Written by Chris Smith · Illustrative case study
The situation
A landlord at a property in Gold Coast had a tenant leave without notice. The bond inspection photos showed garage overflow, furniture that will not fit the new home and old mattresses spread through every room and out in the yard, and the property was meant to go back on the market within a week.
Why the customer needed help
They'd rung a couple of other outfits and got vague answers about price. I told them I'd come and look, give them a figure on the spot, and they could decide from there.
What was at the property
By my count there were garage overflow, furniture that will not fit the new home and old mattresses, along with the usual loose odds and ends that build up around a job like this. It's typical of what we see from downsizers.
Working in Gold Coast
Gold Coast is a city of beachside towers, canal homes, family suburbs and hinterland acreage. We run trucks across the whole Gold Coast every day, from Coolangatta to Coomera and out to the hinterland, so wherever you are there is usually a crew nearby. We bring the right truck for the street, from tight unit driveways to wide acreage tracks.
The initial assessment
I did my usual lap. I check what's heavy, what's sharp, what's reusable and what might be hiding something underneath. A redback in the bottom of a pile isn't unusual on the Coast, so gloves and a torch come out before anyone reaches in.
How the job was planned
The plan was simple: protect the route, clear a path, then work from the far end back towards the truck so we never had to climb over what was left.
Preparation
We put drop sheets down through the hallway and taped corner guards on the door frames. It takes ten minutes and saves arguments about scuff marks.
Step 1
Step one was clearing a working space. We shifted the easy, loose items straight onto the truck so we had room to manoeuvre around the awkward ones.
Step 2
Step two was the loose material. Bags, boxes and odds and ends went into the truck in layers, packed tight into the gaps around the furniture so we weren't carting air to the tip.
Step 3
Step three was the clean-up. Once the last item was out, we swept the floor, raked the ground where needed and walked the customer through the space to make sure nothing they wanted had gone.
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
Paperwork was mixed through everything, including old bank statements, letters and photos that needed to be kept or shredded rather than tipped.
How we handled them
We set up a box for anything with a name or account number on it. The family went through it at the end, and we took the rest for secure shredding.
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
I came away reminded that a fixed price agreed up front takes all the stress out of the day, for them and for us. Nobody's watching the clock or arguing at the end.