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Junk Removal Blog

Efficient E-waste Dumping Benefits the Environment

If you’ve never heard of e-waste or what it can do to the environment if you dump it improperly, you may be shocked at the environmental damage you can do completely by accident. E-waste is perhaps more devastating than any other type of products you can dump, unless it’s disposed of properly.

What is E-Waste?

E-waste is a term that refers to any kind of electronics that might be thrown away, and usually Efficient-E-waste-Dumping-Benefits-the-Environment-junk-king-Sonoma-CArefers to things with circuits in them. Computers, TVs, radios, phones and just about anything else more sophisticated than an old-fashioned toaster oven will qualify. While most people won’t just try to stuff their car into a dumpster, even a car’s computer could qualify it as e-waste and make it bad for the environment in the same way. Even CFL lightbulbs are e-waste in many cases.

E-waste does more than just fill the landfills when it could be recycled. The environmental impact of e-waste hurts the air you and your family breathe, the water you drink, the plants that grow from that water and the land that must be further mined for resources that are needlessly reburied. Disposing of e-waste improperly is one of the worst things you can do to the environment. Fortunately, having the e-waste disposal job done properly can spare the environment a lot of hurt.

Air

Air pollution can be caused by trucks needlessly moving e-waste around through different locations, and from chemicals released during the crushing process of the waste products themselves. For example, many compact fluorescent light or CFL bulbs release mercury when they’re crushed, which makes it toxic to breathe the local air until the mercury settles down. In any case, not properly disposing of e-waste products results in air pollution that doesn’t need to happen.

Groundwater

No matter how well a landfill is constructed, leeching through the soil will occur eventually. For this reason, e-waste needs to be properly disposed of. When mercury, lead and other elements that are normally a part of circuit boards and other parts of electronic items are exposed to water, that water carries away a small amount of those elements. The lead, mercury and numerous other types of things you do not want your family to drink are then carried throughout the soil, where they go into the reservoirs you drink from and the plants you may one day eat.

Needless Repetition

When chemicals are leeched into the groundwater because they’re buried, resources are needlessly wasted. They were mined before so they could be used to build the electronics, but putting them into landfills means they need to be mined all over again. This means more trucks and more mining equipment needs to pump more pollutants into the air, when having the e-waste properly collected for responsible dumping could save all of that hassle and extra pollution. From every angle, improperly disposing of e-waste is a bad idea for the environment and for everyone who lives on earth.

Having the Job Done Right

Having your e-waste disposed of properly is an investment in making the environment a safer place to live in. When e-waste is disposed of correctly, through safe channels, the air and groundwater are preserved in a cleaner state than they would otherwise be. If you value your family’s continued health, not to mention the overall health of the environment and other people, you will contact a professional company that handles e-waste disposal the way it should be handled. The environment depends on you making a responsible decision and having your e-waste disposed of by using a company that does it right. Contact us and let us make a positive contribution to the environment together.

Environmental Challenges Due To Improper Waste Disposal

Improper waste disposal wreaks havoc on our planet as well as future generations of human beings. Though it might seem efficient to dispose of undesired items and substances in dumpsters, garbage cans, drains, landfills or hidden spaces, doing so often compromises the integrity of the environment. The failure to dispose of waste in the proper manner will inevitably hurt our pocketbooks as well. Taxes will rise across posterity as taxpayers are forced to rectify sites that have been compromised by the failure to properly maintain the land and water around us.

An estimated 15 percent of all items disposed in a given year are hazardous. Take a close look at Environmental-Challenges-Due-To-Improper-Waste-Disposal-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAour environment and you’ll notice that our rivers, lakes, oceans and numerous other sites have already been poisoned. Thousands of aquatic animals wash up on the shore each year due to the public’s general failure to eliminate waste in an environmentally conscious manner. Plenty of marine and amphibious creatures display signs of mutation for the same reason. This has to stop. Let’s take a look at exactly how improper waste disposal threatens our surroundings.

The Contamination of Surface Water

When waste reaches water bodies, it alters the water’s chemical composition. Such harm is typically referred to as water pollution. This contamination negatively impacts all of the ecosystems within the water. Even animals that rely on the water for drinking water will suffer health consequences from consuming polluted water. Furthermore, consider the predicament that contaminated water poses for humanity. Water is the “new oil” because of its scarcity. The bottom line is that human life can’t survive on planet Earth unless there is an abundance of clean water.

Leachate

Water that moves through contaminated spaces creates a liquid referred to as Leachate. It creates a toxic mix of nasty chemicals that often results in harmful substances reaching the groundwater, surface water and/or soil.

The Contamination of Soil

Improper waste disposal often leads to a leaking of hazardous chemicals into the soil. Such contamination stunts plant growth and even kills some plants as they pull up poisoned soil directly through their roots. This has a domino affect when human beings and animals consume the compromised plants. In a nutshell, the haphazard disposal of waste has the potential to threaten our food supply.

Air Pollution

Poor waste management practices create pollution in the land as well as the surrounding air. Those who breathe in polluted air suffer negative health effects as the contaminants sucked into the lungs quickly spread to other body sites.

Mind Your Disposal of Household Products

Household cleaners, lawn care products, medicines, paint, automobile fluids and beauty products all have the potential to harm the environment. The manner in which you disposes of these items is critically important. Do not throw them in the trash as their presence threatens the well-being of those who remove your junk and garbage. It is critically important that we all make an effort to prevent hazardous waste from reaching landfills. As noted above, hazardous waste that is improperly disposed has the potential to reach the groundwater that we all rely upon for drinking and bathing.

Do not make the mistake of flushing hazardous liquids down the toilet, drain or sink. Such hazardous fluids will move through your local sewage system and end up in treatment plants that are incapable of handling such waste. You might be tempted to dump such fluids into storm drains or in remote areas. This is also a grave mistake as the harmful liquids will inevitably reach local waterways and eventually travel to lakes, beaches and even the Pacific Ocean.

Contact the professionals at Junk King.  We are able to help you dispose of your waste in an environmentally friendly way.

Household Waste – The Proper Way To Dispose

Household waste management can be a tiresome task and when it comes to cleaning out the Household-Waste-The-Proper-Way-To-Dispose-Junk-King-sonomahouse, garage, shed or other area, most people procrastinate. Part of the problem is that the average person is not exactly sure how to dispose of household waste, large items and other sundries that don’t belong in regular trash cans. If you share these concerns, understand that you are not alone. Hardly anyone knows exactly how to properly dispose of paint, batteries, electronics, chemicals and other items. The disposal of household waste is a major issue that should receive much more publicity than it currently does. We hope this article helps in our shared quest to preserve the integrity of the planet we all call home.

How to Distinguish Between Hazardous Waste and Non-Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is distinguished from regular household waste due to its inherent danger. Putting these harmful items in regular trash cans only to have them be hauled off to the landfill is akin to the direct poisoning of Mother Earth and all of its inhabitants, human beings and animals alike. The problem lies in the fact that the average person is not exactly sure as to what constitutes hazardous waste and what constitutes non-hazardous household waste.

Examples of hazardous waste are latex paints, motor oil, drain cleaner, herbicides, antifreeze, fuel, automotive care items, batteries, fluorescent lamps, chemicals used for cleaning or other purposes and sprays used to eliminate rodents or insects. These items are inherently dangerous to all forms of life as they are either corrosive, ignitable or extremely toxic.

How to Eliminate Household Waste in a Safe and Legal Manner

Junk King will pick up just about anything except for hazardous items like those listed above. If you have undesired hazardous waste items like laptop batteries, fluorescent lamps or old cell phones, contact the business that sold them to you. Ask if they will accept those items back for recycling or a safe method of disposal that does not harm our sensitive environment. Your city might have an environmental organization that collects such hazardous items for drop-off at recycling stations. Take care to avoid mixing such items with others to prevent contamination and the creation of a toxic stew that threatens us all.

General Disposal Guidance

When in doubt, take a look at each item’s label for disposal instructions. Some won’t have any type of guidance printed on the label while others will explain exactly how the item should be discarded. These labels will also provide warnings regarding the handling of items that contain toxic materials so that you don’t mistakenly harm yourself.

You can also consult with one of Junk King’s waste removal experts for additional assistance. We want to stress that the disposal of your household waste is our top priority. Junk King takes 99% of cast-offs. The remaining few hazardous items pose a threat to our crew’s safety and health. Furthermore, it is illegal for our squad to remove these items from your property. This is precisely why Junk King and every other junk hauler will not remove potentially harmful items such as asbestos-laden ceiling tiles.

Junk King is Ready to Haul Your Debris and Undesired Items

If you have any doubt as to whether your household waste is hazardous, don’t make the mistake of assuming that is safe enough to throw in the trash, compost or dumpster. Play it safe by following the household waste removal tips outlined above. If you can’t find an answer in a timely manner, put the item in question aside until our junk removal team arrives. Reach out to us today to schedule a pickup date and time.

Easy Summer Cleaning with Junk King

Easy-Summer-Cleaning-with-Junk-King-sonoma-CASummer cleaning is a big thing for many people. If you are like most people, you use the warm weather as an opportunity to open up the house, air it out and get rid of all the dirt as well as old items that you no longer use. This is the time of year to reassess everything you own, whether it is in storage or in plain sight.  If you are hesitant to perform a full clean-out of your home because of all the heavy lifting, don’t fret!  Junk King is here to help.

Let Junk King do the Work for You

Instead of trucking all of your old stuff to the landfill, donation center, recycling hub or other place, let Junk King handle the project on your behalf. Our team will haul away any items that you no longer need or desire. Perhaps your summer clean-out leaves you with a pile of old items that are taking up space in your home. Don’t let them gather dust any longer. Reach out to our team and we will take them away. We are able to remove just about any item from your property as long as it is not hazardous. From old clothes to outdated computers and yard clippings, we take nearly everything you could possibly want to get rid of.

A Green Junk Removal Process That You can be Proud Of

Junk King handles junk hauling projects in a manner that preserves the integrity of our sensitive environment. Our team sorts through each and every haul for items that can be recycled. We separate metals from textiles, furniture, paper, waste, household goods and beyond. We perform a thorough assessment of each piece of junk to determine if it can be re-purposed. We only haul undesired items on out to a landfill as a last resort. Furthermore, we run most of our junk hauling vehicles on bio-diesel fuel, an environmentally friendly and renewable resource. We are proud to say that we are the greenest junk hauler around.

Spend Your Summer Enjoying the Sun, not Moving Junk

This is the time of the year when you want to kick back, relax and enjoy the sun, the water and the presence of your friends and family. Don’t burden yourself with a junk hauling project that takes up days or possibly even longer. Let our crew fill up one of our big red junk hauling trucks and clear undesired items away from your property. This way, you can focus on less physically taxing and time consuming projects or simply relax and bask in the warmth of the summer sun.

Here is What We Will Take From Your Summer Clean-Out

Junk King takes just about every type of non-hazardous junk and / or bulky waste. If you perform a summer clean-out and find that you have an old mattress, appliance, electronic device or debris of any sort, you can reach out to Junk King, knowing in full confidence that our junk hauling experts will be able to remove your items from the premises. As long as it is not something hazardous like biological waste or asbestos, we will be able to take it away.

Our Junk Hauling Services

Junk King can tackle just about any type of junk hauling job. Whether you perform a summer house clean-out, a yard makeover or simply clean out your garage or shed, you can lean on Junk King to do the heavy lifting. Our team removes yard waste, furniture, electronics, appliances, hot tubs, mattresses and just about everything else so contact us.

E-waste – Electronics Recycling The Solution

E-waste disposal is becoming more and more important and the environment’ state really is dependent upon how we treat this matter. What do you do with that old computer, monitor, or tablet once that device has reached its expiration date – i.e., when the next iPhone comes out? Well, as we’re all well aware, electronics get updated and upgraded all the time, and sometimes our favorite devices stop working, get viruses or plain get dropped on the ground (it happens).

E-waste and Electronics Recycling E-waste-Electronics-Recycling-The-Solution-Junk-King-Sanoma-CA

If any of these things occur to your electronics, then they’ve effectively gone from a usable gizmo to electronic waste. Also called e-waste, electronic waste is a catch-all term for all of the electronics devices that get sent to landfills, repurposed, donated or recycled back into circulation each and every year. Whole genres of devices actually get sent out to pasture as new technologies come along – think about PDAs, fax machines, VCRs, and pagers.

It’s important that a greater share of this collective e-waste gets recycled and put back into circulation – in one form or another. Recycling e-waste is actually critical right now for two reasons – the sheer volume of electronic waste that’s out there right now that doesn’t get recycled and, secondly, the fact that electronic waste contains heavy metals that can threaten the water and air that we all enjoy.

  • How Much E-waste are We Talking?

Can you guess how much we in the United States collectively generate in terms of e-waste? Hands on buzzers: More than three million tons of e-waste is generated annually and, unfortunately, less than a half-million tons of that e-waste was properly recycled. Nearly two billion dollars is spent by Americans on consumer electronics every year with high tech turnover as the main culprit behind (literally) tons of e-waste.

  • Where Recycling Comes In

Because of all these dangers California went ahead and ratified into law the Electronic Waste Recycling Act back in 2003. This law basically disincentivizes the sale of dangerous products like outmoded cathode-ray tube monitors that contain heavy metals. The Electronic Waste Recycling Act also makes it easier for California businesses and homeowners to recycle things like bulky fax machines and obsolete desktop computers and make way for newer, safer technologies.

How to Recycle Your E-waste 

Even though the average American household has two dozen electronics gadgets within its four walls, that’s not a reason to despair. If you have an old Smartphone collecting dust, then there’s a good chance you can hook up with your manufacturer’s recycling program to get those parts back in circulation.

The biggest tech giants going in America – folks like Apple, Samsung, LG and Canon – all have their own e-waste recycling programs to ensure that you and the company can live up to the Environmental Protection Agency’s motto of reduce, reuse and recycle.

The cool thing is that it doesn’t cost you anything to do the right thing by the environment and – an added benefit – get those obsolete electronics off of your hands. Most Best Buy stores actually have recycling programs, and their tagline is that they’ll take just about any electronics device irrespective of where you bought the device or how old it happens to be. As the most sprawling e-waste recycling hub in the United States, Best Buy has recycled over one billion pounds of use computers, TVs, Smartphones, cameras, and audio appliances.

Electronics manufacturers have even teamed up with the EPA by heeding the Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge to ultimately get more electronics to a certified electronics recycler. The end goal is reaching 100% participation and leaving this world just a little better than we left it. To have your e-waste safely disposed, team up with Junk King.

Electronics Disposal – How to Get Rid of Your Used Devices in California

When it comes to electronics disposal, there is plenty of confusion. The average person seems to have no idea as to how he should properly dispose of his old or malfunctioning electronics. This lack of knowledge is causing irreparable harm to our environment. You can do our planet an enormous favor by printing out this article and passing it on to your friends and family.

Electronics Should NOT be Disposed of With the Normal Garbage Your old TV, computer monitor, video game console, printer or other electronic device should never be haphazardly tossed into your regular trash bins. Attempting to dispose of electronics in this manner is actually illegal in the state of California. If someone spots you attempting to trash any type of electronic device in this manner, they might report you to the authorities.

Can someone else obtain utility out of the Electronic Device? Before attempting to figure out how How-to-Dispose-of-Used-Electronics-in-California-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAto legally dispose of an electronic device you should consider whether another person might benefit from using it. If there is any chance that an impoverished person, student or organization can obtain any utility whatsoever out of the electronic device, donate it or sell it. Finding a new owner for the device will improve another person’s life while simultaneously reducing the burden placed on electronic recycling/re-use hubs. Even if the device is malfunctioning, there still might be a way to remedy the problem.

Recycling Centers Will Take Your Electronic Devices Nowadays, Californians do not dump electronic devices in landfills. Rather, we take them to organizations that recycle/recover undesired electronic devices. We at Junk King work with organizations that are actually qualified to recycle electronics. If the organization is not a participant in the Covered Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Program that was established by the state’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, they might not have the means to properly dispose/recycle the device.

When in doubt, reach out to the junk hauling experts here at Junk King. We take each and every undesired item to our recycling hubs for a thorough utility and recycling assessment. Our junk hauling experts will drive our big red truck on out to your home or office and pick up just about any piece of junk you want to get rid of. Big Box Electronic Stores can Help There are a number of “big box” electronics outlets like Best Buy that will take in old computer accessories such as printers and monitors. These monolithic corporations have ample personnel and technological resources available to recycle aged or broken electronic devices in the proper manner. Even public libraries have stepped up to the plate by accepting empty ink toner cartridges from printers. When in doubt, refer to your local community services offices for more information regarding where you can drop off undesired electronics.

A caveat about used electronics disposal, be sure to erase all personal information stored on electronic devices before dropping them off at a recycling hub or other destination. Modern day electronics are “smart”, meaning they will store your private data unless you take the initiative to remove such sensitive information from the machine.

Rent a Dumpster for Spring Cleaning

With the spring season just kicking off and Easter now in the rear-view mirror, millions of people are taking to their attics, basements, crawlspaces and garages to do a bit of spring cleaning.

Just the act of cleaning and clearing away can be very liberating, and cutting down on the amount of clutter in your home office has been tied to higher productivity as well.

So, if you’re looking to be a little happier and less stressed this season, organizing your personal space is a great place to start: A clearer environment more often than not means a clear, more productive state of mind.

Dumpster Rentals and Spring Cleaning 

A lot of homeowners are probably reading this and thinking, “that’s all wonderful but what should I do about bulky waste like dressers and mattresses and large appliances like refrigerators, fax machines and huge speakers?”.

Rent-a-Dumpster-for-Spring-Cleaning-Junk-king-sonoma-caSure, you’d like to get rid of some of this stuff and cut down on the amount of clutter in your living room and home office. Certain jobs, though, can feel like they’d take a herculean effort even to start and it tires us out just to think about the arduous work ahead.

  • Rent Out a Dumpster for the Day!

It’s often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and whoever thought up the idea of renting out a dumpster for a one-time use was really onto something.

All you have to do is set up an appointment, wait for the dumpster to arrive and have your yard waste, bulky waste and larger electronics and appliances hauled off you property. It’s really that simple and it can make all the difference in the world to your spring cleaning efforts.

You can even have Junk King’s employees take away things like mattresses and old furniture that you’re dying to get rid of. This can save you the hassle of hiring movers or awkwardly soliciting your friends and neighbors to all band together and help lighten your home of no-longer-used furniture, appliances and electronics.

Especially if your municipal trash pickup won’t come in time or if you’ve already used up your bulky waste pickup date for the year, renting out a dumpster can save you the time, expense and hassle of endlessly searching for ways to deal with your spring cleaning refuse.

Be Environmentally Responsible and Feel Good 

Responsibly disposing all the clutter that goes along with your spring cleaning means that you’re doing good by the environment and making yourself feel good at the same time. How’s that?

Well, there are still people out there who think that their external home environment and their own internal emotional state are unrelated. That’s clearly not the case, though, since when pressure and stress start to build up we often lack the time and resources to look after our environment and, on the flip side, a dirty home office can make clear focus that much more difficult to grasp.

Just the act of spring cleaning and clearing out items that we no longer use can itself be a fulfilling act. We actually feel more energized throwing away dusty, outdated furniture as well as electronics that no longer work and, ahem, underused office supplies and papers. In fact, we might actually breathe easier by getting rid of mold in our homes from things like broken down air conditioners and derelict refrigerators.

This all goes to show that clearing out some of the things that we no longer use can have real benefits to our productivity and make us feel more energized and less stressed throughout the spring season ahead!

Chemical Waste Management

Chemical waste management is critical if we are to protect the environment. Chemical waste is, simply put, waste that comes from harmful chemicals. These chemicals, if not disposed of in the proper way, could harm your health, your community’s health and the health of the environment.

Chemical Waste and Hazardous Waste

Most chemical waste is actually considered hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection How-to-Dispose-of-Chemical-Waste-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAAgency (EPA) here in the United States.

Both chemical waste and hazardous waste are regulated by the EPA’s Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act designed to protect human health and keep our environment free of harmful pollutants.

You can actually think of hazardous waste as a more potentially serious form of chemical waste in that hazardous waste is a solid, gaseous or liquid material deemed hazardous because of its reactivity, toxicity, ignitability and corrosivity.

These are things like industrial pesticides, diesel fuels, corrosive paints and harmful chemical solvents that if not disposed of properly could wreak some serious harm.

https://www3.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/

Disposing of Chemical Waste 

Chemical waste is produced by industries around-the-clock and it’s actually a byproduct of the process that creates many of the appliance and conveniences of 21st-century life.

While these things are still dangerous, there’s a way to dispose of them safely so that consumers can reap the benefits of these products and companies can comply with the EPA’s guidelines.

  • Three Classes of Chemical Waste

All three kinds of chemical waste can be disposed of via chemical waste containers, yet before knowing which container each one goes into you need to know what kind of waste you’re dealing with.

The first kind of chemical waste is what’s known as general chemical waste, and this can be handled by your local chemical waste treatment facility. The second kind of chemical waste is known as highly reactive chemical waste, which can also be handled by the same chemical waste treatment facility that handled your general chemical waste.

And the third kind of chemical waste is what’s known as chemically contaminated solid waste. This includes things like disposal lab-ware or tissue papers and towels soaked with chemical solvents. Oil-soaked rags and products containing mercury are other examples of chemically contaminated solid waste.

https://www.intimex.com/design/hkust/hkust_p7.html

  • Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD)

The Environmental Protection Agency has strict rules that factories need to follow in terms of how chemical waste is treated, stored and responsibly disposed of.

The treatment and disposal part of TSD refers to the fact that chemical waste can alter its shape or chemical composition in a way that could threaten human health or jeopardize environmental safety even after that chemical waste is put inside a chemical waste container. Because of things like vapor expansion some chemical waste can spill or overrun the chemical waste container itself.

To counteract that possibility, chemical waste containers should typically be filled to about three-quarters capacity so that vapor expansion or transportation of the chemical waste container doesn’t cause problems like spilling, leaking or chemical reactivity.

Chemical waste must also be stored in a safe way before its processed, recycled or disposed of at a chemical waste treatment facility. The chemical waste treatment facility will probably also require that you list the class of chemical waste in the chemical waste container – from the three classes above – as well as itemize a content list of everything inside the chemical waste container itself.

In terms of storage, chemical waste containers should be appropriately sturdy, leakproof, properly labeled and stored safely to forestall any problems. Screw tops with secure lids might be required for liquid chemical waste as well. California’s Toxic Substances Control department provides info on treatment storage and disposal facilities, found here.

Disk Erasure Before Computer Disposal

There is a right and a wrong way to handling computer disposal.  Right now there are millions of computers collecting cobwebs all across America. You might have a few relics from the 1990s at your home office or crowding out your office storage spaces right now even.

Computer Disposal: Things You Should Know 

It seems pretty easy: Just chuck that old computer into the garbage bin and watch it get whisked away with the rest of your weekly pickup.

Hang on, though, don’t old computers contain a lot of heavy metals and personal information that – if it fell into the wrong hands – could jeopardize your future? The answer: Absolutely.

  • Computers as E-waste

Computers are actually a form of electronic waste along with things like batteries and cell phones. With the high rate of tech turnover these days there’s more and more e-waste making its way to landfills and recycling centers.

We really have to be careful in how we dispose this stuff because a lot of our appliances contain harmful heavy metals like mercury, cadmium and maybe even lead. When household appliances and electronics become e-waste we should really be responsibly recycling these things rather than heaping them up on the curb for weekly pickup.

The problem, as we’re coming to realize, is that computers that don’t make it back into circulation and instead wind up at landfills actually pose an environmental hazard.

Some of the heavy metals that are housed in computers can eventually make their way into the Disk-Erasure-Before-Computer-Disposal-junk-Kng-Sonoma-CAsoil and local water supply, which obviously isn’t good for anybody.

  • Old Computers and Personal Information

What we’ve been talking about is more of a macro view of the problem of treating e-waste and your old laptops, desktops, tablets and cell phones as regular trash.

Your trusty – now obsolete – computer, though, likely still contains account numbers, passwords, your social security number, and maybe even compromising tax information. You don’t want that out there.

There’s no need to freak out….since you can follow a step-by-step process to backup your data, permanently remove all personal files from your soon-to-be-recycled computer, and physically remove or securely erase the hard drive.

There are a lot of ways to go about that last one – i.e., clearing the hard drive – and a lot will depend on whether you want to repurpose your old computer, simply recycle it or pass it on to a hard-up school district.

Ways of Clearing the Hard Drive 

It’s really important to back up your data on an external hard drive, flash drive or with something like Google Cloud storage before you wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Clearing your hard drive really, really limits the chances that you’ll be the victim of identity theft and, if you’re dealing with a company-provided computer, also helps protect the company and yourself against nasty things like legal penalties and possible intellectual property violations. Who wants to deal with that nonsense?

  • Wiping the Slate Clean

Backup and restore features are actually worked right into Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and if you’re a Mac user you can always use the USB connections on the device to backup personal information on external hard drives and flash drives.

After you’ve backed everything up, you can make use of a program like Darik’s Boot and Nuke to wipe your hard drive and transition it along that proverbial assembly line and closer to being responsibly recycled.

If you intend to give your computer away for reuse by, say, a cash-strapped school district, then make sure that you either install a free operating system on it or restore your old computer to factory settings.

Junk King handles e-waste disposal – /contact/

The Many Benefits of Organizing Your Garage

The-Many-Benefits-of-Organizing-Your-Garage-Junk-King-Sonoma-CALet’s face it – garages are often the very definition of out of sight, out of mind. If you’re like most people, organizing your garage is at the bottom of your to-do list; that is, if it’s there at all! Getting your garage in shape, though, doesn’t have to be a dreaded task.

The best way to dive into a garage reorganization is in small separate tasks. Most of the clutter that lives in your garage falls into one of four categories. Set out to tackle one category per weekend, invest in some bins and shelving, and in just one month you’ll have a streamlined space to be proud of. Start with the two easiest areas and the results will inspire you to finish the job.

  • Sporting Equipment

What garage’s dark corners aren’t filled with bikes, ski equipment, golf clubs, and other sports equipment and paraphernalia? Organizing your garage by putting all your equipment together not only makes it neater, but makes everything easier to find. Install some wall tracks that can hold hooks for golf bags and bike racks with shelving above to hold bins for balls, helmets, and other gear.

  • Tools

Over time, even the non-carpenters among us seem to accumulate a large number of tools. Keep a small collection of the most common ones in an easy-to-tote-around tool box. For the rest, peg board and hooks is the way to go. Add a tool shelf or two for over-sized saws, sanders and the like.

  • Personal Belongings

Now it’s time to get down to the more difficult phase of organizing your garage – purging it of clothes and memorabilia. It never fails that an item that’s been stored in a bin for five years is suddenly something you can’t live without. Start with the clothes. The pros recommend sorting clothing into three piles: keep, maybe, and donate. Since these items have probably been stored in the garage for some time, aim for having the donation pile be the largest one. Everything else should be placed in clear, labeled bins and stored on shelves. For decorations, pictures and other keepsakes, place like items together, tuck them into plastic bins, label and store.

  • Junk

Yes, one man’s junk is another’s treasure, but since this is about organizing your garage, be honest about how much of what you have qualifies as junk. Old furniture, electronics, broken or unused toys, can all be picked up and hauled away by a reputable junk removal service.  If you’re having trouble letting go, take the advice of expert organizer Peter Walsh and, before you get started, write down everything you remember that is in the garage. When you come across something you forgot about? Junk it.

The Benefits of Organizing Your Garage

The results that come from the hard work of organizing your garage are extremely rewarding. Less clutter means less stress, and it can also mean a higher resale value for your home. Well-outfitted garages are a plus when it comes to selling your home. And once you finish, it’s just a matter of occasional maintenance to keep things in place. To get started on organizing your garage, visualize the neat and well-organized outcome and then dig in. Who knows, you may even find space for something else – your car!   So contact us at Junk King let us help you haul away that garage junk.

Junk King Sonoma
1364 N. McDowell Blvd Ste 8
Petaluma, CA 94954
Hours: M-Sa: 8A-4P

Providing junk removal services to the Sonoma area, including:

Annapolis
Cloverdale
Cotati
Fulton
Geyserville
Glen Ellen
Graton
Healdsburg
Kenwood
Penngrove
Petaluma
Rohnert Park
Santa Rosa
Sebastopol
Sonoma
Windsor
and these nearby zip codes:
94926, 94927, 94928, 94931, 94951, 94952, 94953, 94954, 94955, 94975, 94999, 95401, 95402, 95403, 95404, 95405, 95406, 95407, 95409, 95412, 95425, 95439, 95441, 95442, 95444, 95448, 95452, 95472, 95473, 95476, 95492