Tips For Planning An Attic Cleanout Project
Once every few years a New Jersey family decides it is time to clean out their attic. Whether they have a plan or not affects the success of the project. After years of stuffing items in your attic, you may be thinking of completing a cleanout yourself. Here, we will discuss the best tips for planning an attic cleanout project.
PRO TIP: Read more about NJ garbage and dumping regulations if your located in NJ and are planning your attic cleanout.
Remove and Stage All of the Items
The first tip for cleaning out an attic is to make the junk removal project as efficient and simple as possible. An attic cleanout is more than removing a couple of unwanted items. In the end, your house will be better served to deep clean the attic area.
To do this, the initial step is to remove every item within the attic space and stage in an open area. An open room downstairs or even better outdoors is your best possible staging area. Due to dust buildup over time, staging items outdoors keeps the rest of your house from becoming contaminated.
Inspect the Attic Space
It is easy to notice damage and normal wear within your household since you spend much of your time in this part of the house. Most attics are rarely visited and even then tend to be dark, limiting your chances of finding problems.
When all of the items have been removed from the attic space is a good time to inspect the area for any needed repairs. Below are a few items to check when inspecting the space.
- Check to make sure any turbine roof vents and eve vents are clear of debris and working.
- Check for any signs of a leaky roof. Water leaks will create a stain near the leak. Any signs of mold are usually a clear sign of a leak.
- Check any exposed attic insulation for signs of damage.
- Make sure any pipes, electrical cables, and other infrastructure are in good condition.
The fact that all of the items from the attic were removed will aid in allowing room to make any repairs found during the inspection.
Deep Clean the Attic Space
The main issues most run into during an attic cleanout are dust and possibly mildew if you live near the coast. Vacuum the entire area to remove any dust and cobwebs. Clean any windows that may be in the attic and use a mix of bleach and water to remove any mildew found from humidity. If you found any damaged insulation from a roof leak, remove and replace the damaged insulation at this time. Once the attic has been inspected, any repairs made and cleaned thoroughly you can turn your attention to the items that were removed.
Sort the Removed Items
A good rule of thumb is that if you have not used something in your attic for the last two years, you probably do not need it. The only exception to this is an item that may be needed to repair your house, and only if the item is cost-prohibitive.
Once you have determined what you will keep and what will be disposed of you can begin the cleaning process of items going back into the attic. Wipe down each article and look for damage before moving them back into the attic.
PRO TIP: Read this post on cleaning out your basement! We know it will help you at some point!
Dispose of Any Remaining Items
Now that the attic is inspected, cleaned, and all of the items you plan to keep are back in place, you must decide what to do with the rest. Here are a few examples of what you can do with the leftovers.
- Sell or donate: Just because you no longer need the property removed from the attic does not mean someone else cannot use them. Either sell the items and make some cash or donate them to someone who could utilize their usage. Many non-profit organizations accept donations.
- Throw out: Any property that cannot be sold or donated will have to be thrown out. This could mean placing them into regular trash or recycling. Depending on the size of the attic, the number of items you are disposing of, and what the material is made of determines what method is best.
PRO TIP: Read out handy New Year junk removal plan! We know it will help you get your space in shape!
Use Professionals
Once you have items to dispose of the best tip is to use a professional company to haul away any unwanted property. Instead of trying to figure out what is recyclable and what is not can be a daunting task. This is especially true if some of the property are old paints, oils, or other environmentally sensitive objects.
By contacting an experienced disposal company such as NJ’s N. Vitale Disposal Inc. you will be able to save yourself a headache and probably money in the end. A professional company will deliver whatever size dumpster and type of dumpster you need to dispose of the old property from your attic. They will then haul away the items for you and dispose of them in the proper landfill, recycling center, or incinerator.