Wave bye-bye to your junk

Many of us refuse to hire a professional organizer, insisting we can get the job done on our own.

But even if you succeed in organizing your home, you may not have anticipated another problem — the junk left over.

If you can't sell it, donate it or recycle it, the item probably needs to be lugged to the dump.

Junk removal companies

1-800-GOT-JUNK: Call 800-468-5865 or book online at www.1800gotjunk.com.

Franchises include Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma.

Trashbusters: Call 800-743-6348

or gotowww.trashbusters.com.

Junk B Gone: Call 888-505-9333

or visit www.junkbgone.com.

That's where companies like 1-800-GOT-JUNK come in.

The Vancouver, B.C.-based company will haul away items like a mattress that you can't even get the Salvation Army to take.

While the company does not employ professional organizers, it is an associate member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and is often hired by organizers once they are done with a client's home.

"Inevitably when someone does organize, with a professional organizer or themselves, part of that is purging stuff you've had for much, much too long, " said Nick Wood, owner of the Seattle franchise for 1-800-GOT-JUNK. "We come in and get rid of that stuff for people."

The company will haul away nearly anything except chemicals, said spokeswoman Katie Dunsworth.

Clients have some say in where items go, such as to a charity, and the company also recycles as much as it can, but much of it does get dumped.

Cost is determined by weight, with the average trip costing about $280, Dunsworth said.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com