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6 Tips for Cleaning & Organizing Your Kitchen

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clean kitchenThe kitchen tends to be the most used area of a home, sees a lot of foot traffic, and tends to be a dumping ground for various items that don’t belong in the kitchen. In combination with cooking and eating in the space, surfaces get dirty and junk piles up very quickly. In order to keep junk to a minimum, deep cleaning your kitchen will help keep it clean even on the busiest of days. Ever 3-4 months, go through and organize your space with these tips:

Sort Through Everything

Start your kitchen cleaning process by organizing and cleaning out all of the items in your cabinets, in drawers, and on top of your counters. As you go thruogh each area, put each item into two piles: “to keep” and “toss”. Ask youself when the last time you used it and if it’s not a seasonal item, get rid of it if you haven’t used it within the last year. This will give you more space to store the items you do use on a regular basis. For the items you use regularly, keep them in easy-to-reach areas such as top drawers and cabinets close by to your main cooking area.

Wipe Down Surfaces

Starting with the wood molding, wipe down and dust the surfaces in your kitchen from top to bottom including cabinet fronts, knobs and pulls, appliances, and even your backsplash. You’ll be amazed at the amount of grime that has built up on these surfaces over time and once theyr’e wiped down, they’ll look brand new. For the hard to reach areas, use a long-handled duster to make sure they aren’t neglected.

Clean the Microwave

Over time, food splatters and and over flows, causing grime to build up in your microwave over time. Combined with the heat, the splatters become caked on and hard to clean. To eliminate harsh scrubbing, place a microwave-safe bowl with one cup of water and several several tablespoons of vinegar in the microwave for 5 minutes (or until the window is steamy). Let the microwave sit for few minutes to cool down before wiping the grime away.

Empty the Refridgerator

Since you’re already deep cleaning your kitchen, you mine as well clean out the refriderator! Take everything out of the fridge, wipe down all of the surfaces, and throw away any of the items you no longer use or are expired. Take all of the remaining items that you do use and organize them as you place them back in the fridge. Before you know it, you’ll havea clean and organized refridgerator and plenty of space to store the items you pick up on your next trip to the grocery store.

Empty & Clean the Trash

Once you’re done throwing away any item you no longer use, bring the trash bag to the garabage bin and clean out the inside of the trash can. Using an antibacterial soap, clean the bin out with soap and water in your kitchen sink, or outside with the hose, to prevent mold and bacteria fom growing inside the can. Once dry, replace the trash bag for a clean, fresh start.

Sweep & Mop the Floor

Now that you’ve wiped down all of the surfaces in your kitchen, it’s time to clean the floor! Once you’ve swept the floor clean, pull out all of your appliances to sweep and mop behind them before mopping the rest of the floor. This will ensure that any of the debris from the rest of your kitchen don’t make their way back there once pushing the appliances back in.

Once you’ve cleaned your kitchen, give Elite Services Junk Removal a call at (978) 317-5388 to schedule your junk removal appointment.

hoarding home

How to Help a Hoarder Clean Out

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You might think of hoarding simply as an inability to throw things away, but it is currently recognized as a mental disorder that makes it extremely difficult for sufferers to part with possessions. These people often experience distress when faced with the prospect of getting rid of things, but cleaning out a hoarder’s home is a big step on their road to recovery. If someone you love suffers from hoarding disorder, here are a few tips for helping them clean out their home and help them become healthy.

Make a Plan

When your loved one is ready to address their hoarding issues, the first thing you should do is decide how you will both tackle the junk at hand. This plan should address the desired timeline: when you want to be finished with the cleaning, and how much cleaning you will do each day or week for that to be achieved. Don’t forget that sometimes these things could take longer than expected, especially if the hoarder is experiencing emotional resistance while cleaning and organizing.

Pile it Up

As you work through the house, it can often help to organize items into piles or sections as you go, and then deal with the piles one by one. For example, when cleaning out a bedroom, sort things into piles for trash, clothing, shoes, sentimental items, items for donation, items to keep, etc. Grouping items into piles might take a bit of time, but it will help with the dejunking process and make it easier to tell what’s what.

Hire Help

Because hoarders tend to hang onto items that are otherwise junk, it is a good idea to hire some professional help in the form of a junk removal company. Hoarders are notorious for the sheer mass of stuff they keep, so an expert junk removal service will be able to assist with the removal of bulky items as well as recycling. This will limit the number of trips you need to take to the dump yourself.

Be Understanding

Perhaps one key element of helping a hoarder clean out their home is making sure that they are being heard and understood. Often, hoarders will hang onto items that hold some type of emotional attachment or that they fear losing. Cleaning out a home is a great first step to helping a hoarder, but don’t forget that they may also benefit from therapy or other mental health resources. Be gentle, don’t push, and try to be as empathetic and understanding as possible.

Professional Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA

If you know a hoarder who is ready to make a change and you’re ready to help, get in touch with a local junk removal service that specializes in hoarding for the best professional service. Elite Services Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA has the a team of experts prepared to deal with any mess  you might be faced with. For professional junk removal from a trusted team, get in touch with us today! Please fill out our online form, or call or text us at 978-317-5388!

How to Properly Dispose of Batteries

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Although we would like to think getting rid of our trash is as simple as bagging it up and putting it out on the curb, many materials require a different outlet in order to be properly disposed of. Properly disposing of hazardous waste products including paint, metal, and batteries is important in making sure these items don’t end up in our local landfills or water supplies. Here’s a quick guide for how you can go about disposing of batteries. For more information on this and other materials, call or text Elite Services Junk Removal at 978-317-5388.

Single-Use Batteries

Everyday batteries are sometimes conveniently disposable with your regular waste. The batteries you use for your TV’s remote control, your computer mouse, or your string lights can typically be tossed in your trash. With this said, every town is different and some have specific collection days for certain materials. To make sure your town doesn’t have any special policies regarding battery disposal, give them a call before you toss these items!

Rechargeable Batteries

You might have a rechargeable battery for your laptop that you have recently replaced. Rechargeable batteries are also used in many professional photography cameras and security systems. When one of these batteries needs replacing, should you do with the old one? Unlike many single-use batteries, rechargeable batteries typically cannot be disposed of with normal waste items. To properly dispose of these, call your local waste removal company and schedule a pickup or drop off!

Car Batteries

Car batteries can also be removed by a junk removal service or by a local scrap metal yard. If you have the entire junk car to get rid of, many scrap metal or auto salvage yards will not only remove the vehicle from your location but will also give you cash for it! Vehicle batteries can be reused if they are still in usable shape, or the materials can be repurposed to create new parts.

Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA & Beyond

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition takes everything, from batteries to furniture and all things in between! Whether you are looking to get rid of some batteries or conducting a full demolition and need a cleanup crew, we’ve got your back. Give us a call or just text us today for more information at 978-317-5388.

Carpet Removal Tips

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After years of heavy traffic, carpet can get very worn down and will eventually need to be replaced. To save a little bit of money, a lot of homeowners opt to remove the old carpet themselves, which is a great DIY project but a lot of people do not know how to remove carpet properly. With these tips, you’ll have yours removed without damaging the underlying floor or the walls in your home!

Tools You Will Need to Remove Your Carpet

The first step to doing any project properly is to make sure you are prepared with the proper tools to do it. There are only a few essential tools you will need to pull up your own carpet. Before you begin tearing up your carpet, make sure you have the following on hand:

  • Protective gloves
  • Protective eyewear
  • Pliers
  • Crowbar
  • Utility knife
  • Floor scraper

Tips for Removing Your Carpet

The key to removing a carpet is to work efficiently and use your tools properly. Follow our tips to have your carpet removed in no time!

  • Wear all protective eyewear and gloves as soon as you begin the project to avoid dust or allergen irritation.
  • Make sure all furniture is cleared from the room to make the removal process easier and faster.
  • Remove and baseboards/moldings/heater covers that might be covering the edges of your carpet.
  • Start with the pulling up the edge of the carpet using your pliers.
  • Use your crowbar to pull up the tack strips that are holding down your carpet.
  • As you pull up the carpet, use your utility knife to cut it into small pieces to make it easier to carry out of the room.
  • If the carpet padding is held down with staples, use your pliers to pull them out; if it’s glued down, use a floor scraper to pull it up.

Disposing of Your Old Carpet

Once you’ve removed your carpet, the next step is to dispose of it. There is likely a lot of debris leftover, and more than your town or private trash route will take. Hiring a professional junk removal service gets the old carpet out of your home so that you can move onto installing your new floors. To ensure it is disposed of through the proper channels and to avoid frustration, call our team at Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition today at 978-317-5388.

man dragging trash can

Benefits of Hiring Private Waste Removal

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Trash TruckIt’s no secret that American’s produce a lot of waste. Each week, most people sit their trash by the curb to be carried away and buried out of sight, never to be thought of again. This system of trash removal has led to major consequences in our environment, but there’s finally another option. Private waste removal comes with multiple benefits and helping the environment just so happens to be one of them!

Environmentally Friendly

Private waste removal companies help people make the most out of their trash. This means separating recyclables and compostable items before shipping the trash to the landfill. Of course, people should begin that sorting process on their own, but private waste removal companies are designed to find the pieces that you miss. The additional sorting process greatly reduces the amount of actual trash being sent to landfills and optimizing the recycling processes available to us. The remaining trash is then compacted to reduce the amount of space taken up at the landfill. At the rate that we’re currently overfilling our landfills and running out of room for all of our waste, this compacting is more beneficial than you know.

Customizable Waste Collection

Private waste removal is for anyone and everyone. The customizable process allows contractors and individuals alike to hire waste collection companies, no matter the volume or materials they need removed. Traditional trash removal is uniform and can’t be customized to meet your needs which leaves many individuals and companies without their needs being met.

Supporting the Local Economy

By hiring a private waste removal company you’re supporting a local business rather than a wealthy municipal business. Those who benefit from your business are people just like you. If you have to spend money for waste removal, wouldn’t you rather see it go to a good cause? Local businesses typically offer much better customer service as well because they value and recognize the importance of each and every customer on their roster.

Competitive Pricing

You might assume that private waste removal is out of your budget, but that isn’t the case. Private waste removal companies understand that people can’t spend an arm and a leg on waste removal, so their prices are often competitive with traditional waste removal. If you have the ability to be more environmentally friendly and support a local business without breaking the bank, why wouldn’t you?

Are you looking for waste removal for your home or business is Salem, Lynn, Peabody, or Beverly? Give Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition a call today at 978-317-5388.

hoarding living room

The Dangers of Hoarding

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Hoarding not only causes people to live a lower quality of life and has a negative impact on mental health, but it can also actually affect your physical safety. Hoarding is an issue that requires time, concentration, and a professional junk removal service to solve. Once a person puts the time & effort into eliminating the clutter, they can go on to live their best life in a healthy home.

Mold & Infestations

One of the main issues with hoarding is the sanitary element. If floors and surfaces are piled with various junk, it is not possible that they are being sterilized properly, and you never know what you might have accidentally left lying around that is not aging well. The possibility for mold & insect or rodent infestations is very high in hoarding situations. Along with arranging a junk removal service for your cleanout, you may want to have an exterminator in mind as well.

Getting Crushed or Trapped

Hoarding often means that items are piled as high as the ceiling in some places of the home. Even something that seems minor, like a stack of papers, can be hazardous if it falls on a person. These piles can even end up blocking air vents and effecting ventilation, and also raise at which a fire can spread.

Fires

If a house trapped by hoarding catches on fire, the danger level is even higher than average. As previously mentioned, you can easily be trapped among the clutter with no way of escaping. Along with putting the residents at risk, this puts emergency responders at an even higher risk.

Ventilation Issues

If clutter inadvertently blocks an air vent, this can be lethal without you even knowing. Air vents are in place to ensure proper ventilation of the gases we should and should not be breathing in. If they are not able to work properly, you could end up breathing in toxic fumes such as carbon dioxide.

Will You Need a Junk Removal Service?

In almost all cases of hoarding, the help of a junk removal service is necessary to dispose of the junk accumulated. You might consider renting a dumpster or just hiring a removal service to come and remove the items. Elite Services & Demolition is happy to help you or your family members out of the hoarding trap and into a healthier home. Call today and we can talk about your needs! 978-317-5388

cleaning out garage

Why You Should Clean Out for 2020

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The start of a new year is a great time to revamp all areas of your life. You’ve probably begun working on new years resolutions related to your health or daily routine, but what about resolutions related to your home? Cleaning out your home in 2020 gives you a fresh start not just for the new year, but for the new decade too! 

More Room in Your Garage

Your garage should be a multi-functional space that holds your vehicle, outdoor tools, and much more. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for your garage to become a catch-all for the things you aren’t quite sure what to do with. By clearing out some of the junk in your garage, you’ll have more space for things that you actually need, such as parking your car or working on DIY projects! Look through your garage for items that are broken, damaged, unused, and unneeded. 

Less Clutter

The interior of your home likely needs to be cleaned out even more than the exterior garage space! Our homes fill with clutter that gets put into closets, cupboards, and drawers to be dealt with another time. Now is that time! Begin one room at a time and sort through the items in your home. A good rule of thumb to follow includes two tips: 

  1. If the item no longer brings you joy, you shouldn’t keep it. 
  2. If the item hasn’t been used in over a year, you no longer need it. 

Things that you’ve been holding onto for a time “just in case” when you might need it, are things that bring clutter to your home. Be realistic with yourself about what you need and use and clear out the rest! A clutter-free home promotes better mental health and will make keeping the house clean much easier. 

It’s Easier Than You Think!

Some people avoid cleaning out their homes because they think it’s an impossibly big project, but cleaning out your home is easier than you think! You should go into the cleaning project with an open mind and plenty of time on your hands in case you need to take breaks in between rooms or spaces. Another great way to make the project go smoothly is to hire a professional junk removal service. Elite Services Junk Removal is happy to provide extra helping hands and an on-site dumpster to make removing the junk you don’t need easier than you ever thought possible! 

Give us a call at 978-317-5388 to learn more about junk removal services around Swampscott, MA and let’s schedule your cleanout today! 

Garage Cleaning Tips

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houseAs an area of your home that can be easily avoided, garages are known for being an area that stuff piles up quickly. Before you know it, you no longer have space to park your cars. Between trash barrels and children’s scooters to landscape tools and sports gear, items that aren’t being used on a daily basis pile up quickly. Out of sight, out of mind. Take your garage back this spring by following these tips or hiring Elite Junk Removal & Demolition to do a complete garage cleanout for you.

 

Don’t Treat Your Garage as a Dumping Ground

Garages are an area of a home that has a large amount of space and doesn’t need to be utilized every day. If you’ve noticed it’s harder to fit your car in the garage or find yourself parking in the driveway more frequently, it’s time to reevaluate the space: you probably have too much stuff. With the warm weather right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to do a deep clean. Pull all of your stuff out of the garage, sweep it clean, and only put back the items you need and donate the rest!

Have a “Home” for Everything

When you don’t have a designated area to store your things, clutter is bound to stack up. After cleaning your space, utilize various storage solutions and give each of your belongings a designated space to “live” in order to eliminate the potential for another mess.

Don’t Keep Items You Might Use

We all have a few items in our garage that we haven’t used in years but refuse to part with. By keeping these items, space is being taken up that would be better utilized for items you use on a more frequent basis. If it’s not a seasonal item (i.e. snowblower, lawnmower, shovels, etc.), donate it!

If you need help cleaning out your garage or have items that you no longer want, give Elite Services Junk Removal a call today at 978-317-5388.

Tips for Your Fall Yard Clean Up

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With leaves falling to the ground left & right, autumn is the most important & necessary time of year to clean up the exterior of your New England home. Check out these tips to make your fall clean up easy & efficient. Once you follow these simple steps, your landscape will look pristine and ready for the fall!

Tools & Supplies You Will Need:

  • Rake, shovels, garden hoe & seed spreader
  • Protective gardening gloves
  • Heavy duty trash bags or buckets
  • Grass seed, fertilizer, & fresh soil
  • Seasonal plant bulbs & decor

Clean Out Your Gutters

Don’t forget that your home’s gutters can collect debris and easily clog. Failing to clear them out can result in them separating from your roof & causing serious damage to your foundation. Remember that cleaning your gutters by yourself can be unsafe if you are not used to climbing ladders, and that hiring someone who is not professional can lead to a job that is not well done & makes you liable for potential accidents. A professional gutter company that is fully licensed & insured is often the best option for homeowners looking for quick & high quality gutter work.

Clean Up the Yard & Landscape

Next it is time to gather & bag the debris covering your yard. Gloves will help for this as you will encounter leaves, sticks, and possibly even some garbage scattered around your property. To make debris collection easier, you might want to rake into rows or onto a tarp. Don’t forget to clean out any garden & shrub areas. This might be the time to power wash your deck, patio, or any outdoor furniture as well.

Add Soil, Re-Seed, and Plant Seasonal Bulbs

After a hot summer, your grass is in need of soil & nutrients. Once you have cleared the yard of debris, it’s time to plant & restore nourishment. Fresh seed, fertilizer, & watering will give it the refresh it needs just in time for fall. This is also the time to add some mulch and decor for for the season! This is when your gardening tools & gloves will again come in handy.

Remove the Debris

Yard clean ups are guaranteed to result in the accumulation of countless bags full of leaves and debris. First make sure that you are using properly sized, quality trash bags that won’t rip open and ruin your progress. Next, you will have to think about where to dispose of these bags. Although you can choose to haul them to a dump yourself, hiring a junk removal service can save you time & save your car from a potential mess. If you are too busy & don’t want to deal with the hassle of a do-it-yourself fall cleanup, some junk removal companies will even collect, bag, and remove debris for you.

If you are in need of debris removal or a full service yard or property cleanup in the Salem, MA area, Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition’s team of professionals is ready to help. Give us a call at 978-317-5388 or email 4removal@gmail.com.

Should You Have a Yard Sale or Hire a Junk Removal Service?

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One of the biggest questions we are faced with when cleaning out a home is what to do with the items we no longer want or use. You might be hesitant to throw everything away, but is a yard sale worth your time? Here are some factors to consider when deciding between having a yard sale or using a junk removal service:

Yard Sale

If you have resellable items, time on your hands, and access to the proper resources, you might be able to make some money from having a yard sale. Keep in mind, however, that a yard sale is not quick money – It will take significant planning to successfully pull off. The first step is to decide which of your items are actually resellable. If something is broken, out of style, or just well used, it is less likely that someone will want to purchase it. Once you choose a date for your yard sale, you will need to advertise it so people will be aware of your sale and show up to shop. You might want to do this through signs, social media, or local listings.

On the day of your yard sale, you will be responsible for renting or assembling tables to display merchandise on. You will also have to think about how you would like to organize your items for sale – Grouping by section is one way to make it easier for buyers. You will also have to handle money and making change, and decide on if your prices are firm or if you are open to bargaining. Keep in mind that wherever your merchandise is set up also needs to be adjustable should it rain on yard sale day. After your yard sale, you will likely still have some leftover items that didn’t sell – Unless you want to keep them, you will have to determine how you will rid of these.

Junk Removal

If you are looking to quickly wrap up your cleaning out process, professional junk removal may be your answer. Instead of the labor intense process of a yard sale, scheduling junk removal can be as simple as a call or email request. This option also ensures that everything you are looking to get rid of will be taken, both useful and useless. Professional junk removal can be a good option if your items are too worn out to be re-purposed, but don’t feel bad about hauling them away if they are still usable – junk removal services often have donation programs available too! If you’re ready to take the next step in your clean out, contact Elite Services Junk Removal to talk about your junk removal process today.