For Junk in the Trunk, 'other people's trash is treasures'
Vickki DozierGRAND LEDGE — The automatic garage door opens, and Audra Ellis winds her way through antique skis, old dolls, furniture, barn windows from the 1800s.
The garage is packed to the brim with finds from Ellis' business "Junk in the Trunk."
There are books from the early 1800s, an old typewriter desk, antique chairs.
“Have you seen the show American Pickers?" Ellis asked. "We are close to that. Really, other people’s trash is treasures.”
The History Channel's antiquing series "American Pickers," documents the adventures of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they travel around the country in a van, trying to spot hidden gems amid junk stuffed away in garages and barns.
Junk in the Trunk picks up items people no longer want or need — for free.
Ellis' garage houses items cleaned out from homes that were sold, from people who just had a few pieces of furniture they didn't want, from people who were hoarders and decided to downsize into smaller homes, Ellis says.
She doesn't travel coast to coast looking for treasures. Her year-old business provides estate clean-out services locally, and they'll come to your home, business or office to remove unwanted items.
For now, the service is free.
"We’re elderly, and we shouldn’t be doing a lot of lifting," said Colleen Bird, a Junk in the Trunk customer. "Audra advertised in the Portland area rummage sale site that she would pick up furniture that you no longer want. It is hard nowadays to find someone to do that for free.
"We needed to get rid of some exercise equipment, a big dresser with a mirror."
Bird recently got remarried and moved from Portland to Pewamo. She had a lot to get rid of, she said.
"I told her, 'you’re going to be earning the stuff by lifting it and taking it out of here,'" Bird said. There were a couple full-sized chest freezers, some other heavy things to move out. It really helped us. My son is getting ready to move, and he has furniture he doesn’t want. So she knows there is more coming from me."
Junk in the Trunk operates out of Ellis' house, which used to be the post office in the 1800s.
Ellis sells what she can but also donates a lot.
"I let people know that when I pick up," she said. "I try to flip it for definitely a lot cheaper than what Ebay might do. I want to move fast. I sell it at probably half of what Ebay does."
She said she also donates items to local organizations or to people in need.
Ellis worked at Elder Law of Michigan for almost seven years as their outreach coordinator. She started doing her "picking" part-time, just getting items people were going to get rid of. And, for a while, she had a booth with Capitol City Pickers Vintage Marketplace.
When she was laid off, she started her business full-time. It's a lot less stressful, she says. And she can spend more time with her two-year-old son, Easton.
"I started meeting more people, finding out more people needed things picked up, then I started doing it for an estate sale company, a few realtors, and I’ve just gotten bigger," Ellis said.
She's acquired an antique corn husker, a vintage printing machine and toys, lots of wooden, metal and vintage toys. And a vintage Stroll O Chair baby carriage complete with fringe on the hood. She gets a lot of old Christmas paraphernalia, too.
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"My favorite part is picking up the stuff and looking at it, going through it," said Ellis' fiance, Aaron Winegar. "We have a van, a truck and a trailer."
Winegar quit his job last year because Ellis' business got so big.
"I was doing siding, roofing and windows, had a crew doing that, and I had a crew painting in Brighton," Winegar said. "When this business got too big, I couldn’t concentrate on everything and help her. I’ve done construction my whole life, but if this takes off, I'd rather clean out a house than climb 30 feet in the air to do something."
Furniture is Ellis' favorite find. And it's her best seller.
"I almost don’t want to get rid of it," she said. "I want to fix it up and do something with it. I've restored a dresser, two tables, that I sold. Also some side tables and a rocking horse.
Ellis has created a Facebook Page/Group called I Love My Community, with a goal of having a central place to search for wish lists from nonprofits, churches, schools, teachers and other community projects.
"I’m hoping this will lead to less donation waste and have organizations work together more often, to see each organization is an ally and a resource," Ellis said. "It lets the public know about which organizations are out there and available. I also want to eventually highlight a different organization each week."
It's difficult to find places to donate to sometimes, Ellis said. Either organizations are too full on certain items or they don't want to pick up.
But Ellis and Junk in the Trunk will pick up.
"It’s just really neat to see the history of what people collect and some of the things that they do," Ellis said.
Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickkiD.
Junk in the Trunk
13070 Wacousta Road, Grand Ledge; (517) 775-8079