Junk Refund Show with Alan Cook

Hosted by Alan J. Cook

Business Leisure Society CultureInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

1-800-Junk-Refund helps people declutter their homes and businesses with the unique option of getting some cash back! Our radio show, Junk Refund Show, takes it one step further by helping you get the clutter and junk out of your life as well! Listen each week as we help you not only declutter your garage, but we help you declutter your relationships as well! Not only can we help you clean out your dresser drawers, we can help you clean out that extra baggage you are carrying around your waistline too! Not only can we help you find that extra change that is fallen down into the cracks of your couch, but we can also give you some tips on how to make some extra money in your life! Join us as we explore that fascinating world of junk removal both inside and outside of your home, using interesting guests, 20 years of junk removal experience, and an upbeat and optimistic outlook on life!

Listen to episodes

20 recent

October 16, 202659 min

Junk Refund Show, October 15, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan Cook A Day in Bed, a Grafton Ohio Garage, and a Laptop for a Pen Pal in Brazil Alan Cook broadcasts the entire show lying in bed in Rockville, Maryland, recounting a weekend haul to Grafton, Ohio, a tree that totaled his SUV, and a Craigslist-funded plan to buy a laptop for a friend in Brazil. A Rare Day From Bed in Rockville Alan Cook opens the Junk Refund Show explaining he is taping the entire episode lying down in his bed in Rockville, Maryland, something he says he has never done in four years on the air. He frames the choice around a theme of slowing down, prompted by a postponed 10 a.m. appointment that freed up his morning. Cook invites listeners to find him on Facebook under Alan J. Cook, pointing to his profile photo of himself ziplining across Colorado's Royal Gorge, nearly 1,100 feet above the Arkansas River, taken after a job in Denver. He describes adding names over the years to a running list he calls "the ten happiest people in the world," which started with himself, Oprah, and eight others and has since grown. He recommends listeners search YouTube for the Norwegian singer Sissel performing "Slow Down" with the Tabernacle Choir, calling it the emotional touchstone for the day's relaxed pace. The Call From Grafton, Ohio Cook explains the backstory behind slowing down: a call last Friday from a woman named Heidi in Grafton, Ohio, whose mother threatened to make her clear out stuff filling a three-car garage. He recalls the only other Grafton he knew was the ghost town in southern Utah used as a filming location for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and jokes that the name caught his attention immediately. He quoted Heidi roughly $2,000 for the job sight unseen, and she paid a $1,000 deposit by credit card through the Square app on the spot, wanting the crew as soon as possible. Cook notes the drive from Washington, D.C. to the Cleveland area is about five and a half hours, shorter than he expected, so he decided to drive up Sunday afternoon in a rented box truck rather than fly. He adds that the day before Heidi's call, a dead tree fell on his SUV parked behind his office, totaling his favorite vehicle just months after he installed a $4,500 transmission. Driving Up, Loading Out, Making It Pay After church and a baptismal service Sunday, Cook drives his 16-foot Enterprise box truck to Ohio, filling it with diesel using the Upside cash-back app along the way. He checks into a Days Inn in the Cleveland area for just 5,000 Wyndham points, the lowest rate he says he has ever found, using his Diamond-tier status in the chain. The next morning he finds Heidi has already condensed her belongings into organized piles, so the actual job runs smaller than quoted, roughly $1,500 worth of mattresses, box springs, church tables, and about forty boxes and bags of miscellaneous items. He loads the truck in about an hour, finishing by 10:15 a.m., and Heidi adds $400 cash on top of her deposit, meaning he nets $1,400 for an hour of work. Cook drives the load back to Maryland that day, reflecting on how jobs like this one have taken his company from Seattle to San Diego and from Maine to Florida over the years. Technology, Ankles, and a New Promotion Back home and still lying in bed, Cook details the free Upside app, which has paid him more than $1,200 in cash back on gas purchases over roughly two and a half years, comparing its steady growth to Warren Buffett's preference for holding investments forever. He recounts a scrap-yard accident about six weeks earlier, rolling his left ankle on uneven pavement and falling into a pile of scrap metal, and a lingering Achilles strain since the Ohio trip that comes and goes as he walks on it. Turning to marketing, Cook describes building an email list of roughly 800 clients in Mailchimp and spending the morning crafting a promotion called "Save a Benjamin," offering $229 worth of junk removal for $125 through his own Speed Pass program, cheaper than retail but keeping more money than selling through Groupon. He also boosts the same offer on the show's Facebook page for $5 a day, targeting the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. A Laptop for Karina and More Jobs Close Cook shares the story of Karina, a woman turning forty in São Paulo, Brazil, whom he met on a dating site and has corresponded with daily through WhatsApp and Google Translate for three months despite speaking no Portuguese. Wanting to help her buy a laptop for her work with children, he places a $5 Craigslist ad in three D.C.-area locations offering five pickup-truck loads of junk removal at $100 instead of $229, with proceeds earmarked for the laptop. The same morning, a weekly Groupon payment of $130 lands in his account, and a returning Accokeek, Maryland customer back from Bermuda books a truckload with a stacked discount down to $550. He also recounts hauling scrap metal for free from a gas station contact in Annapolis and a related pickup of barrels and metal slabs from a business in Lanham, Maryland, both generated through an AI-built mailing list, plus a quiet 9:30 p.m. job in Fairfax, Virginia the night before. Shout-Outs and Signing Off Cook wraps the show with a few closing notes, recommending listeners look up mentalist Oz Pearlman, author of the book "Read Your Mind," whose performances for sports teams and at the White House Correspondents' Dinner leave him baffled despite Pearlman's insistence that he reads people rather than minds. He describes a self-imposed project to shrink his overflowing email inbox by one hundred messages a day using a simple spreadsheet rather than AI tools. He thanks Matt Damon, a recurring supporter of the show, and offers his usual joking apology to Jimmy Kimmel for not getting him on as a guest. Totaling up the day's earnings from Groupon, the Bermuda customer, and other calls, Cook estimates he has brought in around $700 without leaving his bed, and muses that he might put off actual junk removal work until the following day. He signs off reminding listeners the show airs Thursdays at 3 p.m. Eastern on BBS Radio.

October 9, 202659 min

Junk Refund Show, October 8, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan Cook Cast Iron Tubs, Groupon Hauls, and Cheap Flights Inside the Junk Refund Business Host Alan Cook broadcasts live from a stalled tub pickup in McLean, Virginia, then narrates a day of Groupon jobs, scrap metal runs, and a costly workshop accident while riding the Beltway between stops, closing with his tricks for flying almost anywhere for under fifty dollars. Live From McLean: The Cast Iron Tub Job Alan Cook opens the show broadcasting live from McLean, Virginia, where he and his helper June have pulled up to haul away a roughly 300-pound cast iron tub. Cook jokes about rigging earbuds so he can keep talking while wrestling the heavy tub, warning listeners the show might be a short one if it is still upstairs. When they reach the site, the contractor explains the tub is not quite ready, maybe forty minutes more, so Cook agrees to swing back later and heads off to plan B instead. Riding along in traffic afterward, he uses the moment to explain the four things his company does with every load it hauls: junking true trash, recycling metal and wire, donating usable goods for a receipt, and selling anything worth selling, with proceeds split back to the customer, a practice he says sets 1-800-Junk-Refund apart from ordinary junk haulers. Groupon Economics and a Railing Job's Sad Backstory Cook details his company's decade-long run on Groupon, where a quarter-truckload of junk removal priced at $229 sells for $99, netting the business roughly sixty percent after Groupon's cut. He cites around 500 reviews and a 4.8 rating, a 96 to 97 percent satisfaction score he calls the highest of any junk removal company on the platform. He recounts that morning's Groupon job at a second-floor apartment, where he and June tossed clothing bags and lowered unplugged lamps by their cords over a railing to speed things along, earning extra loads at $175 and $150 paid by Venmo. The backstory turns somber: the unit belonged to a woman who had just moved up from Florida after her husband died, only to pass away herself three weeks later, a reminder, Cook says, that junk removal often means stepping into people's lives at emotional turning points. Scrap Metal, Craigslist Leads, and a Costly Collision Cook explains how free Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace scrap-metal pickups double as marketing, since customers who get a free haul-away often call back later for paid junk removal at a twenty percent discount. He breaks down scrap pricing, roughly six cents a pound for plain metal versus twenty-three cents for dirty aluminum, and describes repeat visits to a Fairfax, Virginia collector who has spent years amassing lawn mower engines, carburetors, and file cabinets full of small-engine parts. The visit turns dramatic when Cook recalls that the same man, warned more than once to lower an old rusted commercial fan perched precariously above head height, instead walked into its sharp metal frame, gashing his scalp open and spending much of the day in the emergency room. Cook calls it a cautionary tale about clearing hazards before they clear you, even as the crew keeps hauling away truckloads of the man's metal collection. Nancy's Downsizing Job and an Advance-Payment Discount Cook describes a referral from Olney, Maryland realtor Karen Rawlings to a client named Nancy, who is downsizing from a thirty-year family home into a two-bedroom condo. He quotes the job at $495, then applies the standard realtor-referral discount down to $450, with another $50 off if Nancy pays before the crew arrives. Her husband balks at paying in advance, a hesitation Cook says he understands even though out-of-town clients wire full payment sight unseen all the time. The family agrees to the discounted rate, Venmoing $400 ahead of the job, and adds an extra twin bed frame and a sofa bound for her son's basement apartment. The job wraps smoothly, with Nancy handing over a hundred-dollar tip for the couch and her son kicking in another hundred for hauling furniture up and down tricky basement stairs, leaving everyone satisfied. Building the Business With AI Mailing Lists Still stuck in Beltway traffic, Cook credits BBS Radio's use of artificial intelligence for inspiring him to try Microsoft Copilot in his own business. He describes building a spreadsheet of roughly 800 real estate offices around Washington, D.C., each averaging twelve and a half agents, for postcard mailings aimed at generating whole-home cleanout referrals. A second database lists about 800 area gas stations offered free scrap-metal pickups in exchange for future junk-removal discounts. He recounts the mailings already paying off, with calls from an Annapolis gas station owner and a Burke, Virginia car wash yielding free metal pickups, one of which led to a follow-up job clearing barrels and sheet metal from a business in Lanham, Maryland. Cook frames the AI-built lists as a low-cost way to keep generating both scrap income and new long-term customers. Frontier Flights, the GoWild Pass, and the Upside App Cook closes the show with his favorite side topic, cheap travel. He explains Frontier Airlines' annual GoWild Pass, which lets him fly round trip to Salt Lake City for about fifty dollars, staying free on hotel points and still making it home in time for work Monday morning. He describes similarly inexpensive flights to Orlando, Atlanta, and even El Salvador, arguing that modern mobility lets him stay close to family without living nearby. He then plugs the free Upside app, which has paid him more than $1,200 in cash back on gas, groceries, and restaurant visits using his personal promo code, DS9PW. Reflecting on the morning's job for a woman who passed away weeks after downsizing into a condo, Cook urges listeners to enjoy life while they can, travel more, and keep working toward decluttering both their homes and their lives.

September 18, 20261 hr 1 min

Junk Refund Show, September 17, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan Cook From a Twisted Ankle to a Temple in Cleveland: A Week Inside the Junk Refund Business Host Alan Cook recounts a rain-soaked day of junk removal jobs, a broken rental truck and an ankle injury at the scrap yard, a quick trip to visit the new Cleveland Ohio Temple, and a decluttering client who happens to share his name with a famous golfer. Fresh Off Two Jobs and a Rainstorm Alan Cook opens the show still damp from an afternoon rain shower, fresh off two jobs in the Washington, D.C. area. He describes clearing part of a storage unit in Laurel, Maryland, for a client named Jewel, noting with amusement that nearly everything she owns is lavender, from her T-shirt to her phone case. Earlier that morning he helped a longtime customer named Archie load up a driveway full of items. Both jobs used the company's Groupon special, a pickup truck load of junk removal for ninety-nine dollars instead of the usual two hundred twenty-nine. Cook explains the yearly birthday voucher he sells every May, discounted to match his age, sixty-eight dollars this year, and the radio-only deal available by calling in during the broadcast and leaving a name with producer Don, who passes the information along so Cook can follow up after the show. The Four-Part Junk Refund System Cook lays out the mechanics behind 1-800-Junk-Refund. Every job gets sorted four ways: true junk goes to the dump, metal and wire are recycled, usable items like clothing and dishes go to charity with a donation receipt sent back to the customer, and anything that looks sellable is listed, with the customer receiving thirty-five percent once it sells for twenty dollars or more. He runs through pricing, a twelve-foot box truck around six hundred ninety-five dollars, a pickup load at two hundred twenty-nine, and a one-hundred-nineteen-dollar minimum for something like a single refrigerator pickup. Referrals from realtors earn customers ten percent off, and paying in advance earns another ten percent. He also plugs free scrap-metal pickups around the D.C. area and his habit of running thirty-day Craigslist ads for five dollars, which he credits with generating thousands of dollars in scrap and cleanout business over the years. A Referral, a Broken Truck, and a Bad Fall Cook credits realtor Mike Parente for a referral to a couple named the Millers in North Potomac, Maryland, a job that started rough. Days before the scheduled start, the company's rental box truck loses power after a diesel exhaust fluid sensor malfunctions and limits it to thirty-five miles per hour, and it stays in the shop for over a week. Cook shows up to the multi-thousand-dollar cleanout with a pickup truck instead. At the scrap yard, he steps into a dip in the pavement, rolls his ankle, and falls backward onto a pile of scrap pipes, badly scraping his knee and thumb and losing the ability to put weight on his foot. He fashions a cane from the handle of a discarded floor-waxing machine and keeps working. A Zelle payment from Mr. Miller is delayed several days by bank limits, leaving him briefly without cash to pay his crew, but the job still wraps up in roughly nineteen pickup truck loads. Movie Chairs From a Mansion in Great Falls Back from the injury, Cook turns to a job for a friend named Brian in Great Falls, Virginia, a former Bank of America mortgage employee who now buys and flips distressed properties. Brian tells Cook the first sign of a distressed home is overgrown landscaping, since upkeep is usually the first expense an owner cuts. Brian, who has built a mansion with an indoor theater seating twelve in stadium-style rows, is replacing worn reclining movie chairs and hires the crew to haul the old ones away. Cook and his helper June load the chairs, heavy with metal frames and upholstery, into a pickup truck and a repurposed SUV outfitted with a salvaged rear cargo carrier. The scrap yard pays for some loads of chair bases but rejects one for having too much upholstery and not enough metal, so that load goes to the regular dump instead, wrapping up a job worth about eight hundred fifty dollars. A Fast Trip to the Cleveland Temple With his ankle still tender, Cook takes off for one of his long-running personal projects: visiting temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world, a hobby that has taken him to roughly one hundred thirty of the church's temples over about nine years. He flies Southwest from Baltimore to Cleveland for fifty-nine dollars each way, takes a cheaper Lyft over an Uber to reach the new Cleveland Ohio Temple in Independence, Ohio, and spends a couple of hours there before heading back to the airport. Rather than pay for a hotel, he sleeps for free on a cushioned bench near a not-yet-open Chick-fil-A, phone charging nearby, and boards his six a.m. flight home. He recounts a story from his friend Thayne, who volunteers at the temple and was invited into the small celestial room when one of the church's Twelve Apostles dedicated the building in mid-August. Family, John Daly, and Giving Back Cook shifts to family news, describing his son-in-law Jake's surprise-hit class on parallels between The Lord of the Rings and the Gospel of Jesus Christ during Brigham Young University's Education Week, which drew about four hundred people a night. He also has fun with a client named John Daly, sharing on Facebook that the crew is cleaning out John Daly's home and letting followers assume it is the golfer before clarifying it is simply a client sharing the name. Cook describes using AI to build mailing lists of realtors and gas stations for postcard marketing, and warns listeners that storage units can quietly drain thousands of dollars from people holding onto things they never use. He closes with a personal tithing habit, giving back ten percent quickly after each job, a National Cathedral appearance by church president Dallin H. Oaks the night before, and an update that his twice-injured ankles are nearly back to full strength.

August 28, 20261 hr 2 min

Junk Refund Show, August 27, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook From Scrap Metal to Cross-Country Flights: Turning Junk Into Opportunity and Taking Action Summary Turning Junk Into Value Alan J. Cook opens the episode by describing the business model behind 1-800-JUNK-REFUND and the idea that not everything removed from a home should automatically be treated as trash. He explains that the company charges for junk removal while also identifying items that may be worth selling, with proceeds potentially returned to the customer. He describes hidden valuables that can turn up during cleanouts, including money, jewelry, collectibles, and other unexpected finds. He also explains a three-part marketing approach built around lower pricing, Ben & Jerry’s gift cards, and the promise to sell worthwhile items rather than discard them. The larger theme is that a junk-removal business can create value by looking more carefully at what other people are ready to throw away. Scrap Metal, Copper, and Customer Growth The host then describes how free scrap-metal pickups can become both a revenue stream and a source of future junk-removal customers. He discusses the high value of copper compared with ordinary scrap metal and recounts picking up two discarded air-conditioning units after being selected from roughly 100 interested respondents on Facebook Marketplace. The load later brought in $318 at a scrap yard, illustrating why the company is willing to collect certain metal items for free. He also tells the story of a customer named Dave, who first encountered the company through a free scrap pickup and later used a 20% discount card on a much larger moving-related junk-removal job. The segment presents free pickups as a practical way to build trust, create leads, and turn discarded material into usable business value. Saving for Grandchildren and Organizing the Day Cook connects his scrap-metal cash to a personal savings habit by describing two envelopes he maintains for his young granddaughters. He says he puts $5 a day into each child’s savings and discusses how consistent contributions over many years could grow substantially through compounding. He presents the practice as another way of reducing future financial stress by starting early and putting time to work. He then shifts to personal productivity, recalling his years with FranklinCovey and describing how he now uses the Todoist app instead of a paper day planner. For him, moving tasks out of his head and into a simple prioritized list helps clear mental clutter and gives him a concrete way to get things done. Eight States in Thirty-Six Hours A major portion of the episode follows Cook’s unusually fast and inexpensive cross-country trip. He describes driving to Philadelphia, flying through Denver to Utah, spending time with family, visiting an aquarium, checking on friends dealing with a serious health crisis, stopping at the BYU Creamery, and attending his son-in-law’s Education Week presentation about spiritual lessons from The Lord of the Rings. From Utah he continues through Phoenix and Los Angeles, visits a temple, then takes a $16 Frontier Airlines flight to Orlando before working his way through Charlotte and back to Philadelphia. He says the journey put him in eight states in about 36 hours and uses the experience to contrast modern mobility with the much slower travel of the 1800s. The trip becomes an example of his broader belief that modern life offers extraordinary opportunities when people are willing to search for unconventional options. Reusing Equipment Instead of Buying It Back in the junk-removal business, Cook describes another form of reuse: turning discarded equipment into operating assets. He talks about SUVs, a rear cargo carrier, tools, and a four-by-eight-foot trailer that were acquired through hauling jobs rather than purchased in the usual way. The trailer needs rust removal, paint, sides, and a fold-down back, but he sees it as a future money-making tool for smaller jobs. He also recounts dismantling an air-conditioning unit with tools that had themselves been discarded, recovering copper and other valuable material for scrap. His enthusiasm comes from the circular nature of the process: customers pay to have things removed, and some of those same things can then reduce his company’s costs or create additional income. Speaking Up and Trying to Make Change The final segment moves from physical junk to the idea of clearing frustration from one’s life by taking action. Cook discusses his church involvement and his belief that signage at a Washington, D.C., church building should face oncoming traffic and eventually be replaced by an electronic sign capable of displaying changing messages and multiple languages. He says temporary A-frame signs promoting a Wednesday Bible study have helped draw people to the class, strengthening his belief that better visibility could have a wider impact. After years of thinking about the issue and discussing it with local leaders, he says he prepared a documented letter with photos and sent copies by FedEx to senior church leaders in Salt Lake City. Whether or not the proposal is accepted, he says the act of making the case gave him peace of mind because he had done what he could rather than silently wishing for change.

August 21, 202654 min

Junk Refund Show, August 20, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Turning Junk Into Opportunity: Dignity, Resourcefulness, AI, and Life Lessons Summary Junk Removal With a Refund Alan J. Cook opens by explaining the business model behind 1-800-JUNK-REFUND. Customers pay for junk removal, but items that appear reusable or saleable may be offered for resale instead of being sent directly to a landfill. If an item sells, the customer receives 35% of the sales price while the company handles the work. Cook also describes the company's use of Ben & Jerry's gift cards as a customer perk. The episode repeatedly frames this approach as a way to create value from belongings that might otherwise be discarded. A Utah Trip, Family, and The Lord of the Rings Cook discusses an overnight trip from Maryland to Utah, where he hopes to attend a class taught by his son-in-law during Brigham Young University Education Week. He describes the class as exploring spiritual connections between the teachings of Jesus and The Lord of the Rings, while noting that this is not the class's formal title. He reflects warmly on his daughter, son-in-law, and their young family, and he also explains that a brother-in-law's planned presentation was canceled after a family medical emergency in Sweden. The travel discussion includes Cook's willingness to sleep in airports and his use of a low-cost annual airline pass. These stories establish a broader theme of resourcefulness, family connection, and making the most of limited resources. The Warren Buffett Friendship Lesson A major personal story centers on Cook's tradition of mailing Warren Buffett a few dollars at Christmas to buy breakfast at McDonald's. Cook says Buffett responded with handwritten notes, and the exchange developed into a lighthearted long-distance friendship. What matters most to Cook is Buffett's remark that it was good of him to think of him, which Cook interprets as a reminder that even extremely wealthy people value friendship and being remembered. He uses the story to broaden the show's idea of “junk” beyond physical clutter and toward the importance of meaningful human relationships. The lesson he draws is that personal connection can matter more than possessions, status, or net worth. Dignity in the Middle of a Cleanout Cook describes a large cleanout in Arlington, Virginia, involving a homeowner who is moving and dealing with health concerns. Although the crew had already removed about nine and a half box-truck loads, the homeowner still had personal computers, files, electronics, and sleeping arrangements in the house. Cook says that even under deadline pressure, a junk removal company should not simply sweep through a person's final belongings without respect for ownership and dignity. He emphasizes treating customers the way he would want to be treated and allowing them appropriate control over their possessions. The story becomes one of the episode's clearest statements about ethics in service work. Reusing What Others Throw Away The episode offers several examples of discarded items being turned back into useful assets. Cook describes acquiring a rusty four-by-eight-foot trailer from the Arlington job and plans to repair it for use in the business. He also discusses an SUV that had been headed for scrap but may be reused, along with another discarded SUV that is already serving as a company vehicle. A separate story describes collecting scrap metal from curbside items and turning a small $10 recovery into an example of how repeated small gains can offset business expenses. Cook also explains how furniture, jewelry, books, and even a Chrysler Sebring convertible have been resold so that former owners, buyers, and the business can all benefit. AI, Marketing, and Incremental Decluttering In the final portion, Cook explains how AI has changed his approach to business development. He says Microsoft Copilot helped him build large mailing databases of real estate offices and gas stations, replacing a slow manual research process with spreadsheets that can feed directly into mailing labels and postcard campaigns. He connects his experimentation with AI to developments at BBS Radio and says the technology has encouraged him to think more broadly about automation, content creation, and business growth. The episode closes with a practical decluttering recommendation: buy contractor bags and fill just one bag each week for donation, recycling, or disposal. Cook's final message is that people can reduce clutter and stress by working gradually, one piece at a time, while learning to let go of things they no longer need.

August 7, 202657 min

Junk Refund Show, August 6, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Do What You're Asked: Scrap Metal, Setbacks, and Finding Joy in the Work Summary A Live Workday on the Road Alan J. Cook broadcasts while driving from Northern Virginia into Washington, D.C., between scrap-metal pickups, giving the episode the feel of a live working day rather than a studio conversation. He describes using an aging pickup truck with 281,000 miles, a failing cylinder, and no working air conditioning while continuing to move from one job to the next. That setting becomes part of a broader message about refusing to let ordinary setbacks stop forward progress. Throughout the hour, the host connects the practical realities of junk removal with his larger theme of getting unwanted clutter out of one's home, garage, business, and life. The Cost of Making an Assumption A major story centers on a house cleanout for a longtime realtor client. Cook explains that he had been paid to remove six specific items while also being asked separately to estimate the removal of everything else in the house. He assumed the broader cleanout had been authorized and began hauling additional property without first confirming the instruction. When the homeowner objected and requested replacements for items including televisions and a PlayStation 4, Cook accepted responsibility for the mistake. His lesson is simple and repeated throughout the story: do what you are asked to do, verify before going beyond the instruction, and do not assume that an estimate automatically means approval to proceed. Three Vehicles and a Business Built from Discards Cook describes how three different vehicles support different layers of his junk-removal business: a 16-foot stake-body truck for large cleanouts, a pickup truck for medium-sized jobs and scrap metal, and a 2007 Chevy TrailBlazer for small jobs in tighter urban areas. The TrailBlazer is especially meaningful because a customer once paid the company to remove it, yet after repairs it became a productive business asset. He talks about filling each vehicle, selling or recycling what has value, and using free scrap-metal pickups as a way to generate revenue and find future junk-removal customers. The larger point is that discarded things can sometimes be repurposed into useful, income-producing tools rather than simply treated as waste. Gratitude, Faith, and Small Acts That Matter The episode shifts into personal reflections when Cook remembers a church friend named Skip, whose apartment he recently cleaned out after Skip's death. A print of Jesus on the apartment wall leaves a strong impression on him, and he speaks warmly about Skip's character and an upcoming funeral at which he has been asked to say the opening prayer. Cook also offers an encouraging update about Frances Seay, a member of his congregation recovering after a brain aneurysm, while making clear that friends and family are praying for her. Later, he tells a lighter story about a client who left a homemade jar of honey along with payment for dismantling a trampoline, using the gesture as an example of how small acts of generosity can become memorable parts of everyday work. Saving Money, Letting Time Work, and Enjoying the Journey Cook promotes a discounted radio-show voucher for local junk removal and then discusses the Upside app, which he says has accumulated more than $1,100 in cash back for him over roughly two and a half years. He uses that example to make a broader point about patience, accumulation, and putting time on your side instead of always looking for immediate results. He is considering using the accumulated money toward a Bermuda cruise and invites listeners who have visited Bermuda to call the show. The episode repeatedly returns to the idea that useful financial gains can come from consistent small actions, whether that means recycling scrap, recovering value from discarded goods, earning cash back on routine purchases, or patiently allowing benefits to accumulate. Family, Simple Pleasures, and Value Hidden in the Ordinary Near the end of the show, Cook talks about a fast weekend trip to North Carolina to visit his nephew's family and four young girls under the age of seven. He describes biscuits and gravy, a child's overstuffed novelty purse, roller-skating, and a family dinner at Chick-fil-A as examples of the joyful chaos that makes time with family worthwhile. Back at work, he discusses a 670-pound commercial saw obtained from Closet America that he hopes to resell for $3,000, again emphasizing the value that may be hidden in something another party no longer wants. He closes with more everyday moments - ice water in 94-degree heat, a McDonald's stop, learning how to activate Apple Pay, and heading to another scrap-metal pickup - reinforcing the episode's central outlook: work hard, stay adaptable, notice the good around you, and keep finding useful ways to turn apparent junk into opportunity.

July 31, 202658 min

Junk Refund Show, July 30, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Hidden Value in What Others Throw Away Summary A Trampoline Job and an Unexpected Gift Alan J. Cook opens the episode while leaving a completed trampoline-removal job in Sandy Spring, Maryland. He explains how he dismantled the structure, separated the springs, mats, poles, and metal, and used tools that had previously been discarded on other jobs. The customer had left a check taped to the trampoline and added a jar of fresh honey from beehives in the backyard. Cook uses the experience to illustrate both the practical side of junk removal and the value of thoughtful customer relationships. He also recommends using before-and-after photographs to show prospective clients the visible impact of a service. Slowing Down to Work Better The host shifts from the job itself to the importance of rest and mental clarity. After making a house payment, he rewarded himself with breakfast and returned home for additional sleep instead of immediately rushing into more work. He describes the tension self-employed people may feel between starting early and allowing themselves enough rest to be effective. In the fast-paced Washington, D.C., area, he argues that slowing down can help people clear their minds and approach the day with more energy. He connects this theme to a performance by singer Sissel that he recalls as carrying the message "Slow Down." Cash Back and Practical Savings Cook discusses the Upside app as a way to earn cash back on purchases such as gasoline, restaurant meals, and groceries. He says he has accumulated more than $1,100 over roughly two and a half years and hopes to use the money toward a cruise to Bermuda. He explains how users can link a payment card or upload receipts and describes a monthly bonus tied to completing 21 qualifying uses. He also shares a promotional code, while noting that referrals may generate additional rewards. The segment reflects his broader interest in finding small, repeatable ways to recover value from ordinary expenses. Using Artificial Intelligence to Grow a Small Business After finding a quiet office complex from which to continue the show, Cook describes using Microsoft Copilot to build a mailing list of approximately 800 real estate offices in the Washington, D.C., area. He contrasts the automated process with his former method of researching and entering addresses one at a time. The new spreadsheet allows him to send about 90 promotional postcards per day for a discounted junk-removal offer tied to America's 250th birthday. He expects that even a small response rate could generate substantial cleanout work. He also explains that the campaign creates paid work for an unemployed member of his church who applies labels and stamps to the postcards. The Junk Refund Model and a Win-Win Philosophy Cook explains that his company sorts hauled material into four categories: actual trash, recyclable metal and wire, donatable goods, and valuable items that can be sold. When saleable items generate money, the company returns part of the proceeds to the customer. He connects this model to the win-win principle he learned through FranklinCovey and Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The host also promotes a discounted pickup-truck-load voucher for listeners in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Later, he recounts his long-running Christmas-card exchange with Warren Buffett as an example of humor, initiative, gratitude, and creative relationship-building. Decluttering Gradually and Reusing Discarded Assets In the final segment, Cook recommends clearing clutter gradually by filling one heavy-duty bag each week and rotating among trash, recyclables, donations, and items for sale. He describes a multigenerational estate cleanout to show how accumulated possessions can become an expensive burden for surviving family members. He urges listeners to compare junk-removal prices by truck capacity and cites jobs where his company charged less than larger competitors. He then tells the story of a discarded 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and tools acquired through previous cleanouts, repaired, and put back to work in the business. The episode closes with his belief that discarded property can still produce value, that artificial intelligence can expand opportunity, and that removing physical and mental clutter can improve life.

July 24, 202656 min

Junk Refund Show, July 23, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Stacking the Odds: Scrap Metal, AI Marketing, and the Power of Small Wins Summary A Free Metal Pickup Becomes a Major Office-Cleanout Lead Alan J. Cook opens the episode while transporting a truckload of metal from a Washington, D.C., media company's office consolidation. He explains how Facebook Marketplace can generate low-revenue scrap pickups that create valuable new client relationships. By removing several truckloads of metal for free, earning scrap value, and offering the company a discounted price for the remaining nonmetal material, he believes both sides can benefit. The company avoids a much larger competing quote, while his business gains a substantial cleanout opportunity and additional recyclable material. AI Transforms a Slow Prospecting Process The host describes how artificial intelligence has accelerated both radio-production support and his own business marketing. He praises BBS Radio's ability to turn completed programs into summaries, graphics, and other customized promotional materials shortly after a broadcast. He also discusses a filmed entertainment example in which AI creates a conversation between a performer and a younger version of himself. Inspired by those applications, Cook begins using Microsoft Copilot to build organized lists of real-estate offices for direct-mail outreach. Direct Mail, Realtor Referrals, and Scalable Growth Cook contrasts the labor required to earn $3,000 from low-value scrap metal with the efficiency of receiving one profitable whole-house cleanout referral from a realtor. He uses AI-generated spreadsheets, mailing labels, and self-designed postcards to contact approximately 90 to 100 real-estate offices per day. His strategy is based on repeatedly increasing the number of opportunities and allowing a small response rate to produce meaningful work. He believes the same system could target restaurants, gas stations, storage facilities, leasing companies, and offices in multiple cities, eventually supporting franchise expansion. Cash Back and Compounding Small Amounts After parking near the scrap yard, Cook explains how he uses the Upside app to accumulate cash back on purchases he would make anyway, particularly gasoline. He reports building a balance of more than $1,100 over roughly two and a half years and considers using the money for a cruise. The larger lesson continues in his discussion of setting aside small amounts of scrap-metal cash for his young granddaughters. By saving consistently and allowing time and investment growth to compound, he believes modest daily contributions can become meaningful education funds. Knowing the Starting Number Reduces Fear Cook then applies his numbers-based philosophy to personal weight. Photographs taken at a high-school reunion and later at church caused him to question how he looked, but he had avoided weighing himself for years. When he finally stepped onto a scrap-yard scale, the number was lower than he feared, and the uncertainty disappeared. He says that knowing the starting point allowed him to make practical choices, monitor progress, and lose several pounds through an active work routine, salads, water, and smaller daily food decisions. Turning Discarded Equipment into Income-Producing Assets The episode concludes with examples of equipment that clients paid Cook to remove and that he later used to earn additional income. He describes snow blowers used for winter work and a 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer that became a useful small-hauling vehicle after repairs. Although the SUV later required an expensive transmission replacement, he views the repaired vehicle as a debt-free business asset that can earn back its cost. The story reinforces the episode's central theme: identify overlooked value, use available tools creatively, and let repeated small advantages accumulate into larger results.

July 17, 20261 hr 0 min

Junk Refund Show, July 16, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Not All Junk Is Junk Finding Value, Clearing Bottlenecks, and Facing the Truth Turning Everyday Frustrations Into Better Business Alan J. Cook opens the episode by applying his "get the junk out" philosophy to customer service and business credibility. He critiques a Burger King survey offer that advertises a free Whopper while requiring an additional purchase, arguing that a reward loses credibility when conditions make it feel less than free. He contrasts that experience with Qdoba's simpler survey reward of free chips and salsa. A story about donating blood for a supposedly free round of golf reinforces the same lesson: promotional language should match what customers actually receive. For Cook, removing "junk" from a business means eliminating practices that frustrate customers, weaken trust, or create unnecessary conditions. Do Not Become the Bottleneck Using the example of a man named Leonard who is trying to clear his deceased brother's heavily cluttered home, Cook warns against allowing good intentions to slow an urgent estate cleanout. He describes a three-level house filled to the point that file cabinets cannot even be reached because hallways are blocked. In his view, one person trying to inspect every document and object can become the bottleneck when a home needs to be prepared quickly for sale. Cook recommends recognizing when a project has become too large for a do-it-yourself approach and bringing in enough help to move efficiently. He also emphasizes that reusable or valuable items can be sold or donated rather than automatically thrown away. Learning to See Value Others Miss Cook moves from a growing appreciation for soccer into a practical lesson about scrap-metal values and resale opportunities. He explains how different metals can bring dramatically different prices, with steel near the low end and copper, brass, clean aluminum, and certain insulated wires worth substantially more. An anecdote about a man earning more from a stroller and suitcase full of copper than Cook earned from a large truckload illustrates why sorting matters. He then describes selling old BMW wheels and tires that had been sitting in his truck, producing a cash sale and a refund for the original customer. The stories reinforce the show's recurring principle that not all junk is junk and that knowing what something is worth can turn disposal into recovery. Deals, Predictions, and the Win-Win Test The episode includes practical observations about fuel rewards, small tool sales, political predictions, and a used riding lawn mower. Cook says he is skeptical when anyone, including a president, claims certainty about future gasoline prices or other markets, drawing on his prior experience as a stockbroker to argue that future prices cannot be known with certainty. He also describes earning money from small tool sets that another company might have discarded. His story about selling a Craftsman riding mower becomes a lesson in fair dealing when a mechanical problem appears during delivery. Rather than turning the transaction into a confrontation, buyer and seller renegotiate, and Cook praises the result as a Stephen Covey-style "win-win" outcome. Relationships, Speaking Up, and Removing Mental Clutter Cook then shifts from physical junk to personal and relational issues. He recounts learning that someone he was dating had previously been in what was described as a common-law marriage and says conversations with family-law attorneys led him to take the unresolved legal status seriously. He urges listeners encountering similar circumstances to do their homework and research the legal status rather than making assumptions. In another example, he discusses a church-council meeting where a participant repeatedly apologized for raising a concern. Cook argues that respectful disagreement is exactly what decision-making groups need, because unspoken concerns cannot be solved. For him, getting "junk" out of the mind can mean putting a difficult issue on the table so a group can address it honestly. Know Where You Are Before You Move Forward The closing portion returns to junk removal with a large apartment cleanout, a 400-pound weight set, and a comparison with a larger national junk-removal company. Cook says his company charged less, then immediately put the usable weight equipment up for sale so the client could potentially receive money back. He closes with a personal story about avoiding a scale because he feared bad news, only to discover that he weighed 15 pounds less than expected. That experience becomes the episode's final life lesson: whether the issue is weight, finances, a credit score, clutter, or another problem, people need an honest starting point before they can make progress. Knowing the truth about where you are, Cook argues, turns uncertainty into a plan and makes improvement possible.

July 3, 20261 hr 0 min

Junk Refund Show, July 2, 2026

Junk Refund Show with Alan J. Cook Junk, Generosity, and the Freedom to Clear Your Mind Episode Summary A Fourth of July Broadcast From the Nation's Capital Alan J. Cook opens this July 2nd edition of The Junk Refund Show with a personal greeting, a birthday song for his sister Carolyn, and a reflection on the joy of growing up in a large, close-knit family. Broadcasting from the Washington, D.C. area during the Fourth of July season, he describes the heat, the crowds, the increased traffic, bus activity, security changes, and the special atmosphere around the nation's capital as people gather for Independence Day celebrations. Family Traditions That Become Real Success Stories The episode turns toward the value of family traditions, especially through Alan's story about his friend Robert, who gathers dozens of family members every Fourth of July at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. Alan frames this kind of yearly gathering as a genuine success story, not because of the location or activities, but because of the love, commitment, and continuity that hold a family together over time. A 50-Year Reunion Built Around Memory, Fun, and Generosity Alan spends a major portion of the show recounting his 50-year high school reunion in Utah. After volunteering to handle the entertainment, he created a Family Feud-style trivia program tied to the class's 1976 bicentennial graduation year. He also contacted political offices for congratulatory videos, brought in a classmate who performs as Abraham Lincoln, arranged a mini concert from musician Kurt Bestor, and helped build an evening designed to be memorable rather than routine. The Gift Card Surprise That Became the Heart of the Night One of the central stories involves Alan purchasing fifty $50 gift cards, paying $2,500 in cash, and secretly preparing to give them away during the reunion trivia game. He describes the comic and memorable experience of buying the cards at Safeway, watching them ring up and activate one by one, and later giving them to classmates. The gesture became a symbol of the evening's spirit, creating joy, surprise, gratitude, and shared memories. Why Reunions Matter More Than Appearances Alan reflects on the emotional power of seeing classmates after 50 years, including old friends, a ninth-grade best friend, and a former girlfriend he had not seen in decades. He acknowledges that people change and may avoid reunions because of age, hardship, or self-consciousness, but he encourages listeners to attend anyway. For him, the deeper value is reconnection, shared history, honoring classmates who have passed away, and creating moments that last. Getting the Junk Out of the Mind In the final part of the show, Alan connects the junk removal business to mental and emotional clutter. Inspired by a 7-Eleven clerk who asked how to get the junk out of one's head, Alan offers advice about seeking truth, focusing only on the next right task, not trying to control the entire future, choosing faith over doubt, and rewarding oneself after hard work. His examples range from golf and business marketing to surviving a hot day of physical labor with a Chick-fil-A peach shake as a simple reward. Faith, Celebration, and the Spirit of America Alan closes with reflections on Independence Day, America, soccer, the excitement of World Cup fans, and the need to look for the good even when the world feels uncertain. He encourages listeners to keep faith ahead of doubt, enjoy the Fourth of July safely, stay cool in the heat, and continue clearing junk not only from homes and garages, but from the mind, heart, and life.