1. Organization Starts with A Vacant Apartment

When you rent your first apartment you’ve got an awesome opportunity. You’re starting your post-collegiate adult life largely clutter free. Your first apartment is a blank slate (mostly) that you can fill or not fill with stuff. So when you are shopping for furniture for that new apartment, remember less is usually more.  

Also take the time to buy organizing solutions like racks, holders, and drawer organizers. Life is a lot easier if you start off organized.

2. Start Recycling

Most modern apartments have some sort of recycling program, either a separate dumpster for recyclables or individual blue bins for recyclables. Most of the time you don’t have to sort your recyclables, just separate them from your regular trash. If your apartment building doesn’t have a recycling program, talk to your building management about setting one up. 

3. Buy Only What You Need (Or Things You REALLY want)

When I moved into my first apartment I was extremely dedicated to the idea of keeping a fully stocked bar at all times. As part of my effort to keep a bar to rival Don Draper I had every bar glass ever made, including the ones bars don’t use anymore (sour glasses anyone?). And you know how many of those glasses got used? Four. Maybe eight on a big day. This taught me something:

Buy the things you only need, or the drew things you really really want. When you are shopping ask yourself, “Do I need this? Do I want this? Will I use this? What am I willing to throw out to replace this?” If you don’t need something, don’t buy it.

4. Know when to Hold ‘Em

We live in a disposable culture, especially when it comes to clothes. A shirt gets ripped at the seam our first instinct is to throw it out and buy five new shirts to replace it. You can save money in the long run and keep your wardrobe under control by mending and properly cleaning clothes. 

5. Know When to Throw ‘Em

While you can have your clothes mended, fixed, and even rewoven there are certain things in your life that just aren’t worth saving. No, you aren’t going to fix that toaster and know you aren’t going to fix that lamp. Instead the broken stuff you insist your going someday is just going to pile up in a closet. So know when to part ways with your beloved toaster and just buy a new one.

6. Love Your Boyfriend, Not His Toaster

Continuing on with the toaster metaphor … At some point you’re going to meet someone, and fall in love, and they’ll want to move into your apartment because its a lot bigger than theirs. And the day after that special someone moves in you’ll discover your kitchen populated with two of everything. Your toaster, his / her toaster, his/ her dishes and your dishes, his / her silverware and your silverware, etc. 

Your first exercise as a couple should be to pair down those possessions into one of everything. Consider it your first relationship challenge!

7. Establish Cleaning Habits Early

Cleaning is about routine. Don’t clean when things are beyond livable. Instead establish a cleaning schedule. Clean your bathroom(s) on a certain day. Clean your kitchen on another day. Appointment yet another day as a time for cleaning your kitchen and vacuuming your living room. If you live by a schedule your life gets easier, simpler, and cleaner.

8. Get Rid of Bulky Items the Right Way

Sooner or later you will add buying a major appliance, like a refrigerator, to your list of first. And the reason will most likely be that your old refrigerator finally died on you. When this time comes make sure your dispose of bulky items properly. No, hauling a television or refrigerator to the curb isn’t proper disposal. Call your city’s sanitation department or a private hauling service to have your bulky item haul away.

9. Be Careful with Chemicals

Chemicals like paints and certain types of household cleaners are considered hazardous materials. So practice judicious use of these chemicals. Instead of using harsh, chemical cleaners, for instance, use a biodegradable cleaner. If you paint your apartment make sure you dispose of leftover paints appropriately. You can typically dispose of paint at a designated drop off center.

10. Don’t Get Sloppy

It is easy to get sloppy or messy. Six months into your new job and you’re sleep deprived and under-appreciated. You toss your clothes on the floor, you leave your dishes soaking in the sink, you don’t vacuum when you are supposed to vacuum. Don’t get sloppy. Stick to your routine.

These ten tips only scratch the surface of how to organize and keep your apartment (or, in the future, home) clean and junk free. If you want to read some more helpful hints or tips about organizing, cleaning, and hauling away junk and garbage click here.

Recycling … There are several charitable organizations and environmental organizations that can help you recycle large office equipment like copiers and printers. Some charge a fee, others do everything for free. Most private hauling services in Los Angeles recycle as well, but they generally charge to haul away copiers and printers.

Hauling Service … A hauling service in Los Angeles hauls away your office equipment for a fee. Typically they’ll charge you a single item pick up rate. A hauling service will then try to recycle your office machines or if they cannot be recycle they dispose of them properly.

City of Los Angeles Bulky Item Pick Up … The city of Los Angeles has its own bulky item pick up service. However due to statewide and citywide budget cuts these bulky item picks up can be erratic and take time. Up to three weeks to arrange a bulky item pick up.

You can also check with your copier machine vendor to see if they have a buy back or return program for their copiers.

A Junk Removal Service Removes Junk 

This like a “Well DUH!” answer but its obvious. A junk removal service is a service that specializes in removing, recycling, hauling, and disposing of junk. Junk removal services typically remove just about any kind of junk. Household junk, construction debris, trash, garbage, and rubbish. 

Most junk removal services use a big truck with a crew of two people (a drive and a foreman) to haul away whatever junk that needs to be removed.

Junk Removal Services Handle Toxic Chemicals and Electronics

A lot of people don’t realize that they have a bunch of toxic chemicals in their homes until it comes time to get rid of paint leftover from a remodel or an old computer monitor. While not directly hazardous to us, stuff like paint and computer monitors, are considered hazardous by most waste dumps and disposal sites. Many city dumps will only allow a normal person to throw away hazardous materials twice a year.

Most junk removal services are licensed to dispose of hazardous and toxic materials year around. A lot of people who need to get rid of paints, motor oil, car fluids, and computer monitors call a junk removal service to get rid of them.

Junk Removal Services Handle Bulky Items

Especially in large cities bulky items, like old appliances and televisions, can be hard or impossible to dispose of. Most junk removal services have a bulky item pick up service that comes to your house and hauls away large, hard to dispose of items.

Junk Removal Services Handle Hoarders

Hoarding in the United States seems to be on the rise. Every week a newspaper seems to feature a horror story about a house or apartment packed to the roof with junk, trash, garbage and much worse. When someone has to clean up after a hoarder, that someone is typically a junk removal service. Most junk removal services have had extensive experience with cleaning up after hoarders.

Junk Removal Services Also Handle Garbage Removal and Trash Pick Up

Junk removal services also handle garbage removal and trash pick up services. Junk removal services help get rid of garbage and trash from homes, apartments, and buildings.

So these are the basic services most junk removal services offer. Some might offer other services like dumpster rental or disaster clean up, but almost every junk removal service will offer these basic services.

March 14, 2013