Frequently Asked Questions About Recycling

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RecyclablesRecycling is one of the easiest ways society can improve the economy, the environment, and prevent waste from entering the ocean and harming innocent animals. The average person only recycles a fraction of the waste they use every day and through education, we can help change the way people view their waste.

What is the Recycling Process?

There are three parts of the recycling process:

  • Collection – The process of recovering recyclables to be processed down to the raw material
  • Manufacturing – After the materials are processed down to raw material, they are then remanufactured to their new consumer good
  • Buying – Buying the recycled goods is the final step in the recycling process

Are Batteries Recyclable?

Yes, batteries (especially rechargeable ones) contain heavy metals that can contaminate the environment. If your batteries are no longer working, it’s important to never throw them away and recycle them instead. During the junk removal process, we can recycle your old batteries for you but if you’re looking to dispose of them faster, your local office supply store, electronics store, and hardware store typically offer battery recycling free of charge.

Can My Electronics be Recycled?

Yes! If your electronics are still intact, whether they are working properly or not, they can be recycled and used to repair other electronics. One of the ways older electronics are repaired are with parts from the electronics that people have recycled in the past. If there are fluids leaking from your electronics or if the screen is broken, the electronic is considered a hazardous material and has to be disposed of through the proper channels. In either case, Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition will be able to recycle and/or dispose of your electronics!

What Items Should I Never Try to Recycle?

We try to recycle as many items as possible, but there are still numerous items that can’t be recycled. The following items should never be placed in your recycling bin:

  • Broken glass, syringes, light bulbs, and sewing needles
  • Boxes that have been soiled by food grease (i.e. take out containers and pizza boxes)
  • Propane Tanks
  • Paint and other chemicals
  • Aerosol cans that are not empty
  • Garden Hoses

If you have any questions about what can and cannot be recycled or are interested in our recycling program, give Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition a call today at (978) 317-5388.

Fall Cleaning Checklist

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Fall Yard CleanupThe fall weather has finally made an appearence in Eastern Massachusetts, making it the perfect weather for preparing for winter and doing any last minute cleaning and organizing of your home before the holidays. We’ve put together a long list of of indoor and outdoor tasks to ensure you don’t neglect any space!

Indoor Tasks

1. Clean your windows. Your windows are the eyes of your home and are an easy task your kids can even help with! Plan to clean them on a cloudy day, when it’s easier to dust and streaks.

2. Have your carpets cleaned. It’s wise to have your carpets cleaned twice per year, especially if you have pets. We suggest cleaning your carpets in the spring and fall, as they are a little less hectic, the weather is cool making it more comfortable to have your windows open during the process, and children are in school.

3. Declutter & cleanout your attic. Before you start digging around in your attic for holiday decorations, take a day to go through your attic, organize any boxes, and donate furniture you no longer use to make it easier to get around. This will also create more space for any summer items you need to store.

4. Clean your dryer vents. Lint and clogged dryer vents are a serious fire hazard, especially during the dry winter months with the heat running in your home. Keep an eye on your lint screen and call in a professional to clean your dryer vent to avoid any hazards.

5. Have your furnace maintenanced. Before you start running your heating system this winter, make an appointment to have a furnace tune-up to help your system run more efficiently, expand its lifespan, and lower your heating bills.

6. Cleanout & organize your garage. During the winter, your garage will be utilize more so than any other time of the year. Between storage, snow removal, and holiday party prep, you’re going to need as much space as you can. Our best tip is to remove everything from your garage, clean the surgaces (sweep, leaf blow, etc.) and organize the items you use consistently as you fill your garage back up. Leave all of the items you no longer need or use in your driveway and call Elite Junk Removal to come pick them up to ensure they are disposed through the proper channels.

Outdoor Tasks

1. Inspect your roof. Before the snow starts falling, take the time to inspect your roof for any missing or damaged shingles to help eliminate leaks come winter. Missing shingles can also increase the changes of ice build up under the shingles that still remain, causing expensive damage.

2. Clean out your gutters. Build up in your gutters can cause another slue of issues from clogged drains to water damage behind your siding and gutter damage from the built up weight. After the majority of the leaves in your yard have finished falling,

3. Clean your windows. Since you’ve already cleaned the inside of your windows, you mine as well clean the outside as well. This will give you the opportunity to remove any gunk from the glass before it freezes during the cold, winter months.

4. Unplug and drain water fountains and sprinkler systems. Blowing out your sprinkler system and draining any water from water fountains will avoid cracked and damaged pipes, water fountains, and costly repairs.

5. Clean your deck and yard of debris. Duing the winter months, your lawn won’t need much maintenance but giving it a final (short) cut, raking up leaves, and disposing of any other debris will make yard cleanup come spring much easier.

6. Cover outdoor furniture. Covering the outdoor furniture you can’t bring indoors will help reduce the amoutn of rusting over the cold, wet winter months. If you have furniture that you no longer use, disposing of it will make winterizing your property much easier.

For all of your junk removal, demolition, and home cleanout needs this fall, call Elite Junk Removal & Demolition today at (978) 317-5388.

5 Tips for Creating Space for the Holidays

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Garage StorageThe holiday season is right around the corner which means dinner parties, decorations, time with family, and gift giving. Is your home ready for the holiday world wind? Make extra space for storing holiday decor and new items you are sure to acquire during the holiday season by reorganizing and eliminating the items you no longer use or need.

1. Purchase new storage containers

Do you have a bad habit of quickly taking down holiday decor and shoving it in a box for the off season? Don’t worry – we’ve all been there. Often times this means frustration when you get ready to decorate next year, you are greeted by a box of broken decorations and half working strings of light. Get ahead of the frustration and pick up new storage containers before the end of the holiday season. Go through all of the old boxes in your attic and donate any decor you no longer use and throw away any broken strings of lights, decorations, candles, and ornaments. This will give you a fresh start to organize your holiday decor at the end of the holiday season and ensure you are only storing the items that are working.

2. Organize your closet(s)

Between the urge of purchasing new clothing for holiday events and storing guests jackets, you’re going to need as much space in your closet as possible. Organize your closet by color and item type to get an idea of what you already own so you’re not purchasing duplicate items. The clothing and outwear you no longer wear but is in good shape, donate to local shelters and charities to help others in need and to free up extra space in your bedroom and hall closets.

3. Donate kitchen appliances you never use

The kitchen is the heart of the home and is where you’ll be doing all of your holiday food prep. With the amount of guests coming over, you have enough food to feed a small village and not enough places to store it. Go through your cabinets, toss/donate any food items you no longer use and finally get rid of that bread maker and any other small appliances that have been sitting in the pantry for years and has never been used. This will free up the extra space needed to store holiday cooking ingredients.

4. Organize your receipts

Are you still holding on to receipts from last holiday season? Hold on to receipts for electronics but get rid of any other receipts since you no longer need. Pick up a receipt organizer the next time you’re out running errands to get ahead of the gift receipts you’ll be holding on to this year.

5. Tackle your child’s playroom

One of the most difficult spaces to organize, use this opportunity as a learning experience to help your children give to other children in need. Any of the toys that are still working, donate to local shelters and childrens groups and recycle the toys that are broken, missing pieces, or are no longer being used. This will help free up some space for the gifts they’ll be receiving this holiday season from friends and family.

Have you finished organizing and cleaning but realize you have a bunch of junk to get rid of? Call Elite Junk Removal today at (978) 317-5388 and we’ll make sure your junk is disposed of properly!

Spring Cleaning Tips

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Spring is in full swing, and there’s no matter time than now to deep clean your home. Whether you are someone that regularly cleans their home and recycle/donates items that are no longer being put to good use, or someone that cleans once a year, this is the perfect time to go through all your stuff and de-clutter your life!

Cleaning

  • Dust all of the forgotten spaces, including lamp shades, drapes, and the bottoms of chairs.
  • Revive your mattress with your upholstery tools on your vacuum! Use upholstery cleaner or a mild soap to spot clean any stains.
  • Clean any miscellaneous food items that have gotten stuck around the filter of your dishwasher and run a full cycle with some machine cleaner.
  • Deep clean your microwave – place one cup of water in a microwave safe bowl and turn on high for 3-5 minutes (or until the water boils). The steam from the boiling water will soften any food splatters inside of your microwave! Just take a paper towel or sponge and wipe clean.
  • Go through your closet and donate any items that no longer fit you or ad any items that you haven’t worn in over 6 months. If you were shopping today, would you buy it?
  • Declutter your basement, attic, and garage – make three piles: keep, donate, recycle. Consider when the last time you used the item, what type of sentimental value it holds (if any), and whether you’ll be using it over the next 6 months.

If you realize you have more junk on your hands than you bargained for or decide to do some home renovation while you’re at it, contact us today for your junk removal needs! Here at Elite Service, we actively recycle, donate, and reuse the junk we remove from homes!

Get The Facts About Compulsive Hoarding Behavior

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Over the course of a lifetime, it is natural to collect a variety of trinkets, keepsakes, and odds and ends that start to fill up your home. Many items we keep contain memories, sentimental value, or and can even become collector’s items with historical value. However, collecting too many things to the point of absolute clutter in a space may be a sign of compulsive hoarding behavior. Here are the facts that you should be aware if you suspect that you or someone in your life suffers from compulsive hoarding behavior.

Compulsive hoarding must include each of the three following conditions:

  • An individual retains many items, including items that appear to be useless or of little value to most people
  • The items kept create significant clutter in living spaces to the point where the individual cannot use their living spaces in a reasonable way
  • The items kept cause distress or issues in day-to-day activities

It is important to note that hoarding is different from collecting because in hoarding, individuals typically do not display their items proudly in an organized fashion, but instead collects the items in a disorderly way that creates significant clutter in living spaces.

Symptoms of compulsive hoarding behavior include:

  • Signficant difficulty in disposing of items
  • A pronounced amount of clutter in the office, home, car, or other spaces that impedes the ability to use furniture, appliances, or regular walkways
  • Losing important items in the clutter
  • Feeling overwhelmed by the volume of items that have “taken over” living spaces
  • Difficulty resisting acceptance of “free” items, even if the items are clearly useless or excessive
  • Buying unneeded items because they are a good deal or to stock up
  • Avoiding friends and family due to embarrassment about living space

Here are recommended guidelines that can help someone with compulsive hoarding behavior:

  • Have respect for the individual’s right to make their own decisions about their items at their own pace.
  • Try to sympathize with the individual and understand the importance of his or her items to him or herself as you develop a plan together to reduce the clutter.
  • Encourage the individual to come up with ideas to make their home into a safer and more ideal living environment.
  • Team up with the individual to offer collaborative solutions to motivate the individual to discard or organize.
  • Help the individual recognize that hoarding interferes with their goals or values in life.
  • Maintain trust by always asking before eliminating an item.

For helping recovering hoarders who are ready to de-clutter to improve their living situation, contact Elite Services Junk Removal for a free estimate today.

Tips to Clean Out and Organize Your Garage

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With winter fast approaching, now might be the perfect time to try and declutter the garage, and get rid of anything you don’t use. To get as much done as possible, be sure to clean out and throw away items before you start your organization. To ensure a cleaner garage, be sure to follow the steps below.

  • Ask yourself when was the last time you used it? If the answer is more than a year ago, throw it out.
  • For any items that you believe you can get some value for, consider a garage sale or posting your items online to sell. It doesn’t hurt to see who might be interested in what you no longer have any use for, and any extra cash flow is always beneficial.
  • Make three piles of donation, trash, and what you are keeping.
  • Be sure to have a structured system including shelving, if it doesn’t already exist. This is a real space saver as you can put things on the wall instead of overstuffing your drawers.
  • Having bins where more items can be stored will help declutter and to become more organized. Introduce a color-coded system to make certain items easier to find, such as: tools, Christmas ornaments, etc. Make sure to clearly label the container.
  • Review your items to make sure you are not getting rid of anything you may need, and vice versa.
  • Once you have established all your categories, and you know what you no longer need, contact us to finalize your clean up!

We offer a variety of services such as furniture removal,  yard clean-up, and appliance removal, and would love to help make your life hoard-free.

For more information about how Elite Services can help you out, feel free to fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 978-317-5388.

Junk Removal For Real Estate Agents

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Residential junk removal isn’t just for homeowners! During times when a property is foreclosed, a real estate agent gets left with a house filled with junk. It is their home to sell now, and their responsibility to get it looking in tip-top shape.

Before the house is ready to hit the market and be looked at by potential buyers, it must be cleaned up first. The reason this happens is because their is no incentive for a former owner to leave the house in good condition. They have been kicked out and aren’t making any profit by having it look nice.

With this problem not being in the hands of the real estate agent, they want and need all the junk to be removed as efficiently and quickly as possible. This often includes removing old furniture, appliances and other unwanted items. Because of the short notice usually provided, this is the perfect job for a junk removal specialist.

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition is able to quickly remove any and all things within your home. On top of the normal junk removal work, our team is able to provide demolition services as well. Whether it be interior or exterior work in order to get the house in tip, top shape, we are here for you.

For more information about how we can help your real estate process, please feel free to give us a call at 978-317-5388 or fill out our online contact form.

 

Fall, site yard clean up and junk removal

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After an exciting and activity packed summer and early fall, families are slowly starting to move their time indoors. With the temperatures dropping, kids are less apt to hang around outside. For many families, it seems that a range of toys, appliances or structures from the summer find themselves broken down or unused outside.

Elite Services suggests that this is a great time of the year before it starts snowing, to clean up your yard and remove any pointless junk. No matter what it is, elite services is happy to provide residents with the junk removal services that they need. With children playing in the snow, it can be dangerous to have old things lying around a yard.

For more information about our fall outdoor cleanups, please feel free to give us a call at 978-317-5388 or fill out our online contact form.

Couch & Sofa Removal

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Almost every family in the country has come to that point where they finally realize there old couch just isn’t cutting it. Many people just suddenly realize maybe when visiting a family or friend that new couches are actually clean, extremely comfortable and look great. Unfortunately, you can’t just leave you big, honking old sofa on the side of the street for the town to take away for you.

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition out of Swampscott has removed many couches over the years from homes. You can just give us a call and we will come in and take it away from you. There is no need to stress about your couch situation. Elite Service is located in Swampscott but does a share of work from Salem to Newburyport. Our furniture removal also doesn’t stop at couches, we can help with anything you need help getting rid of. For more information about our Junk Removal services, give us a call at 978-317-5388.

Updating or Expanding your yard with Demolition

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The outdoors is truly an amazing place for family and friends to enjoy time together. No matter what size yard you have, spending time outside if fun for everyone. Fresh air and open space also provides everything a young child needs. As time goes on, many people look for new ways to either expand or update their yard.

The first place we suggest that you look for an expansion is any accessory structure in your yard. Here at Elite Services Junk Removal and Demolition we specialize in outdoor demolition including sheds, pergolas, gazebos, decks, cabanas and much more. If your structure is either in the way or outdated and you want to remove it we are here for you.

The first step to designing and creating the dream back yard often begins with getting rid these old structures. No matter what the project is that you need help with, we have most likely done it. Elite Services is located in Swampscott, MA but travels across the area to help residential and commercial communities. Some of the towns we have worked in include Hamilton, Ipswich, Marblehead, Newburyport, Peabody, Salem, Swampscott, MA.

For more information about Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition and our services, fill out our contact form on any page or give us a call at 978-317-5388.