Junk B Gone Takes on Massive Junk Removal Project for YWCA in Downtown Seattle

We took on one of our biggest projects ever — clearing out the entire basement of the YWCA in downtown Seattle. The building was getting ready for a major remodel, and decades of accumulated stuff had to go before construction could start. Our crew was ready for it.

The YWCA Seneca location has served the Seattle community since 1894 — providing housing, job training, counseling, and support for women, children, and families. Over that time, the basement had turned into a catch-all. Old furniture, broken electronics, stacks of paper, outdated equipment — it had all piled up.

And then there was the swimming pool. Yes, an indoor pool in the basement. It had been converted into storage years ago, with three levels of racks built inside the pool itself. All of it had to come out.

This wasn’t a back-the-truck-up-to-the-door kind of job. The junk was in the basement. Our crew had to load items onto the building’s elevators, navigate through the lobby, and haul everything out to our trucks parked on the street — all while working around residents and staff in a busy downtown building.

Tight corners. Heavy items. Limited elevator access. Our team sorted everything as they went: items for recycling, items for donation through our nonprofit partner Second Spark, and items that needed proper disposal.

We don’t just haul things to the dump. Through Second Spark, our 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner, roughly 80% of what we remove gets recycled or donated. For a project this size, that meant a lot of usable items found new homes instead of hitting the landfill.

By clearing out the basement, we helped the YWCA get one step closer to their renovation. The remodeled space will better serve the residents who call this building home — people who depend on the YWCA for safe, affordable housing and the programs that come with it.

This was the first phase of the project. Check out Part 2 of the YWCA project to see how the rest of the cleanout went.