New lounge, old lounge problem in Main Beach

A friend in Main Beach gave me Clear Out's number, and I sat on it for a fortnight before ringing. Our new lounge was arriving Thursday and the delivery company wouldn't take the old one. It was a three-piece leather suite that came with the house, and it weighed a tonne.

I'm on the second floor with no lift. The stairwell has a turn halfway that I'd already scraped my knuckles on twice carrying boxes.

Main Beach is a mix of low-rise older units, waterfront towers and marina businesses, and getting things out isn't always simple. Narrow driveways and time-limited parking mean we bring smaller trucks where needed.

When I rang, the person who answered asked a few simple questions about what it was, where it was and how to get to it, and said they could come and look that afternoon.

The crew pulled up, had a look, and told me the price straight away. No surprises, no 'we'll see how it goes'. I said yes and they got started within five minutes.

They took the arms off the recliner section, which I didn't even know you could do, and had it out the sliding door and over the balcony rail with a rope in about twenty minutes.

What I appreciated most was that nothing was rushed and nothing was a hassle. They explained where everything was going: charity, recycling or the tip. I felt good about it.

It's a small thing, but having someone else carry it all out made a much bigger difference than I expected.