The couch that had potential, the antique dresser that needs refinishing or a treadmill that never quite worked right fill up valuable real estate space around Northern Virginia.
Whether it's empty nesters downsizing to a smaller space or Realtors preparing a house for sale, the stuff has to go.
That's where Rick and Judy Galliher's 1-800-GOT-JUNK come in. Their Reston-based service is one of two franchises in the area that specializes in coming out, carrying the excess to the truck and getting rid of it.
Rick Galliher remembers a house in Springfield that had 21 years of material that was once belonged to the homeowner's children. Now that they were gone, it was taking up space.
"It was the college textbooks, the exercise equipment," Rick Galliher said.
Judy Galliher runs the business from their home. She equated the junk removal to potential money.
"If your house is 1,000 square feet, you actually get money back when the stuff is gone," Judy Galliher said.
IN THEIR business, the Gallihers keep in contact with a few individuals in the area in a mutual partnership. One is Ron Rush, a Long & Foster Realty agent working out of the Fair Oaks office. A clean, clutter-free house sells better.
"Any room in the house, if it's neat and clean, it will show well," Rush said. "It makes it more attractive."
Dawn Sheridan mans the helm at Transitions, a company in Burke that specializes in helping seniors when moving from their home to a smaller condominium or a senior center. A call to the Gallihers is one part of her process.
"We help [seniors] sort through their stuff, they don't want to throw anything away," Sheridan said.
Originally, Brian Scudamore started 1-800-GOT -JUNK in Vancouver, Canada to finance his college tuition. Now he has more than 83 franchises in Canada and the United States.
Although saving junk is human nature to some extent, Galliher said that houses being built today harbor junk more easily. The big, boxy house with the two-car garage makes storing excess materials easier.
"The McMansions with the huge basements, those areas fill up," Rick Galliher said.
ALTHOUGH A large amount of what the Gallihers take our of the houses isn't trash and could be used by someone, it's not that simple. If the Gallihers don't have a specific person in mind or a need to fill, most times they just take it to the landfill. The Good Samaritan Thrift Shop in Loudoun County is another option. The Gallihers bring a lot of materials there.
"The clothes and stuff he can't sell, he sends to Africa. Our kids daycare has benefited," Galliher said.
He remembered a refrigerator that was only one year old but the wrong color so the owner didn't want it. Galliher tried to give it away but couldn't find a taker in time. Galliher needs his truck to be empty at the beginning of the next work day.
"Eight hours I spent driving around trying to give it away," Rick Galliher said.
Spring and summer are big junk seasons, Rick Galliher added.
"The moving industry follows the same trend," Rick Galliher said.