In the current housing market, most homeowners hardly need to hang a ‘For Sale’ sign before they’re signing over the deed and moving to a new home. After 8 years in the gutter, the real estate market is thriving again. Folks across Atlanta are packing up and heading to new homes, new cities, or even new states. But just because the market is rising doesn’t mean the cost of moving has gone down. Save money on your move with these tips from Mr. Junk.

3 Ways to Save Money When Moving

1. De-Junk the House. Most moving companies charge based on how much weight or space you take up in the truck. Minimize on moving costs (and wasted time) by getting rid of the furniture, appliances, and memorabilia you forgot you owned.
2. Don’t buy boxes. No matter how few you need, the cost of boxes piles up fast. Instead of buying new ones, ask for old boxes from friends and coworkers who have recently relocated. If you can’t scrounge together a large enough supply from your immediate circle, stop by grocery stores, liquor stores, or clothing stores, who receive merchandise shipments regularly. Most will donate boxes if you ask; if not, there’s no shame in cruising alleys behind stores to find boxes stacked by the dumpster.
3. Check the calendar. You can save a lot by moving on a schedule. Moving prices drop drastically in the fall and winter. If you can’t wait that long, make sure to monitor utility bill cycles and storage rental fees. Discontinue services at the end of a payment cycle to avoid paying extra for unused time.

When it comes to moving, time is money. Save the stress of hauling unwanted junk to the local donation center by calling Mr. Junk before your move.

Moving Image from FreeDigitalPhotos

No matter how well you tend your yard, the summer months are cruel. With all the extra travel, the hot summer sun, and a busier season at work, keeping your yard fresh and clean takes more work than normal. If you’re tired of tearing out dessicated bushes for Mr Junk to haul away, take heart. These summer landscape watering tips will keep your yard healthy and fresh.

How to De-Junk Your Landscape

1. Out with the old. Before renovating your summer landscape, clean up dead branches, note which shrubs won’t recover, and call Mr Junk to haul off the evidence.
2. Plant smart. If you’re tired of looking at brown leaves and withered branches, it may be time to rethink your planting strategy. Choose grass that’s acclimated to Georgia’s hot summers (Zoysia and Bermuda are proven winners). Plant drought tolerant trees, shrubs, and flowers to reduce maintenance (and that instant browning when you leave town for the weekend). If you’re fighting a constant battle with your yard, decrease yard work (and your water bill) by replacing patches of grass with native plants.
3. Water wisely. Tired of draining funds toward your water bill each month? Your landscaping practices may be at fault. Most homeowners don’t realize that water runoff, watering at the wrong time, and watering too shallowly waste water without benefiting plants. Make sure your lawn absorbs enough hydration by watering deeply a few times a week, resetting your sprinkler system for early morning, and paying attention to the needs of individual plants.

Ready to start fresh? Call Mr Junk to haul Alpharetta yard debris like branches, brush, and dead shrubs.

Are you calling Mr. Junk every other week to haul off major home appliances? You may be wearing through appliances faster than necessary. Try these simple maintenance tips to make home appliances last longer.

How to Increase the Life of Home Appliances

1. Read the manual. Is your dishwasher leaking? Does your refrigerator sound like it has a bad cough? Does a load of laundry shake the whole house? Flip through the owner’s manual to determine whether your appliance is on its last legs, or if it simply needs a little TLC.
2. Clean hard-to-reach spots. It’s easy to neglect vacuuming the compressor coils behind the fridge or freezer, but when dirt builds up, the appliances have to work harder to keep food cold. Keeping refrigerator coils clean of dust and debris can extend the life of your unit by years.
3. Did you know a dirty microwave degrades faster? Leftover food particles can turn into carbon, creating sparks that can damage your microwave. Always clean up leftover food before closing the microwave to enjoy a meal.
4. Keep your stove cooking by cleaning the burners regularly and wiping down glass-topped varieties with an appropriate cleaner every week.
5. No one wants their AC to go on the fritz during a Georgia summer. Keep your home cool by keeping the filters clean and dusting the vents regularly.

Have a home appliance that’s more trouble than it’s worth? Call Mr Junk to haul away broken home appliances before replacing them with the newer model.

We all have that moment of panic: a college friend and her husband are traveling through town and want to stop by. Within the hour. What to do with the clutter, the dust, and the month’s worth of laundry you’ve been meaning to fold?

Stop stressing. We’ve got you covered.

How to Fake a Clean House

1. Start at the front. No matter who’s popping by or how long they’re staying, the one place they’re guaranteed to see is the foyer. Quickly organize jumbles of shoes, hang fallen coats, and move junk that’s piled up by the door. If you have time, run a swiffer across the floor to give the illusion of cleanliness.
2. Free the couch from fur. To remove pet fur from upholstery in a hurry, put on rubber cleaning gloves and run your hands over the furniture. As your gloves collect fur, ball it up and throw it away. It’s faster and more efficient than fighting with a lint roller.
3. Make use of linens. Mask dirty cushions, streaked windows, or disorganized rooms by taking the time to straighten decorative pillows, pull the curtains, and refold throw blankets.
4. Close the cabinets. Nothing’s simpler than tossing junk into a cabinet and closing the door. Just don’t forget to come back and organize the clutter later.
5. Go paperless. Time for the finishing touch. Run through the house, taking down sticky notes, collecting junk mail, and restacking haphazard piles of magazines. Your house will look twice as clean when you’re done.

Ready for the real deal? Call Mr Junk to haul away furniture, appliances, and any old junk you’re ready to remove from your home.

Messy Closet Image from Flickr

No matter how well you plan and prepare, some areas of your life are bound to get messy: family reunions, fundraiser planning, and the garden shed. We can’t do anything about simplifying church carwashes or school bake sales, but we can help you organize the tool shed. Read on for our favorite tips on keeping work equipment clean, organized, and unlikely to impale anyone.

Garden Shed Organization Tips

Before organizing your garden shed, step back and take stock. Do you have a defined workspace? Did you simply stop tidying up, or do you need better organization? Is anything in the shed a fire (or health) hazard? Toss old chemicals and stains, haul off broken machinery you’ll never fix, and give everything a good scrubbing before reorganizing your tool shed.

1. Clear a workspace. Whether you use your shed for building, crafting, or just storing the rake, there are always little tasks best done outdoors. If you don’t have a workspace in the shed, build or buy a cheap table for the corner. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did the next time you need to build a birdhouse or repot perennials without making a mess in the kitchen.
2. A place for everything and everything in its place. Have a jumble of tools and equipment? You’ll never find the right spade in that mess. Designate one wall for construction tools, one wall for gardening implements, and save the third wall for everything but the kitchen sink (preferably stored on shelves).
3. Need space? Get creative with wall storage. Hanging tool racks are fantastic space savers. Other all-stars? Bike baskets hung on wall brackets, magnetic strips to fix jars of nails in place, and hooks for extension cords and garden hoses.
4. Keep it clean. There’s nothing more dangerous than tripping around a dusty garden shed with rusty tools around every corner. Guarantee a longer life (and a lot less stress) by keeping the garden shed dusted, the tools clean, and the bags of fertilizer sealed and stored.

Not sure what to do with your busted lawn mower? Mr Junk hauls landscaping equipment, old work tables, and organic debris from Roswell homes. Call and schedule a junk haul today.

Garden Tools Image Source

Graduating high school is one of the most thrilling times of a teenager’s life. Amidst the sadness of saying goodbye to their closest friends, most teens feel an overwhelming sense of freedom. No more high school classes, high school finals, and high school schedules. College is all about making your own choices (goodbye, 8am classes) and learning to experience life fully (hello, 1am trips to Waffle House).

But there’s a lot left to accomplish before you get to campus. Make packing a breeze with a pre-college clean out.

How to Clean Out Your Room Before College

1. It’s got to go. You’ve spent 4 years (or more) telling your mom you’d “clean it later.” Unfortunately later has finally arrived. Going off to college means packing up your life and starting fresh. It also means deciding whether to box your stuffed animals for the attic or donate them to a kid who can still appreciate them. Start your pre-college clean out with stuff you haven’t touched in years and move on to clothes you don’t wear, furniture you don’t like, and junk you’ve collected under the bathroom sink.
2. Make a list (and check it twice). It may not seem like a big deal to swing by Publix for whatever supplies you missed, but grocery stores on move-in days are busy enough to give you Black Friday flashbacks. Save yourself the stress and make a list of college essentials well before packing up and heading to campus.
3. Stick to the schedule. A packing schedule might seem like overkill, but packing your entire life in a single night is a recipe for a mental breakdown. Box up home goods like cleaning supplies, collapsible bookshelves, and dorm decorations at the beginning of the summer. Move on to winter clothes and memorabilia mid-summer. Leave summer clothes and daily supplies for the week before freshman orientation.
4. Think to the future. Heading off to a dorm room this fall? Stop the inevitable panic attack when mom and dad pop in for a visit. Stock your room with a trash can (no, those tiny under-the-sink varieties don’t count), home organization tools (if you own more than 3 pairs of shoes, some type of shoe rack is a necessity), and basic cleaning supplies. Remember, college dorm rooms are notoriously small. The dirtier they get, the more cramped they feel!

Ready to haul off boxes of stuffed animals, clothes that no longer fit, and furniture that won’t fit into your new space? Call Mr Junk for a pre-college clean out.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Finding the motivation to clean out your house is a challenge. After all, folks in metro Atlanta have a million items taking up time: a long commute, a hard day of work (whether at home or in the office), and daily home upkeep that never seems finished. But there’s a bigger struggle than finding the time to clean out the junk shed: getting kids to clean their rooms. If you’re tired of arguing with your elementary students, middle schoolers, and teenagers to tidy up their messy spaces, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

5 Tips for Getting Kids to Clean their Rooms

1. Ask why? Are your kids lazy? Distractible? Busy with other responsibilities? Determine what’s keeping your kids’ rooms looking like a war zone. Then help them find the time to pick up their stuff.
2. Start big. If your kids struggle to clean their rooms, it may be time for a major overhaul. Plan a room clean out day to help your kids get rid of excess junk. After those year-old school papers, forgotten science fair trophies, and too-small clothes are in the donation box, your kids might find it easier to keep their rooms clean.
3. Go small. Does a week of homework leave your kid’s room looking like a disaster area? Instead of pestering them to tidy up every Saturday morning, set aside 10 minutes of clean up time at the end of each day.
4. Set an example. It’s easy to let organization slip when you’re busy paying bills, getting groceries, and cleaning away germs. But the best way to lead is by example. If you’re asking the kids to clean their bedrooms, go tidy up yours, too. If you have a few minutes to spare, partner with your kids to tidy up the house one room per night.
5. Let it go. For teens and middle schoolers, bedroom upkeep lets kids play at adulthood. Set standards of cleanliness, but don’t sweat the small stuff. The older they get, the more they’ll want a space of their own. Learning to take care of it is the next step on the road to growing up.

Getting rid of childhood furniture, boxes of old clothes, and other home junk? Call Mr Junk to haul off your kids’ old stuff.

photo from FreeDigitialPhotos