With Christmas just around the corner, your to-do list probably grows two sizes each day. From Christmas shopping to decorating, planning holiday meals to cleaning up the house, the holiday season brings a sleigh load of responsibility with the requisite goodwill and cheer. If you’re stressing about this year’s holiday guests, have no fear. Mr. Junk has the secret to refreshing the guest bedroom before Santa’s sleigh appears.

How to Refresh the Guest Room for the Holidays

1. Clean it Out. We hate to say it, but your mom will definitely notice that you’ve turned the guest closet into a catch-all for your latest craft project. Before the guests arrive, get rid of any junk that may get in the way during their stay. Relocate unused items that are just taking up space. Better yet, realize that they aren’t going anywhere, and make the call to haul.
2. Stock up. Guests don’t want to trip over that dresser you never refinished, but they shouldn’t be left in an empty space either. Before the holidays, stock the guest room with fresh linens and towels, shampoo, bath soap, and other necessities your guests many need during their stay.
3. Make their stay a holiday. Leave visiting family and friends with the sense that they’re truly experiencing a holiday vacation. Create a welcoming atmosphere by replacing dim lights, moving a loveseat from the living room to the foot of the bed, and providing plenty of throw blankets to keep them warm, inside and out.
4. The finishing touch. Want to really blow away your holiday guests? Personalize the guest room with a scented candle they love or a book they’ve been meaning to read. They’ll appreciate the little gestures (and cut you more slack when the Christmas Eve ham takes 2 hours too long).

Prepping your home for the holidays? Start fresh. Call Mr. Junk to haul unwanted items from your home and storage spaces this Christmas.

Guest Room Image from FreeDigitalPhotos

Like any savvy shopper, you’ve probably spent some time sorting through junk closets for anything clean, cool, and functional enough to rewrap and regift. Regifting saves money, cuts down on junk, and, if done correctly, can make a loved one’s holiday. Unfortunately, it also has the tendency to make friends and family feel like an afterthought. If you’re thinking about regifting this year, take a step back. Mr Junk has the rules to make you a regifting champion this Christmas.

6 Rules for Regifting

1. Check the date. Before you regift those holiday treats, make sure your coworker won’t wind up sick from bad chocolate. Always check the expiration date before regifting edibles.
2. Mull over the meaning. No matter how little you need it, if it’s a homemade gift, keep it in your closet. Chances are it will get recognized down the road, leading to an awkward situation for you and the person who received it. The same goes for store bought gifts with a highly personal story.
3. Skip broken pieces. Yeah, we’re pretty sure your nephew will notice that his “brand new” Monopoly game is missing a few pieces. If you’re regifting something gently used, make sure it has all it’s pieces, no noticeable stains, and can actually be of use to the recipient. Better yet, only regift items that are still in their original wrappings.
4. Shop the closet. Regifting isn’t an excuse to get lazy with Christmas shopping. If you want to regift this year, set aside your to-gift items and pretend you’re going shopping. If you wouldn’t pick it off the shelf in a store, it’s probably better suited to the donation pile.
5. Make it a tradition. Every few years, there comes along a gift so horrendously bad that it becomes a family joke. Create a family regifting tradition to enjoy the entertainment year after year. Just make sure the original giver is nowhere in sight.
6. Pass it on. There’s one time you can give gifts that are obviously old, used, and missing pieces: passing on family heirlooms. Make a list of which family members want great-grandma’s pearls, grandfather’s cufflinks, and your great-aunt’s settee. Consider carefully before passing on family heirlooms, and make sure to include the story with the gift.

Once you clean out your regifting options, it’s time to clean out the closet. Call Mr. Junk to haul away old furniture, appliances, and boxes of presents you’ll never need.

Holiday Gifts from FreeDigitalPhotos

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. There’s always another room to clean, another counter to wipe-down, and another dish that needs that finishing touch before it’s ready for the holiday table. But in the end Thanksgiving isn’t about what’s around us, but who’s with us.

This holiday season, we’re so grateful for the people in our lives, from the customers who make us feel welcome and appreciated to the friends and neighbors who share our day-to-day. However we choose to celebrate, it’s not about the food or the fun. It’s about telling the people you love, “I’m so grateful for having you in my life. Thank you for sharing this day with me.”

This Thanksgiving, give thanks for the people and places that populate your world. Feel blessed by your home and your yard. But never forget that it’s the people who share those spaces that truly make them worthwhile.

Happy Thanksgiving! We pray you have a holiday blessed with good food, great joy, and excellent company.

Unless you’re willing to invest in some serious renovations, there’s nothing you can do about the size of your house. People living in small homes and apartments face the constant struggle to make their living spaces feel more open, roomy, and bright. Banish that cluttered feeling with these 5 tips to make your home feel larger.

5 Ways to Open Up a Room

1. Paint it light. Soft, light colors buoy the eye, making rooms feel brighter and bigger. Use light colors and neutrals on the walls and floors to open up the room. For added effect, dress up the windows with light-colored, translucent curtains and paint the room’s trim to match the walls.
2. Draw the eye upward. Painting the trim the same color as the walls is one way to fake taller ceilings. What’s another? Hang curtain rods several inches above the frame. This will draw the eye upward, making windows seem larger than they are. You can also extend the rod to either side of the frame, making the window seem broader, too.
3. Use the mirror trick. Hanging mirrors isn’t about vanity. Mirrors reflect light, making smaller rooms feel more spacious than they actually are. For best effect, choose a large mirror (or several) and place them opposite a wall without much adornment.
4. Store smart. In smaller homes, storage is hard to come by. Unfortunately, many renters wind up creating storage space with large, unsightly cabinets and shelves. Make storage work for you by finding airy pieces to pull double duty, like an open-design end table with a light wicker basket on the bottom shelf. Add to the airy atmosphere by installing hanging shelves instead of more grounded pieces of furniture, which will only make the room feel heavy and small.
5. Ditch the mess. The more junk you have, the more cluttered your house will feel. If you’re struggling to store years of junk in closets two feet deep, it’s time to reassess the stuff you’re trying to store. Sort your stuff, haul away the junk, and reorganize what’s left for a home that feels large and open (even if it’s not).

Ready to get rid of home clutter? Call Mr. Junk to haul boxes of discarded stuff, along with old furniture, electronics, and appliances that are just taking up space.

Neutral Room Image from Flickr

Once November hits, cleaning house takes on a new meaning. While folks are still concerned with stuffing boxes in the attic to impress the in-laws, many home renovation projects shift to preventative home maintenance for the upcoming season. Winterize your home in a single weekend with these tips from Mr. Junk.

Home Winterization Checklist

• Inspect and clean the gutters and downspouts
• Inspect the roof for damaged shingles and leaky spots
• Repair cracks in the sidewalk and driveway (a little ice, and those spots get dangerous, fast!)
• Check window frames for decay or rot
• Test windows and doors for drafts
• Replace worn weatherstripping and caulk around windows to replace the seal
• Make sure all home vents and openings are covered to keep out birds and small mammals
• Clean or replace dirty furnace filters
• Use the fireplace? Call a chimney sweep for a seasonal inspection and cleaning
• In fact, schedule an inspection of all heat sources (gas, wood stoves, HVAC systems) before the temps drop for good
• Test smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and home security systems

Lawn Winterization Checklist

• Stop fertilizing the lawn and winter perennials (growth after the frost may permanently injure plants)
• Drain and winterize irrigation systems and outdoor faucets
• Trim branches that may damage the house or property in a winter storm
• Clean and store patio furniture
• Clean and store gardening equipment like shovels, hoses, and lawn mowers

Need to haul away old branches, worn weather stripping, or warped wood? Call Mr. Junk for a quick, quality home clean up.

A rental house may not be a forever home, but that’s no reason to feel like an interloper in your own space. There are countless ways to personalize a rental home or apartment without losing your security deposit. Make a rental home your own in 6 easy steps.

How to Make a Rental Feel Like Home

1.  Organize. If you’re only staying for six months, it may seem silly to spend the time to organize the house. But living out of boxes gets old fast. Settle into your new rental with a dedicated “move in” weekend. Enlist the help of friends and family members, assign each a room, and get your stuff put away in no time flat.
2. Garden. Do you hate those overgrown shrubs in the front yard? Ask your landlord about replacing them. Chances are the deed-holder will agree to anything that improves property value. Haul off old plants, then spend a few days installing fresh flower beds, hardscaping elements, and more tasteful shrubs.
3. Paint. There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make a house feel like home.
4. Decorate. Not staying long enough to justify the paint/repaint process? Decorate the walls with artwork, temporary wallpaper, or creative DIYs.
5. Redecorate. Hate that TV stand that came with your furnished apartment? Swap it out with the one you’re keeping in storage. Just don’t forget to replace the original before the end of your lease.
6. Spring clean. Feel like you’re just spinning your wheels on the way to your dream home? Prepare for the big move! Sort through your stuff and get rid of the stuff junking up your space. Your rental will feel bigger and you’ll feel accomplished by working towards future goals.

Ready to get rid of junk that’s just taking up space? Call Mr. Junk for furniture, appliance, and yard debris removal.

With football season well underway and the kids busy at school, it’s a challenge to find time to organize. We have a few tips for busy parents, professionals, and students to clean out the house in 10 minutes a day.

Declutter the House in 10 Minutes a Day

1. A place to put it. Before beginning your home clean out, you want to make sure it doesn’t look messier after decluttering than it did before. Buy several large boxes or storage containers and label them organize, trash, and donate. Put them out of the way, but somewhere accessible. As you sift through your stuff, sort them into the correct bin for easier organization.
2. Pick small projects. Many decluttering projects can be accomplished in 10 minutes or less. Each day, organize a junk drawer, magazine rack, the refrigerator, or under the bathroom sink. Try to tackle the easy projects one room at a time before moving on to another space.
3. Stick with it. Too often we assign ourselves massive projects that never make it past the halfway point. But decluttering for 10 minutes each day and sticking to it for a week, two, or even a month, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to organize your home from top to bottom.
4. Follow up. Don’t just leave old junk to migrate back to decluttered closets. After sorting your stuff, call Mr. Junk to haul away the trash and donate items. We’ll get it off your hands and to the local donation center, recycling facility, or trash facility as needed.

Are you ready for a cleaner life? Organize your home in 10 minutes a day. For more organization tips, call Mr. Junk junk removal service.

Clock Image from FreeDigitalPhotos