What to Do With Everything You Clear Out For Labour Day
Labour Day weekend is the unofficial end of the core cottage season across Grey Bruce and Georgian Bay. Garages get emptied out. Projects that were going to get finished in June finally get finished, or get abandoned until next year… Cottage owners start thinking of their closing list.
Deciding to clear things out is the easy part. The harder question is what happens to everything afterward because a pile on the driveway is not the same as a job finished.
Here is a practical way to work through it.
Sort first, haul second
The most common mistake is moving everything to one enormous pile and then trying to make decisions about it later, usually while tired. Sorting as you go is faster and produces far less second-guessing.
Four categories cover almost everything:
Keep. Goes back in, but in a better spot than it was before.
Donate. Still works, someone else would want it, and you are willing to drive it somewhere.
Sell. Worth enough money to justify photographing it, listing it, and answering messages about it.
Gone. Broken, mouldy, obsolete, or genuinely not worth anyone's time. This is usually the biggest pile, and people consistently underestimate it.
Note: Be honest about the middle two categories. A broken canoe that has been under a tarp since 2018 is probably not a "sell" item. It is a "gone" item.
What is actually worth donating
Local charities and thrift shops across the region will take a lot of what comes out of a cottage or garage, and August into September is a busy month for them. These charities generally accept clean furniture in working condition, kitchenware, small appliances that work, books, tools, sporting goods, unopened building materials.
Generally not accepted: mattresses, upholstered furniture with stains or odours, anything damaged, older electronics, and items missing parts.
If you’re thinking of donating, then be sure to call ahead. Hours change seasonally, and several locations cap what they take on any given day.
Selling takes longer than you think
Marketplace and local buy-and-sell groups work well for a narrow band of items: quality furniture, tools, bikes, boats and trailers, and anything with an obvious resale market.
Everything else sits. If you are working toward a long weekend deadline, give yourself a cutoff if it has not sold by a set date, it moves to the "gone" pile. Otherwise the sale pile quietly becomes a permanent feature of the garage.
The pile that is actually going away
This is where a bin earns its keep. A cottage or garage clear-out typically produces more volume than a truck bed and several trips will handle, and the transfer station has hours, limits, and a queue on long weekends.
A bin sits on your driveway for the length of the job. You fill it on your own schedule, at whatever hour the work actually happens, and it leaves when you are done. For a multi-day clear-out that is the difference between one job and six errands.
Typical contents: old furniture, carpet and underlay, deck boards, drywall, shed contents, broken patio furniture, yard waste, general household junk, and the various boxes that have not been opened since the last time you moved.
What cannot go in the bin
Some materials are restricted by the facilities that receive them, and putting them in a bin can hold up the whole load.
Commonly restricted items include paint and solvents, propane tanks, motor oil and fuel, batteries, tires, and appliances containing refrigerant. If you are not certain about something, ask before you load it. A two-minute phone call is cheaper than a rejected load.
Choosing a size
Georgian Bay Disposal offers bins in 10, 14, 20 and 40 yards.
A rough guide:
10 yard. A single-car garage, one room's worth of renovation debris, or a small yard clean-up. Also the right choice for heavy material like concrete, brick or soil, where weight becomes the limit long before space does.
14 yard. A larger garage, a basement clear-out, or a mid-size deck removal.
20 yard. A full cottage clear-out, a large basement, or a substantial renovation.
40 yard. Whole-property clean-outs, estate clearances, and large demolition jobs. Bulky, lightweight material–furniture, insulation, roofing–fills volume quickly, and this is the size that keeps you from needing a second bin.
When in doubt, call us to discuss sizing, and we can help you decide on the bin that fits.
Book before the long weekend, not during it
Late August is the busiest stretch of the season. Everyone in the region has the same idea at the same time, and bins are finite.
Availability tightens considerably in the last week of August. If you want a bin on site for the long weekend, it has to be booked 7-10 days in advance.
One less thing to think about
The clearing out is the work. The hauling away does not have to be.
Georgian Bay Disposal delivers bins across Owen Sound, Collingwood, Meaford, Thornbury, Wasaga Beach and surrounding communities throughout the Grey Bruce and Georgian Bay region.
Call (705) 241-1033 or go to our booking page to book your bin.
