good a shape to throw away. That’s when you wonder what to do with your unwanted household items.

123JUNK has the perfect solution.

123JUNK offers a one-stop solution to clearing out your unwanted household items. We started our business and run it successfully with the philosophy of Donate-Recycle-Dispose.

Donate

If your unwanted items are in good or even great shape, or if you desire to donate items, 123JUNK can pick up these items and carry them to one of our local charity partners like A Wider Circle, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Passion for Community or the Montgomery County Humane Society. There, your items can be provided to a family in need, or sold in one of the retail outlets to raise money for charitable causes.

You will be provided with a receipt of your donation that you can use for a tax deduction.

Recycle

Sometimes an item isn’t in good enough shape to be repurposed back into the community, however, it may contain materials that can be recycled. It is our goal to keep as many items out of our area landfills as possible. We’ll divide out items like metals, electronics, some plastics, paper, cardboard, clothing, and other recyclables when we load our big red truck and deliver them directly to an area recycling center.

Dispose

Only after the Donate and Recycle options are depleted do we set aside the rest of the collection to deliver to area landfills.

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Talk to Our Representative

If you’re wondering what to do with your unwanted household items, give 123JUNK a call. We don’t use automated answering systems, so you’ll reach one of our client relationship representatives (“meet” them on our blog!). Feel free to ask questions about our processes, our charity partners, our fees, and even our values structure.

Enjoy Convenient Flat Fee Pricing

Speaking of fees, you’ll enjoy 123JUNK’s flat fee pricing. It doesn’t matter how heavy the load is or how long it takes us to load and deliver it. Our rates are set based on how much space the items take on our trucks. And we have some of the the largest trucks in the industry!

Included in your price quote are the fuel costs, labor charges, disposal fees, donation delivery costs, and full damage insurance. We can give an estimate over the phone. (10% discount for curbside pickups!)

Labor Only Services

Don’t forget about 123JUNK’s labor-only services. We’ll be glad to move items around your property while we’re hauling away your unwanted household items.

Wondering What to Do With Your Unwanted Household Items? Call 123JUNK.

If you’re in Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington DC and are wondering what to do with your unwanted household items, contact 123JUNK. We’re proud of our 1-2-3 Donate-Recycle-Dispose process, and you will be too, knowing you’ve helped the environment and perhaps other families in your own community. Learn more about the 123JUNK story.

123JUNK is the first choice for junk hauling in your neighborhood. And the easiest solution to your junk removal needs. Call us at 1-800-364-5778 to schedule your next pickup.

two woman working at a table with text on the left

Partner Spotlight: Christina Bond, Creating Space DC

Posted on | by Linda Barrett

Meet our Partner – Christina Bond, owner of Creating Space DC

We’d like to introduce you to another great partner of 123JUNK. In this post, you’ll meet an organizing expert who helps homeowners declutter and keep only those items that “spark joy” utilizing Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method.

Tell us about what you do at Creating Space DC.

I help people declutter. I’m called a professional organizer, but if people that call me don’t say anything about needing to declutter first, before we organize, then I refer them to one of my organizing colleagues. My passion is helping my clients take a fresh look at what they have, where the clutter builds up, and why it is still there. Hopefully, we get some insights into why the clutter accumulated in the first place, which is a long-term solution rather than a quick fix. I am certified by Marie Kondo’s organization to coach people through the KonMari Method.

What is your background?

I was in the Navy and attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis, after which I served on a cruiser and an aircraft carrier. With Creating Space DC, I’m a Certified KonMari Master Consultant. To earn my certification, I took a three-day training in person, and after the training session we had to submit reports on practice clients for at least 30 hours until the organization felt satisfied that we were staying true to the KonMari Method. Then, I had a written test and an interview. I continue to submit reports and moved up through the certification levels, based on the number of hours put into teaching the KonMari Method. I now have more than 1,500 hours in client sessions to date.

How did you get interested in this business?

My interest started with the KonMari Method. I heard about it on Facebook from a friend who posted a picture of her stuff going out the door. Then I read Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in the airport on the way home from a yoga retreat. It was powerful for me. By the time I arrived home, I had a few pages of notes full of things I wanted to get out of my house, so I did the process on my own home. I loved it so much that I created my own business helping other people through the method. I’m also interested in Japanese culture having lived in Japan and studying there in high school.

Did you have any insights when decluttering your own home?

I actually got stuck partway through the KonMari Method in the paper category. I wished I had a coach to help me through that. I ended up getting through it because I signed up for Marie Kondo’s training and had to complete my own tidying marathon.

What is the KonMari Method?

There are two things that distinguish the KonMari Method from other organizing methods. First is the idea of sorting and organizing by category and not by location. It’s not “I need help with the basement.” Rather, you look at categories, like books, clothes, and papers, for example. Once you start pulling the categories together, storage areas eventually get resolved. The second distinguishing characteristic is the very simple decision-making criteria: Does it spark joy? I have people touch each item and then ask themselves, “Does it lift my energy, or do I feel ‘ugh’ about it?” Then I start asking questions like “Would you pack it for a vacation?” or “When was the last time you used it?”

Marie Kondo has a particular KonMari folding method. Do you teach that?

Yes. I show my clients how to fold items and put them away using that method, but I don’t push that point if they don’t want to do it.

Do you help with downsizing?

Sometimes. But if people are thinking about moving, they have to work with me in advance. If they’re just about to move, it’s too late to do the type of editing we do.

How did you meet 123JUNK?

I joined the local NAPO chapter (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals) where 123JUNK is a business partner. I heard about them at one of the monthly meetings, had a client who needed their services, and I suggested them. When I reached out, I got a great and quick response. They gave me an idea of pricing right away so I could tell my client during our session. The client used them and the job went well.

Do you have a favorite story about 123JUNK?

My client had ordered a lot of things online and had never even taken the items out of the boxes. There were piles of unopened boxes in several different rooms. I helped the client to open the boxes and when we did, there was a lot of cardboard to get rid of. We also decluttered the home and had a pile of both trash and donations. It filled half the garage. When 123JUNK came, they were able to take the cardboard for recycling, the trash and the donations all at one time. 123JUNK is always responsive—I get a quick response, which I appreciate. And after the job, they emailed to thank me for the referral.

What is your favorite part of your business?

I get to see a range of people, and everyone is so different. I love hearing their personal stories. Some people are extremely organized and have just accumulated items over the years and it’s time to go through them. Others are very disorganized and have lots of things. I enjoy the feeling of helping them get unstuck, at whatever place they are, and feeling like I’ve made a difference in moving their lives forward.

What region do you work in?

I live close to Union Station in Washington, DC and I like to work within a 25-mile radius from downtown DC.

What do you do when not working?

I’m passionate about yoga and taught yoga classes for years. I spend time with my family—my husband, my nine-year-old son, and a pandemic puppy. I also like traveling and am planning trips for later this year.

What’s one thing you would like people to know about Creating Space DC?

What I do takes a little more time than, say, a team that spends eight hours organizing everything in a house. I work one on one with clients to make decisions about decluttering. They have to be there and engage in the process. I consider this a longer-term solution. It doesn’t make sense to me to invest time and money into organizing the clutter nicely just to have it accumulate again. When my clients are engaged in the process themselves they get a chance to confront the underlying cause of the clutter. Because people tend to procrastinate, I’d encourage them to set a date with me, and that will help them get started.

three men moving large object into work moving truck

How Do I Donate My Old Furniture?

Posted on | by Linda Barrett

One of the trends that came out of the pandemic was in people wanting to remodel and refresh their living spaces. They likely were working and studying from home and spending a lot more time thinking about how to improve their surroundings. This led to a surge in remodeling for additions to provide extra space, or home offices for work and study, for example. And with a fresh, new space, people also wanted new furniture. Therefore, they began to ask, “How do I donate my old furniture and household items?”

The 123JUNK Donation Process & Philosophy

That’s where 123JUNK comes in. When we created our business, we wanted it to be more than just a junk hauling provider. We had a mission to protect and environment and to serve our local community. That’s why we developed our 1-2-3 Process of Donate-Recycle-Dispose.

Since one of our company’s Core Values is “Deep Community Ties,” we reached out to local charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, A Wider Circle, the Montgomery County Humane Society, and Passion for Community, to name a few to see how we could donate furniture and household items to help their causes. We set up a system that works for everyone through our Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland service area.

You can learn more about some of our partners through the Partner Spotlights we feature on our 123JUNK blog. For example, read about Amy Javaid, interim president & CEO at A Wider Circle and its mission, and how your furniture donations can help them provide furnishings to those in need or assist in raising money for their causes.

Your Furniture Donation Helps You Too

When you donate your old furniture through our furniture removal and donation services, 123JUNK will provide you with a receipt and you can claim your donation as a tax deduction. Plus, you know that the furniture your family has enjoyed throughout the years will go to help another family in your own community rather than into the landfill. We also understand there is a certain sentimentality attached to your furniture and our team will treat your items with respect as we collect them and load them onto our big red truck.

Furniture Removal & Donation

Once you decide which furniture items you’d like to donate, just let our 123JUNK team members know where they are as they arrive to your home or office. We’ll remove them from the various rooms; there’s no need for you to gather them together. We take great effort to protect your floors, walls and other belongings as we remove furniture items. We don’t want scuffs or damage any more than you do!

When we load your furniture onto our truck, we have a process there too. We separate furniture and household donations from other hauls like recycling in order to deliver them in the best condition to our charitable partners.

How Can You Donate Your Old Furniture? Call 123JUNK.

There’s no need for you to load your old furniture into your own vehicle to haul it to one of the area’s donation centers. Or to bug your neighbors to help you drag out the sectional couch or massive office desk. Let 123JUNK do the heavy hauling for you.

123JUNK makes it easy to donate your old furniture, whether it’s home furniture or office furniture.  Simply contact us at 1-800-364-5778. You’ll reach one of our associates who can walk you through our process and schedule your pick-up date. For your convenience, we’ll contact you shortly before we arrive on that date to let you know we’re on the way.