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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Got Junk? Clear it out!

Charlotte Mace had a problem. The newly appointed youth director at Heritage Congregational Church was eager to launch her program, but the basement area set aside for youth meetings was filled with discarded items.

How was she going to haul out two upholstered chairs that had been in the church since 1972? Who would remove the skateboards tucked into the ceiling rafters? And what should she do with a box of church bulletins from 1978?

The answer to her prayers came in an unusual way. “I saw a truck parked on Regal Street,” she said. “It said, ‘Got Junk?’ ”

Mace had junk. She called the 1-800 number, and help was on the way.

Jon Reisinger is the local franchise partner for Got Junk? North America’s largest junk-removal service. He set up a time to meet with Mace and do an initial assessment. “People can be embarrassed about their junk,” he said, “But we’ve seen it all.” He recalled the time he and his team removed a larger-than-life stuffed buffalo someone had won at a carnival.

After their first appointment, Reisinger gave Mace an estimate based on volume. “We won’t exceed our estimate,” he said. “We charge an up-front rate.” He believed giving a youth group a new home was a worthy cause and offered Mace a deep discount.

With the church board’s blessing she set up a time for the Got Junk? crew to work their magic. Before their arrival, on Reisinger’s advice, Mace went through the basement and tagged everything she wanted to keep with yellow sticky notes.

When the team arrived she pointed to a cross made out of carpet and stapled to a wall. “Can you take that too?” she asked. “Not a problem,” said Reisinger.

Mace had a definite goal. She wanted to create an open, clean environment for youth meetings. Reisinger was glad to know she had a plan. “We like folks to use the space we declutter,” he said. “If the space isn’t used, more junk will accumulate.”

Soon his team was busy sorting and loading years worth of cast-off furniture and boxes of papers. Got Junk? recycles everything they can. Usable items go to local charities; wood, metal and paper go to recycling companies; and building materials go to Habitat for Humanity. “We really like helping them,” Reisinger said, noting they’d taken part in last year’s Blitz Build. Everything else goes to the dump.

He attributes the accumulation of junk in homes and businesses to our consumer-based society. “People want to buy new things,” he said, “But still hang on to their old things. People get attached to their stuff.”

Mace’s reason for hiring Got Junk? was simple. “The sooner I can get this space cleared out, the quicker I can start our youth program.”

“Most folks have other things to do with their free time,” Reisinger said. People have projects they want to start, but junk gets in the way. “You plan on painting a room or landscaping,” he said, “but no one plans on removing junk.”

Mace was thrilled with the results. When contacted a few days after the truck’s visit she said, “Those guys went above and beyond the call of duty. They even swept the stairwell and the parking lot when they were done.” Soon the once cluttered room will be filled with excited young people.

“Our customers value their time,” said Reisinger. “They don’t really want to spend Saturday afternoon waiting in line at the dump when they could be golfing.”