Archive for the 'Old Furniture' Category

Do You Have a Mystery Room in Your House?

Published on February 3, 2011 in Clutter, Old Furniture and junk hauling. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Do you remember visiting a friend’s house when you were little, and not being able to go into certain rooms?  As a young child, this only made me more curious about what those ‘off-limits’ rooms actually contained. I’d try to get a quick peak behind a veiled curtain or a slightly opened door, but it wasn’t enough.  So, to satisfy my curiosity, I would embark on journeys to each of those mystery rooms and uncover the treasures or dangers that were clearly being hidden from me.

When my friend’s mom was off in the kitchen making fluffer-nutter sandwiches, I’d make a break for it.  Zipping across long hallways I’d round corners with my back to the wall.   I’d cautiously approach the room, and then throw aside the curtain or fling open the door, as if expecting to surprise some mystery room inhabitant.

Sometimes these rooms would be covered from rug to wall in shiny plastic wrap.   It was as if the room was being preserved for some distant future, when the people living there could finally enjoy sitting on that lime green couch. Even the lamps in these room would be meticulously sheltered in plastic, reminding me of little astronauts wearing protective space suits.

Sometimes these rooms were extremely well-hidden. I would creep up a flight of stairs and pull down a secret door in the ceiling, unhinging a short ladder that lead up to the darkness.  These rooms were dingy and dusty, with old relics sitting around, as if waiting for someone to finally use them again.  One creak or shuffle on the wooden floor and my nerves would go, following me all the way back down the ladder into the light.

There were other types of mystery rooms too.  Rooms that housed broken down appliances, like a washing machine that could no longer spin or a refrigerator that had ruined one too many dinners.  Rooms with exercise bikes missing their pedals and lawn mowers that had given in to rust.  There rooms that were big and small;  those that had broken tiles on the floor and those that had paint peeling off the walls.

There were always many different types of mystery rooms, but all of them had the same ’stuck in time’ feeling. These rooms had no real purpose other than housing broken down junk.  It was as if these rooms were destined to never be used again; they were simply there to take up space and peak the curiosity of little kids.

Do you have a ‘mystery room’ in your house?  Why not make the best of your space and actually use that room for something?  Isn’t a living room actually meant for living in?  Isn’t an attic there for a purpose beyond housing raccoons and useless clutter?  Couldn’t you convert your basement into something great? Simply give Junk King a call at 1-800-995-JUNK and haul away all that useless mystery room clutter today.

The Three States of College Transition

Published on September 23, 2010 in Furniture Pick Up, Old Furniture, Old Furniture Pick Up, Recycling and junk removal. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

In a variety of ways, college kids can generate a great volume of junk.  Whether they are leaving home for the first time, changing their dorm rooms, or moving out of  their first apartments, there always is a ton of waste left in their rear view.  These times of transition are often very hectic, both for the kids involved as well as their parents.  I’d like to take a look at the ‘three states of college transition’ and how the waste left behind can potentially be put to good use.

1.  Home to Dorm Move

The transition of an 18 year-old to their college dorm can leave their parent’s home in a state of disarray. First of all, their old room is in limbo: should it be transformed into a guest room, exercise center, study, or entertainment mecca?  The old bedroom is not the only affected area of the house.  There are pieces of furniture, old toys and clothes, TVs, bikes, hobby sets, as well as ping pong and pool tables that will no longer be used by the college-bound freshman.

It’s left up to the parents to navigate the waters from here.  The first step is to take inventory of everything that will no longer be necessary – the clutter and junk items.  The next step is to plan what do with all of the extra room.  Is new furniture required?  Is a total redecoration in order?  The final step is to figure out how to haul away all of that junk.  Many of the old clothes and toys can be donated to organizations like the Salvation Army.  Larger items can be sold for reuse if they are in good condition on a site like Craigslist, or otherwise hauled away to be recycled at the proper facilities.

2.  Dorm to Apartment Move

This second state of college transition often occurs when a student moves off-campus to their first apartment.  This means they will be buying their own furniture for the first time (another time to use Craigslist).  This also means they won’t need a lot of that ‘dorm only’ equipment that their parents helped them buy a few years back.  This includes shower caddies, mattress pads, mini-fridge / microwave combos, plastic drawers as well as a number of other novelty dorm items.  Although some universities help out with getting rid of all this junk, for the most part the fledgling apartment dweller will be required to dispose of everything on their own in a responsible manner.

3.  Apartment to Real World Move

This final state of transition happens when a college student moves out of their first apartment into the ‘real world.’ This could mean another apartment closer to a (hopeful) new job, moving in with a significant other, or transitioning to a different city.  No matter where life is taking them, this newly minted member of the workforce will be required to deal with quite a bit of apartment junk that has accumulated over the past few years.

This junk could include an old, heavy couch-set split among roommates, large boxy Televisions, Ikea-bought dining room furniture and old mattresses that certainly won’t make it to the next apartment.  With a new job on the line, our ex-student most likely won’t be fully ‘with it’ in terms of making plans to get rid of all of these items.

In fact, for any and all stages of college transition, students are going through a hectic time in their lives where they probably aren’t spending much time to think about what they are leaving behind.  That’s why hiring a professional, affordable and eco-friendly junk removal service can make all the difference in making a smooth transition. No hassles, no worries, and a guarantee that all of those useless items find their way to the proper recycling facilities.

5 Pieces of Old Furniture Likely to be Found in Your Home

Published on August 7, 2010 in Furniture Pick Up, Old Furniture, Old Furniture Pick Up, Pick Up Old Furniture and junk removal. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .


For those of us who own a house or apartment, furniture is a very big part of our lives.  The type of furniture in your house decides the atmosphere that you spend most of your life in.   This means furniture is what you look at, what you sit and sleep in, and what you use on an everyday basis.  It’s pretty clear – furniture plays a big part in our lives whether we like to admit or not.

This is why it’s so difficult to get rid of old furniture.  You’ve spent all those years spending everyday with a piece of furniture, when the time comes to get rid of the item it can often be quite difficult.  You might make excuses for years, but eventually the time comes when that old piece of furniture needs to get hauled out to bring in the new.  Here is a list of five pieces of old furniture that are probably sitting around your house right now that you need to get rid of:

  1. Arm Chair: We all know how great a good ole’ armchair can be.  It could be lazy boy recliner in front of the TV, or a padded rocking chair by the fireplace.  This is where a person can sit down, read a good book, look out the window, or tell a story.  This is the chair that feels ‘just right’ because you’ve been sitting in it for so long.  Some of the best memories of our lives have been told from that old chair.  However, if anyone from the outside looks at your old chair they can see it with open eyes: it has rips along the side, stains on the surface, and splinters on the wood.  It’s time to get rid of that old chair.
  2. Bed: We spend one third of our lives sleeping, often in a bed that we’ve had for nearly a decade.  That old bed can provide the perfect respite after a long day’s work. However, because of many years’ use, the bed is starting to break down.  It isn’t providing the back support it used to, and it creaks in the middle of the night and often wakes you up.  It’s time to get a new, better bed that will suit all your needs.
  3. Family Couch: The old family couch is the centerpiece of every home.  This is where your family gathers to watch TV, chat, read the newspaper, or play games.  There are a lot of great memories on that family couch. However, the couch has been through new children, puppies and wear and tear, making it look like something out of ‘Mad Max.’  It’s time to find a new centerpiece to your home.
  4. Piano: Pianos last for quite a while.  You might have gotten the baby grand when you moved into the home, and it’s been there for fifteen to twenty years.  Your whole family has gone through a set of lessons on it, and you can tell from the sound.  Although you can retune a piano to have it fixed up, eventually worn wood and mechanics can permanently affect the sound quality.  Perhaps it’s time to pick out a new baby grand, or even a great sound electronic piano.
  5. Pool / Ping Pong Table: These classic basement games can be found in homes across the county.  Pool and Ping Pong tables have provided countless hours of fun for your family in friends, from day long tournaments to one on one grudge matches.  However, old equipment can really start to affect the quality of the game. Those bumps in your pool table and chips in your table tennis table can cause more than a few plays to go awry, as you’ve likely noticed.  New tables have drastically gone down in price lately, so it’s the perfect time to pick one up.

Make sure you don’t hurt yourself trying to haul these heavy old pieces of furniture out of your house. Junk King can efficiently and affordably pick that old junk up for you. Call 1-800-995 JUNK or book online to schedule a free on site estimate.