Palm fronds as far as the eye could see in Tugun

We've been in Tugun for a while now, and this was the first time I'd paid someone to take rubbish away. We'd paid for a big garden makeover: hedges cut back, the back corner cleared, two dead trees taken down. The gardener did a great job but didn't take the cuttings.

The pile was taller than me and had started to compost at the bottom. Our green bin is a joke for that kind of volume. You'd need about forty bin days.

Tugun is a compact beach suburb near the airport with older units and duplexes, and getting things out isn't always simple. Narrow streets and shared drives suit our smaller vehicle.

I sent a couple of photos and got a call back within the hour. They gave me a rough idea on the phone but said they'd confirm a fixed price when they saw it in person.

They parked so the back of the truck lined up with the side gate, put a drop sheet down at the door and asked me to show them anything that was staying.

There was a fair bit of old wire mesh wound through the lantana. They pulled it out separately so the rest could go to mulch, which I didn't even think about.

By the time I'd made them a coffee, it was nearly finished. The price didn't change, and they even took a couple of extra bits I'd forgotten about without charging more.

I'd tried to do it myself twice before. Next time I'm just ringing straight away.