How to Prepare for a Junk Removal Pickup (Save Time and Money)
A 5-step checklist that gets your junk pickup done faster, cheaper, and without surprises. Written for Rockford homeowners.
Most junk removal jobs are billed partly by labor time. The faster we can load the truck, the lower your bill. Here's how to make the pickup go smoothly.
1. Pile it in one spot if you can
If your junk is spread across the basement, garage, two bedrooms, and the back yard, that's a lot of trips through the house. If you can move it to the garage or driveway ahead of time, you'll usually save 30 to 60 minutes of labor. We're happy to do the inside-the-house haul if you can't, just know it adds time.
2. Separate anything you want to keep
Sounds obvious, but it's the number one cause of "wait, not that one!" panic mid-job. Before we show up, walk through and physically move anything you're keeping into a different room or label it clearly.
3. Pull out anything hazardous
Old paint cans, propane tanks, motor oil, pool chemicals, ammo. We legally can't take these. If you leave them mixed in the pile, we'll set them aside and you'll still need to deal with them. Better to handle them ahead of time. See our list of what we can and can't take.
4. Clear a path for the truck
If a car needs to be moved out of the driveway, move it before we get there. If snow needs to be shoveled, shovel it. We bring tarps and ramps but we can't move your neighbor's parked car.
5. Be reachable during your window
We text when we're 15 to 20 minutes out. If you're not the one meeting us, give us the contact info for whoever is. Eviction and rental cleanouts where we let ourselves in are fine too, just confirm in advance.
Bonus: photos of the final pile
If you didn't get a quote yet, take 3 phone photos of the pile from different angles and text them to 815-201-2268. We'll quote you on the spot and lock in a window. Done in two minutes.