In a world filled with constant stimuli and the hectic pace of modern life, finding moments of calm and clarity is becoming increasingly vital for people’s mental health.
A recent surge in interest in decluttering – clearing out the old to make way for the new – suggests that the act of simplifying our living spaces may be more than just a tidying-up chore.
And if Jason Biggar is right, decluttering the house could be the prescription for improved mental well-being.
For the last decade, Biggar, owner of Just Junk in Sault Ste. Marie, has been helping ease those burdens on people living with piles of unwanted belongings.
“People are overwhelmed with stuff,” Biggar said. “To be honest, it's the number one thing we hear all week.”
“Whether it's somebody who just has a few things and just needs it out of the space, or it’s somebody whose home has just gotten away from them.”
Free your clutter, free your mind
Getting rid of unwanted belongings all begins with a phone call to Just Junk. Biggar and his team offer free estimates on premises, and can often be ready for larger pickups within 48 hours.
“I’ll walk through your house with you,” Biggar said. “We have a conversation, and then you decide what you can handle and what you can't.”
Prices vary, depending on the size of the clutter. A small load, for example, starts at $99, up to full-size truck loads, which could come in just under $600 which includes labour and disposal.
A small price to pay, customers tell him, for clearing up years of neglected stuff.
Walking you through the process of decluttering
Biggar says he knows that the process can be daunting, and sometimes involve tough emotions. That’s why he’s interested in making sure that people go step-by-step with him through the space before the Just Junk team starts hauling things away.
“A couple of years ago we had a customer whose apartment was quite a bit overrun,” Biggar said. “They were being forced to move in a short time frame, and they didn't know what to do, because their furniture was kind of buried.”
Biggar met with the family and got to know them a bit. They walked through the space, starting at the front door, working their way across the unit with the goal of just making room, tidying up where needed, clearing out some riffraff to give the customer some breathing room and allow them to access bedrooms and the kitchen a bit easier.
The process was overwhelming, Biggar said, but the couple stuck with it.
“It was hard at times, and we kept having the conversation with them, asking them to come in the house to see the progress,” he said. “We didn't throw out anything that meant anything to the family, or anything that cost too much, it was literally just making space.”
By the end of it, Biggar said, the family was overwhelmed, but this time in a good way.
“It went from tears of sadness to tears of joy.”
The mental side of decluttering
Decluttering has been associated not only with lowering stress levels, but providing homeowners with an increased sense of satisfaction. Sorting through stuff, deciding what to keep and what to pitch can provide a sense of accomplishment.
As you take control of your physical space, the thinking goes, you can find a parallel sense of control over your life.
Biggar says he sees that daily with customers who make the call to Just Junk. And he’s more than happy to help them ease some of their burdens.
“Customers feel like something's been accomplished,” Biggar said. “They thought it was going to be harder than it was.”
“After we’ve helped them clean up, the number one reaction from people is ‘Wow, that was easy,” he said. “‘That was simple. You guys were so nice.’”
And the numbers are proving it. Biggar’s Sault Ste. Marie franchise has the highest repeat customer rate in the entire country. Biggar says that more than half of his customers make another call to clear out more junk.
And another element to Biggar’s approach: he gladly partners with community groups to make sure that one person’s unwanted possessions might find a good home with someone in need.
That includes groups like Habitat for Humanity, the Kidney Foundation, and a new store on Queen Street called Dragonfly, among others.
“We get plenty of requests from churches, and with the influx of international people, we've had lots of requests for furniture,” Biggar said. “We’ve also been helping with Children's Aid Society, and we supply a lot of furniture to students or people that are going on to their own places and living on their own.”
“We try to get them set up with anything they need,” he said.
Interested in decluttering? Just Junk offers free estimates, and can often deal with small loads the same day. And remember, your junk might be causing you loads of mental stress, but unloading it can free your mind, and also help several people in need.
Reach out to Jason Biggar and the Just Junk team by calling (705) 910-0006 or by visiting their web site at JustJunk.com.