I’ve been doing this since 2003 and absolutely love it. I enjoy interacting with lots of different people and hearing their stories. The Washington DC area is quite transient and many of our clients have lived all over the country – or even the world. 

So you’re probably wondering – what cool items have we found? The truth is that we mostly remove dead appliances and broken-down furniture. I’ve never really been a collector, so there’s not much that I keep for myself, other than a couple little trinkets and tchotchkes here and there. Oh, and cleaning supplies.

My friends laugh, but I really do get excited about home cleaning and laundry supplies. My wife scratches her head and stares at me in wonder when I come home ecstatic about the container of laundry detergent or dishwashing soap I found on a job. We haven’t bought cleaning supplies in years. It seems that when people move, they pack up all of their clothes, valuable, dishes, etc, and by the time they get to the laundry room, they’re too exhausted to bother. Just let the junk guy take it. And believe me – I’m happy to!

Our local newspaper runs a story every two or three years about junk removal services and their interesting finds. Unfortunately, this turns many people into treasure hunters. They buy a truck and think that they’re going to find a priceless piece of art while cleaning out some Arlington townhouse. For this very reason, our local online market always seems to have an ample supply of used trucks for sale.

But, caveats aside, we have found some pretty cool stuff over the years. Here are a few highlights:

A World War II German army helmet that was brought home by an American soldier as a war relic. The soldier hand painted the names of the battles he had participated in, which included Normandy, Brittany, and St. Lo.

The cremated remains of people and pets. If the estate representative or responsible person decides not to take them, we usually hold onto the ashes ourselves and spread them at the ocean when we visit our friend’s beach house. We think that’s a nice final resting spot. Although I do hope that the person wasn’t afraid of water.

Eccentric Christmas decorations. I love a gaudy holiday (I think the worst argument my wife and I ever had was whether we should use “classy” white or “tacky” colored lights on our tree), so our front yard is packed with vintage plastic Santas and many other elaborate decorations I scavenged on jobs. The neighborhood kids (and many of the adults too) absolutely love walking past our place during the holiday season. Our house doesn’t quite look like the Griswolds, but give it time.

And of course, we’ve found some hilarious items that I’m not sure I want to post about here. This is a family blog, after all. You’ll just have to ask us about it when you book your appointment. I took out the part about you fostering dogs, because the connection to the remains was a little confusing. But it might just need a little more explanation.