The attic for many people is simply where everything not needed is put. The old toys, old clothes and anything else seldom used is thrown into a box and pushed off into some corner of the attic. The only time something comes down is when holiday decorations are brought down and set up. Then a month later they are packed back up.
If you’ve been putting things in your attic for a while, then it might be getting to the point where you can’t squeeze any more items into it. As soon as you poke your head into the attic you find yourself greeted by dusty boxes. Suddenly the attic is no longer a place you can store things in.
You might not have started spring cleaning, but now might be the time to start
Time To Clean The Attic
clearing the attic out. If you’re lucky your attic might be roomy enough that you can do the work up there. For many people, however, an attic is a cramped space where you can’t even stand up right. And you have to be careful where you step. Here are some things you can do to make the job easier.
Have a Plan On How To Attack The Attic
Depending on your time, and your space, it would be nice to take care of the entire attic at once. Yet, this isn’t always practical. So maybe divide it up into quadrants and do it over a period of a few days or weeks. The first goal is to get room to even maneuver in the attic so maybe begin with an area you know has a lot of items that can be tossed.
Also have on hand some new boxes or tubs that you can start to put things in. Chances are some of the boxes in the attic are held together with dust and masking tape. Especially if your organizing items, having something to put things in will make it easier.
Haul Things Down To An Open Area In the Home
Instead of doing the work in the cramped attic, bring things down to an area you have set aside in your home. Since some of the items might have been up there for a while they might be full of dust. So try to keep it an area close to the attic entrance and maybe have some plastic or old sheets down. The last thing you want to do is get done organizing the attic and find the room you worked in now needs to be thoroughly cleaned.
Sort Through Items
As you go through the boxes or piles look for items that can be thrown away, that you want to keep, and things that could be donated. Look through for broken items, clothes that no longer fit, and books that are out of date or already read. Anything that you’re returning to the attic you want to make sure are in sturdy boxes so that you can stack them later and not worry about damaging anything.
Carefully Label Boxes or Color Code Them
For the items you plan to return to the attic make sure the boxes are clearly marked. It will make it that much easier later when you’re looking for something. If you really want to make the holidays easier, get colored tubs for the seasonal stuff. Orange tubs for the Halloween decorations and green for Christmas. And make sure when you put the holiday decorations away you keep each holiday in its own place. So when it’s time to decorate you can go to one central location to find everything.
Bring in A Professional to Clear Things Out
Perhaps when you’re done you only have a few things to toss out. That you can just bag up and haul to the curb. Yet, for most people they’ll have quite a bit to get rid of. And a number of things to take to a donation center. This is why hiring a junk removal company can be a good idea. Not only can they haul the items away for you, but you don’t have to do anything with the piles you’ve created. Simply let them know where everything is and they can take it outside.
In fact, if there are items in the attic you already know is junk, don’t even bring them down. Let the professionals haul them down, while you focus on the piles that need to be sorted.
Another advantage to a junk removal company is that they can take care of the donations, as well. Many junk haulers look to take as little as possible to the landfill. So they look through everything removing anything that can be recycled or anything that might have value for someone else.
Since the company is sending a truck, why not take a few minutes and add to the pile. Look around for other things you can discard, from things in the basement to items in the garage. Again you don’t have to do any heavy lifting yourself. You simply show them to the area the items are in and they’ll take it from there.
By the time you’re done with the attic, it will be a lot easier in the future either to put things away or to get them down. Maybe you can use the extra room to pack more items away and clear up some space from other rooms. And the holidays will be a little easier when you don’t have to search for the boxes that have the Christmas lights in them or the reindeer that goes up on the roof.
If you live in Washington DC, Northern Virginia, or Prince George or Montgomery County in Maryland and cleaning out your attic, then contact Nova Junk. We’ll show up at the time you schedule and haul everything away. Call us at (877) 211-6682 to schedule a pickup when it’s convenient for you and your family.