When we work with clients who are moving, we’re frequently in need of resources to help us get rid of “stuff.”
Sometimes it’s a lot of stuff, sometimes it’s a little – but my clients need to get rid of it, and they need affordable, straightforward resources for doing so. They also need reliable companies for moving their stuff and making room for things in their new homes.
Here are my favorite top 4 recommendations for Denver companies to help you get rid of the stuff you no longer need, move the items you decide to keep, and organize your belongings once you get to your new house.
1. Gone For Good
Gone for Good is an eco-friendly hauling company, and they’re one of my favorite companies to work with in the Denver area. They’ll haul away practically anything – from trash to furniture – and the process is affordable and easy.
The only items Gone for Good can’t haul away are hazardous chemicals, paints, stains, rock, cement, pianos, organs, and dirt. Yes, it actually says, “organs” on their website, on the list of verboten items – so if you’re trying to get rid of an extra kidney, you’ll need to look somewhere else.
This company has helped my clients more times than I can count, but I wanted to share two quick stories of Gone for Good “mini-miracles”:
Gone for Good Mini-Miracle #1: We recently helped a client who was selling her second home in Colorado. Originally, her closing date was a month in the future – so we thought we had plenty of time to get ready for the move – but things changed, and the new buyer wanted to close in just two weeks.
The short timeline eliminated the possibility of finding someone to do an estate sale to sell the large amount of furniture my client wanted to get rid of before the closing date.
I contacted several local furniture shops, to see if they would be willing to consign the items, but it’s a busy time of year right now, and none of them were interested in a large amount of rustic pine furniture.
At that point, I called Gone for Good to see if they could help. With a week’s notice, they drove to the house (about 90 minutes from Denver – the client was happy to pay the travel surcharge) and they spent two days hauling out everything that was left in the house. It ended up being two full trucks worth of stuff.
They took away old clothes, several old televisions, couches, beds, tables – even the old food from her fridge! My client was delighted.
Gone for Good Mini-Miracle #2: A few months earlier, I worked with a client in Denver who had a room in his basement he called “the technology graveyard.” In this room, he kept every computer he had ever owned, including laptops, monitors, hard drives, and about a zillion cables.
We had worked together several times before, and we’d come to the conclusion that he needed some extra space for organizing materials for his growing business. I suggested having the technology graveyard hauled off and, to my surprise, the client said, “Let’s do it!”
I called Gone for Good, and as luck would have it, they had an opening that afternoon. They hauled everything upstairs and into the truck, and took all the hard drives to a company that shreds them. The client was overwhelmed with joy over the instant gratification of reclaiming an entire room in his basement.
Gone for Good employees take such care in my clients’ homes. Many times, they come to the house just before it’s sold, and they are always careful to avoid damaging walls and floors as they haul items out.
They’re also very thoughtful about what happens to the items they haul away. They do their utmost to avoid letting items go to the landfill, so they try to sell, donate, or recycle most of the stuff they pick up.
Obviously some things (like old frozen food) need to be thrown out, but they are super creative to avoid that option whenever possible.
2. Xpress Shred
Xpress Shred is another company that is helpful in a downsizing or moving situation. They offer shredding services to Denver and the Front Range area.
You can drop off stuff you’d like to shred at their location, but my favorite service is their mobile shredding truck. It looks like a garbage truck, except that it has a television screen on the side of it.
Xpress Shred will drive to your home, then give you a large wheelie bin so you can dump all of your shredding in it. You wheel the bin out to the curb. Then the arm on the truck comes down, picks up your shredding, and dumps it into the shredder at the top of the truck.
You get to watch all of your items being shredded on the screen on the side of the truck, which is super satisfying!
Last summer we helped a client go through 30 years of paperwork and tax returns from her basement. Did you know that old bank statements used to have the customer’s social security number on every page? Yikes!
My client called her accountant to clarify what financial records she needed to keep, and what she could shred. Armed with that information, she gleefully let 23 years of old returns go to the shredder.
In the end, we ended up with 25 banker boxes of shredding. That’s a LOT of paperwork, so I was relieved to have a mobile company come out, instead of having to haul it all to them.
I also like Xpress Shred because their prices are reasonable, and they have multiple routes around the Denver metro area, so it’s generally easy to schedule them to come to your home.
3. Amazing Moves
Once you’ve gotten rid of the stuff you don’t want, and shredded the paperwork you need to dispose of, it’s time to pick a moving company.
Amazing Moves is one of the only moving companies in Colorado that I recommend, and it’s the company I recommend most often.
I have had the pleasure of working with both of the co-owners on several big moves, and they are really good guys. They care a lot about their clients, which, unfortunately, is a rarity in the moving industry.
The owners work hard, and they expect their employees to do the same. I know that I can trust them to take care of my clients, whether it’s a young adult moving to his first apartment, or a family moving into a 13,000-square-foot home in the Preserve.
They take great care in covering carpets and floors, and in handling special and high value objects with the utmost respect. They also have team members who can move pianos, pool tables – even a dozen glass tabletops for every table in the house.
Call Amazing Moves next time you need to move house, and tell ‘em Sarah sent ya!
4. The Closet Factory
One of the most frequently requested services here at A Place for Everything is our “one-day unpack”. With this service, we’ll bring in a team of organizers to unpack, sort, organize, and put away everything in your home – all in one day. In the case of the 13,000 square foot home I mentioned above, it took 13 organizers to unpack – but we still got it done in just one day!
Unfortunately, in many of the houses we unpack, we often see closet space that isn’t very efficient. A bedroom closet with one rod and one shelf might work for a minimalist, but many of our clients have a more normal amount of “stuff,” so they need better closets!
The best way to make efficient use of the space from floor to ceiling is with a custom closet – and my favorite recommendation for customized storage solutions is The Closet Factory.
A custom shelving system can also work miracles in the pantry, garage, toy room, or pretty much any other space in your home, and The Closet Factory can help you in all those areas.
I always appreciate when clients allow us (as organizers) to help them with this process. If we assist with eliminating extras, then we have a great idea of what kind of storage space will be needed for the items that are left.
Once the closet system is installed, we can come back and help to put all their items away, so they truly have “A Place for Everything.”
A process of moving to a new location is a real pain and hassle. This is great information. Thanks for sharing
I’ve been planning a big move to New York City, this was very helpful and I wanted to pass along my appreciation!
I had the pleasure of meeting three wonderful ladies from A Place for Everything. They made my first week in my new location so stress free. I recommend this company, my daughter used them as well to unpack and we are two happy campers. Besides, it is easy to keep my closets organized. I wouldn’t dare to change anything.
Thank you!