Autumn is Coming Part 2

With Autumn right around the corner, now is the time to start protecting the outdoor items that mean the most to you, before winter takes hold. Clearbee are something of a specialist when it comes to garden clearances, so let’s use this second part of our Autumn is Coming series to take a look at how you can look after what you love and how you can get rid of what’s surplus to requirements.

The cold weather and the constantly changeable conditions mean that Winter can be tough on outdoor constructs. If not rendered or taken care of properly, your shed might not make it through the winter at all. This could result in the contents of your shed being directly exposed to the elements and needing to be disposed of themselves.

Here are some tips to help your shed see it through:

Check for wear and tear on roof felt and replace if necessary, in order to avoid leaks

Treat your wood to reduce the chances of rot setting in and termites turning up

Ensure the underneath of the shed is unblocked and well ventilated

Apply oil to your metal padlocks, locks and hinges to prevent rust and sticking

Remove any signs of the onset of mould in the shed interior before they gain a foothold

Shed Clearances

If your shed is beyond repair and looking like it might not make it through to the spring, then there’s still time to get a replacement sorted. Whether you decide to have your old shed disposed of before or after your new one arrives, you can book a Clearabee ‘Man and Van’ clearance service to have it removed, sometimes as soon as the very same day.

Whilst you’re thinking about having your old shed taken away and your nice new shed set up, or even if your trusty old shed has got a few more years in it, it’s time to make sure that there’s enough free space to store everything you want.

Here are a few of the most common items that people struggle to find space for:

Children’s Toys

Children’s toys are notorious for taking up the greatest amount of space in houses and sheds across the country. Kid’s outdoor toys are more-often-than-not a seasonal affair, which means that you have several months of the year where children’s bikes, scooters and ride-ons are taking up room in your shed.

Add to that the deflated paddling pools, giant Connect 4 games and inflatable goal posts and all of a sudden, you’ve got no room for storing your garden furniture. It’s worth having a think about the suitability of your child’s toys: will your little ones be too old for the toys by the time summer comes around? Will the children still be interested in 6-months time? Or is this the perfect time to get rid of that annoyingly noisy toy that will be forgotten about, come the good weather? In any of the above cases, it seems like the right time for a clear out.

Tools, transport and more miscellany 

Bikes, lawn-mowers and bulky or lengthy gardening tools can take up an enormous amount of space in any shed and are often awkward to dispose of yourself for this very reason. A ‘Man and Van’ service, such as Clearabee’s, is flexible enough to be able to get rid of a range of items, including these examples, without having to book a second service.

Similarly, ceramic plant-pots often get stored away in the shed when they’re surplus to requirements and they can often get forgotten about but still take up plenty of room, somewhere near the back of your shed. If you thought you would store them away to use one day, but that day still hasn’t arrived… then it’s probably time to throw them away.

Garden Furniture

Garden furniture such as benches and tables and chairs can often struggle in the summer with regards to the warm weather and sunshine. But once the cold winter sets in, the damage is more noticeable and our furniture can become discoloured, rusty from the rain and even rendered inert by the toll that the weather takes. All of this can leave you without fully functioning garden furniture once the nice weather rolls back around.

There are always options when it comes down to protecting your furniture such as specialist covers and tarpaulin and these will protect them to a degree. However, much like with the children’s toys and the plant pots, tough decisions sometimes need to be made when it comes down to your outdoor furniture. Do you think your set will last another summer? Or is it worth getting rid of it whilst you’re clearing out the shed?

With getting your money’s worth in mind, here are some of the services that Clearabee provides which can help you get the most out of your garden and shed clearances:

‘Man and Van’-style Shed Clearances

Our rapid reaction rubbish removals are our most popular service. Our teams can usually be with you on a same-day basis and can clear as little or as much rubbish as needs be. You can simply pay the call-out fee and our field staff can assess and charge for the waste once on site, or you can receive a quote for the collection by forwarding images of the items when making your booking.

This flexible option means that if you book a shed clearance, but suddenly decide that you want to get rid of your furniture or clear a cupboard in your house too, then you can simply get another quote once our team arrives.

This service is also perfect for a varied range of items, such as electrical items, furniture and packaging, which you may otherwise need to dispose of separately. Our ‘Man and Van’ clearances are especially usefull if you need a hand with moving items yourself because reasonable labour is included in the cost.

Skip Bags

In some ways, Skip Bags offer even more freedom and flexibility than a ‘Man and Van’ clearance. From the point of ordering your ‘Bag and Collection’ package, you have a 6-month period within which to fill your bag and book your collection. However, you can also fill it as soon as you get it and book your collection shortly thereafter. In short, with Skip Bags, you’re in control.

Depending on how much waste you are planning to get rid of, we can help make our service more environmentally friendly by sending a ‘Man and Van’ rather than an HGV to collect your Skip Bag. For this reason, it’s always best to discuss with us what you’re planning to dispose of so we can make sure your service is the most cost-effective and eco-friendly.

If you have any further questions about Skip Bags, then take a look at our useful Skip Bag FAQ section to see how the service can help you.

Skip Hire

Skips are ideal for getting rid of heavy waste and may be the most cost-effective method of removing your unwanted items if you have a large number of items to get rid of, or if your waste is particularly heavy. Hiring a skip also gives you the added option of clearing waste from other areas of your house while you’re at it. If your garage also needs gutting or if you’ve got overflowing cupboards, then it might make sense to select the skip route for your rubbish removal.

Our skip hire period is 14 days, which gives you a fortnight of secure storage for your unwanted waste as well as plenty of time to complete your clear-out. You can order your skip via our hassle-free online skip booking service and, depending on the time of your order, your skip can often be delivered during the very next day.

For more information on our skip hire service, consult our handy skip hire guide.

Clearabee’s Environmental Credentials

With all of our rubbish removal services, you will receive a digital Waste Transfer Note once the job has been completed. This note forms part of your Duty of Care and will provide a record of what waste was disposed of, where it was transferred to and the landfill diversion/recycling rate (which is on average, over 95%).

Our service is also carbon neutral, as we offset all of our carbon usage via our reforestation project. This project consists of 2 UK forests made up of 19,674 trees and is estimated to have offset 1,886 tonnes of C02. For more information on our eco-friendly services, be sure to check out our environmental credentials or head over to our booking page to order your rubbish removals.

If you missed it, take a look back at the first part of our Autumn is Coming blog, where we discuss the need to dispose of fallen leaves and the best ways to get rid of them.

Removing rubbish. It’s what we do.

About Clearabee

Since 2013, Clearabee has operated on-demand rubbish clearance and waste removal services across the nation and now have over 120 vehicles and 300 directly-employed staff. Our industry-leading services include our ‘Man and Van’-style rubbish clearances as well as our skip bag, skip hire and sofa removal services.

We are proud to include some of the UK’s leading brands as our exclusive customers. Clearabee ranked as the fastest-growing waste management company in Europe for three years in a row and also featured on The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track for the last two years.