Getting the car back in the garage in Mermaid Beach

A friend in Mermaid Beach gave me Clear Out's number, and I sat on it for a fortnight before ringing. I'd bought a new car and refused to leave it in the sun on the driveway through another summer. The problem was the garage, which was full to the roller door.

There were old cots, a broken treadmill, half a dozen cartons of tiles from a bathroom we'd redone years ago, two bikes with flat tyres, a bar fridge, and shelving that had started to lean.

Mermaid Beach is beachfront cottages, duplexes and knock-down-rebuild sites, and getting things out isn't always simple. Narrow lanes off the Gold Coast Highway need careful truck placement.

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.

My husband kept wanting to 'just check' each box. The crew set up a little table for him at the door and passed him boxes as they went. He kept about six things. Everything else went.

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.