You may be wondering, what exactly is a “trash-out”? Like the name suggests, this process involves collecting trash—both obvious and not so obvious—together and getting it out of your home, but it’s also a way of deeply decluttering your living space. By performing this process to clean out your home before the holidays, not only will you freshen up your living space, but also make the holidays less stressful. There will be less clutter to manage and clean and more space for house guests and fun. Even if you’re careful to stay on top of your weekly cleaning routine, nearly everyone accumulates many items they don’t need in their home over the course of a year. By making it a tradition to perform an annual trash-out during the fall, you can make the best of the time you have before the busy rush at the end of the year.
How to Prepare
Ensuring that you have certain supplies on hand before you begin your trash-out will make the process run much more smoothly. We recommend before you begin that you have:
- Roll of black garbage bags
- 2-4 rolls of paper towels
- All-purpose spray cleaner
- Rubber or disposable gloves
- 5-10 empty cardboard boxes (for items to donate or to recycle)
- Permanent markers (to mark boxes and bags)
Designate a specific area, such as your garage or the hall by your front door, in which to gather all of the trash during the trash-out process. Commit to getting the items out of your home as fast as possible, to avoid the urge to go through your discards a second time.
The Trash-Out Process
Starting with the top floor of your home, tackle one room at a time. Begin by taking out all obvious garbage—dirty dishes, food wrappers or other loose plastic, dryer sheets, cardboard, old magazines or mail. Then start going through the entire room, from one side to another, and remove items that are in poor condition, broken, no longer serve you, or are just taking up space. Be extremely ruthless when it comes to ridding yourself of items you no longer need. For areas, like bedrooms and communal storage spaces, make sure your other family members or roommates also participate in clearing out their areas.
Continue the process on the main floor and basement. Depending on how big your home is, how much junk you’ve accumulated, and how much free time you have, the process could take a few weekends or an entire month.
How to Dispose of Your Discards
Once you’ve accumulated the items you wish to dispose of from all over your home and storage areas, it can be daunting to determine what to do with them. Items in good or better condition can be donated to a charity of your choice. Some of these companies, such as St. Vincent de Paul, will come directly to your home to pick up your donations. Many items, such as electronics and paper products, can be recycled by a company like ABH Services. You can also consider temporarily renting a rolloff dumpster to keep on your property to toss items in directly while you’re performing your trash-out.
If you’d rather bypass the whole process, and have a significant area such as your garage or basement to clear out, you can hire junk cleanout services from ABH Service. Our technicians will handle the entire process of removing your unwanted items and disposing of them properly, without you having to lift a finger.
If you’re in need of disposal, cleanout, or dumpster rental services in the Boston and North Shore area of Massachusetts, call ABH Services at 781-941-2422 to discuss our affordable options. For more decluttering and downsizing tips for your home, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/abhservices.