The average home in America may contain 300,000 items or more. Over time, some of these items can lose their usefulness, break, or go out of style. In some circumstances, homeowners may have inherited unwanted items from a family member who passed away.
Getting rid of unwanted items is essential for organizing and maintaining a less cluttered home. You may be considering ways to get rid of your unwanted junk, but there are some common junk removal errors you need to be aware of first.
Keep reading below for 7 common junk removal errors and tips on how you can avoid them.
You may think that a dumpster is a dumpster and that any unwanted items are fine as long as they’re inside. But this is one of the most common junk removal errors. Many dumpsters are on private property and you can get into big trouble if you’re caught disposing of junk into a dumpster that isn’t yours.
There are many penalties and fines associated with illegal dumping practices. These range from fines, probation, and community service to incarceration and paying for and cleaning up any damage done to the property.
Even if you think it’s just a small item or broken piece of furniture, it isn’t worth it, in the long run, trying to sneak your items into unauthorized dumpsters.
Resorting to improper hazardous material disposal is another one of the most common junk removal errors you can make. For example, if you’re disposing of items such as old car batteries or cans of paint thinner from your garage, these can pose environmental hazards. Paint cans and old batteries can leak caustic chemicals into the environment around them.
You should never just throw these items into a standard trash can or dumpster. The chemicals can leak out and make people and animals around them sick. These chemicals can also combust and start a fire.
Dumping hazardous materials can also get you in trouble with the law. Always check the legalities of hazardous items and practice proper hazardous material disposal.
Again, improper junk disposal is one of the biggest and most common junk removal errors. On top of using private dumpsters and improperly disposing of hazardous materials, street dumping is also a big no-no.
You may see people leaving old furniture items and appliances on the curb outside of their homes with a “free” sign, but this can also be illegal in many areas. Curb or street dumping is not permitted unless you have a scheduled waste pickup from a licensed company.
Leaving items on public and private property, like empty lots, can upset nearby neighbors and business owners. If you are caught, you can receive a hefty fine and possible jail time for doing this.
To skirt around the issues of illegal dumping, some individuals may try to burn their unwanted junk items. But the consequences and problems associated with an act like this can cause even more complications. To say this is one of the common junk removal errors is an understatement.
Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to burn unwanted junk items. Even a small and seemingly controlled fire can quickly spark into an out-of-control inferno in a matter of seconds.
You don’t know what the full material content of your items may contain. Certain materials can act as an accelerant and cause explosions. Worse yet, toxic smoke and chemicals can permeate the air and make everyone around the area sick.
Transferring your junk into a storage unit is one of the worst decisions you can make, but it is also one of the most common junk removal errors. This basically means that you’re transferring your junk from one area to another. You’re not sorting it or trying to cull what’s necessary from what isn’t.
A storage unit is just wasted space. You’re just throwing away money on storing your junk that you may or may not eventually get around to. Let’s be honest, if you had any interest in sorting through and getting rid of your unwanted junk, you would have done it already.
Many individuals don’t properly estimate all of the costs associated with junk removal. Unfortunately, this is another one of the common junk removal mistakes that can backfire. By not setting a realistic junk removal budget, you can be blindsided by a large unexpected bill later on.
When choosing a dumpster, you need to know that you can be charged for any potential weight overages. You will also need to factor in costs for the overall junk removal process, such as the length of time you’ll be using the dumpster, the amount you’ll be putting into the dumpster, as well as any hauling, mileage, and pick-up fees.
There’s nothing worse than renting a dumpster for a junk cleanout job and finding out it’s too small or too large. Choosing a dumpster that is too large means you’ll be paying more than you need to for your dumpster rental. But with a dumpster rental that’s too small, you will need to make several fill-up and dumping trips and pay weight overages.
Before you start the cleanout process, you need to consider how large of a cleanout you plan to do. This will help you avoid one of the 7 most common junk removal errors.
You will also need to calculate and configure the appropriate size of dumpsters needed for the job. For instance, a 10 cubic yard dumpster holds between 4,000 to 6,000 pounds while a 30 cubic yard dumpster can hold 7,000 to 10,000 pounds. Knowing the difference can help you choose the right size.
Knowing about common junk removal errors can help you make the best decisions when it comes to navigating the junk removal process. Understanding what is and isn’t allowed with junk removal is also a crucial part of making the right choices. From choosing a dumpster size to setting a junk removal budget, being well-informed is vital.
If you enjoyed this article, you can find more great content on our site to inform and entertain. Browse through topics like tech, business, education, health, lifestyle, and more. Our range of informative articles makes it easy to connect with the world around you.
