Written by Chris Smith · Illustrative case study
The situation
Two flatmates at a property in Pacific Pines had both landed jobs interstate and were leaving the same fortnight. Neither wanted to deal with kitchen items and appliances, storage cage contents and bagged rubbish, and the council kerbside collection wasn't due for another four months.
Why the customer needed help
A skip bin was the first thing they looked at, but there was nowhere to put one without a permit, and nobody to fill it. What they needed was apartment & Unit Cleanout where someone else does the lifting.
What was at the property
By my count there were kitchen items and appliances, storage cage contents and bagged rubbish, along with the usual loose odds and ends that build up around a job like this. It's typical of what we see from short-stay operators.
Working in Pacific Pines
Pacific Pines is a large family suburb of master-planned estates. Pacific Pines is full of newer family homes and growing estates, so we do a lot of moving-in packaging, garage clear-outs and backyard rubbish here. Estate streets are wide, but we watch for parked cars and estate rules on bin and truck times.
The initial assessment
When I got there I didn't start with the rubbish, I started with the customer. I asked them to walk me through what was staying and what was going. Twice they pointed at things I'd assumed were rubbish and said "not that". It's why I never quote from photos alone on a job like this.
How the job was planned
We agreed on an order of work. Heavy items first, while we were fresh and the truck was empty, then the loose material packed around them. Anything worth donating would go in last so it wouldn't get crushed.
Preparation
I parked the truck so the tailgate lined up with the shortest path, laid ply over the garden edge so the trolley wouldn't chew it up, and set out a tarp for the donation pile.
Step 1
Step one was the bulky stuff. My offsider and I took the largest items out first, tilting them through the door frames rather than forcing them. With kitchen items and appliances, storage cage contents and bagged rubbish in the mix, there was no point clearing small things while the big ones were still blocking the way.
Step 2
Step two was the heavy lifting. Anything over about forty kilos went on the trolley or got a two-person lift with straps. No hero stuff. A strained back on the first job of the day ruins the week.
Step 3
Step three was loading the donation pile carefully, strapping it separately at the front of the tray so it would arrive at the charity in one piece.
Removal, sorting and loading
On the truck, heavy and flat things go on the bottom, long things go along the sides, and anything fragile for donation rides at the front where there's less bounce. Recycling stays in its own section so it can come straight off at the transfer station.
From the truck it went to a licensed transfer station, where recyclables were dropped off separately, and anything usable went to a local op shop before the tip run.
Challenges we ran into
Some of the items had real sentimental value, and the customer needed time to decide on a few of them while we worked.
How we handled them
We kept a "maybe" corner and worked around it. By the end of the job she'd made her mind up on all but two pieces, which we left for her.
Completion and final result
When the last load was strapped down, the space was empty and swept. The customer walked through with me, signed off, and paid the price we'd agreed at the start, not a dollar more.
What I learned
The lesson I keep re-learning: always walk the access before you look at the load. The rubbish rarely causes the trouble. The doorway, the step or the gate does.