Junk Refund Show

Hosted by Junk Refund Show

Business Entrepreneurship Leisure

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Junk Refund Show is a weekly radio show where we teach you not only how to get the junk out of your garages and living rooms, but also how to get the junk out of your lives! Listen to our weekly shows here on our new podcast!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 5, 2026Episode 461 hr 0 min

Season 2, Episode 46: Send Someone a Laptop, Even If They’re in Brazil!

Send us Fan Mail Costco Parking Lots, Shovel Landscaping for a Brazil Laptop, and Decluttering Tabletops Broadcasting from a box truck in a Fairfax, Virginia Costco parking lot, Alan Cook explains how manual yard work funded a laptop for a Brazilian pen pal, critiques sports gambling, and shares decluttering tips. Live From a Fairfax Costco Parking Lot Alan Cook opens the broadcast parked along a side wall in a Costco lot in Fairfax, Virginia, right across from the Interstate 66 transfer station in a twenty-foot truck. Reflecting on four years hosting the show and twenty years running 1-800-Junk-Refund, he describes using artificial intelligence to build spreadsheets for mailing labels targeting eight hundred fifty real estate offices across the Washington, D.C. area. He highlights a recent job with an agent named Toni clearing out a luxury two-bedroom condominium for a client named John Daly. The cleanout yielded a pristine barnwood dining table listed for resale at two thousand dollars, along with a heavy medical bed frame loaded onto the truck for scrap metal recycling. Cook explains his company model: hauling away items twenty percent below competitor pricing, then sorting loads to junk trash, recycle metals, donate usable goods for tax receipts, and resell valuables while returning thirty-five percent of sales proceeds to clients. Absolute Truth and a Lesson on Scripture Transitioning from junk removal to theology, Cook shares details from a text conversation with a woman from upstate New York who recently joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Answering her questions about faith, he asks what three plus two equals, noting the answer is five in Tokyo just as it is anywhere else in the world. He argues that divine truth operates as an absolute rather than a subjective opinion, pointing to biblical history stretching from Adam around four thousand BC through Malachi, Christ, and the apostles. Cook describes how Joseph Smith sought spiritual guidance as a teenager in 1820, leading to the organization of their church and modern scriptures including the Book of Mormon. Referencing a recent worldwide church conference address, he cautions listeners against mobile sports betting through applications like DraftKings, warning that wagering money on uncontrollable athletic outcomes invites spiritual and financial clutter into everyday life. Cheap Hot Dogs and Landscaping in Burke Returning after the commercial break, Cook praises BBS Radio co-founder Don Newsom and encourages listeners to start their own affordable talk programs. He highlights a budget-friendly lunch habit at 7-Eleven, sharing that he is currently eating two hot dogs purchased for three dollars and fifty cents alongside an eighty-cent rewards soda. Shifting to client work, Cook recounts a multi-day visit to Burke, Virginia, for a long-time customer named Meena. After hauling away a three-person reclining home theater sofa, Cook agrees to tackle her neglected yard borders at his company rate of one hundred dollars an hour for two workers. Across three hours of weeding, he installs weed-control cloth and fresh Home Depot mulch along the front foundation beds, snapping before-and-after photographs to document the transformation. Meena adds an extra one hundred dollars for Cook to remove an old snowblower, promising to repair it if possible or scrap the metal if the motor fails. Shovel Work and a Laptop for Karina Cook describes clearing Meena's backyard utility plot, measuring roughly eight feet wide by thirty feet long, to prepare garden soil for spring planting. Rather than renting a rototiller, he manually strips the turf using a long-handled shovel braced against his torso while his helper, June, hauls dirt-filled mulch bags across the property. Cook reveals that he undertook the strenuous labor specifically to fund a gift for Karina, a woman living in São Paulo, Brazil, with whom he has exchanged translated Portuguese text messages for six months. Admiring her humble ambition to buy her mother a house, Cook promised to purchase a computer for her civil service exam studies if he earned extra revenue from non-standard jobs. Although shipping and Brazilian import duties pushed the price of the three-hundred-dollar Amazon notebook to approximately six hundred dollars, Cook gladly covers the expense, framing spontaneous generosity as a joyful way to support a worthy partner. Big Twelve Penalties for Fan Chants Opening the final segment, Cook applauds the Big 12 Conference for introducing strict disciplinary measures against hostile religious chants directed at his alma mater, Brigham Young University. He recalls recurring instances across multiple campuses where opposing student sections chanted vulgarities targeting church members, noting the painful irony following BYU's donation of twenty-seven thousand pounds of food to Cincinnati shelters. Under the new athletic policy, home football programs face a fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for discriminatory crowd chants, while basketball games incur an immediate technical foul, a one-hundred-thousand-dollar institutional fine, and potential student ejections. Cook emphasizes that sports venues should foster spirited competition without tolerating bigotry, contrasting the hostility with BYU's tradition of offering visiting fans complimentary ice cream. He praises conference leadership for shifting accountability directly onto team performance and fan attendance privileges, calling the policy change a long-overdue stand against public religious intolerance in collegiate athletics. Clearing Tabletop Clutter and Building Fitness Habits Cook closes with practical household decluttering strategies, advising listeners to restrict hallway tables and piano tops to three to five framed family photographs rather than crowding dozens together. Digitizing older pictures through smartphone cameras preserves sentimental memories while preventing visual clutter from overwhelming living spaces. He also suggests establishing rhythmic habits, such as removing a single unneeded product each time one enters a bathroom, to eliminate mess without dedicating entire weekends to cleaning. Connecting physical tidiness to health, Cook discusses how Karina recently lost nearly fifty pounds through consistent treadmill workouts, reminding him of his own 2018 marathon training and a past trip to Bern, Switzerland, where moderate portion sizes prevailed. Urging listeners to break major fitness goals into manageable weekly targets, Cook looks ahead to the annual Holy War rivalry football game between Utah and BYU before finishing his second 7-Eleven hot dog and concluding the broadcast.

October 17, 2026Episode 4559 min

Episode 45: “A Broadcast from Bed!”

Send us Fan Mail 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 8, 2026Episode 4459 min

Season 2, Episode 44: “Live with the Cast Iron Tub!”

Send us Fan Mail 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 17, 2026Episode 431 hr 1 min

Season 2, Episode 43: “Not THAT John Daly!”

Send us Fan Mail 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 27, 2026Episode 421 hr 2 min

Season 2, Episode 42: “8 States in 36 Hours!”

Send us Fan Mail From Scrap Metal to Cross-Country Flights: Turning Junk Into Opportunity and Taking Action 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.

July 2, 2026Episode 411 hr 0 min

Season 2, Episode 41: Happy 4th of July!

Send us Fan Mail 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.

May 14, 2026Episode 401 hr 1 min

Season 2, Episode 40: Celebrate Your Birthday! 🎂

Send us Fan Mail Join me as I broadcast from the Wendy’s parking lot and tell you about my joyous birthday celebration last week in Europe! I turned 68 and this will be a birthday. I will always remember! Listen to my adventures in England, the Netherlands, and Germany! Hear me talk about my new friend Andre in the Netherlands and my new friend in the temple presidency of the Hague Netherlands Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Kindness works around the world in any language! Also, be grateful for technology, recognize it’s a small world 🌎, and take advantage of the opportunities that come to you! I hope you enjoy this 68th birthday podcast as much as I did creating the stories behind it!

April 30, 20261 hr 0 min

Season 2, Episode 39: If You Fall Down, Get Back Up!

Send us Fan Mail Lessons from the Field, Trust and Community In this episode, Alan J. Cook, founder of 1-800-JUNK REFUND, discusses the expansion of his "next generation" junk removal business, which focuses on returning value to customers. He shares remarkable stories from the field—including a "fake bed" discovery and a high-stakes fall—while reflecting on the importance of trust, community service, and his upcoming 68th birthday promotion. Business Expansion and Strategic Logistics The 1-800-JUNK REFUND network has grown to 63 affiliates nationwide, with the most recent addition being "All Out Junk Removal" in West Palm Beach, Florida. Alan highlights a unique operational model that keeps costs low: by utilizing the Frontier "Go Wild Pass" for $30 flights and leveraging Wyndham Diamond status for free hotel stays, the team can handle large-scale cleanouts across the country without charging customers for travel expenses. They typically rent Enterprise trucks locally to execute these jobs efficiently. Field Discoveries and Safety Lessons A recent job for realtor Karen Rawlings revealed the creative lengths of home stagers: a "full-sized bed" was discovered to be nothing more than a dozen Home Depot boxes covered in quilts. While the job was a success, it led to a dangerous incident where Alan fell 4-5 feet off the back of a stake body truck after grabbing a loose gate panel. Despite a scraped elbow and a strained ankle, he used the experience to emphasize the importance of using hydraulic lifts and ensuring equipment is properly secured. The Resale Success: The Persian Rug Story One of the show's core philosophies is that "not all junk is junk." Alan recounts selling an 11x14 handwoven Persian rug for an 80-year-old couple moving to San Diego. Originally priced at over 3,200, the rug was sold on Facebook Marketplace for 500 to a buyer named Lane in West Virginia. The transaction was a "triple win": the original owners received a 35% cut ($175), the buyer secured a beautiful birthday gift for his wife, and the item was saved from a landfill. Trust and Community Service Alan reflects on the friction of modern transactions, noting a decline in inherent trust during a furniture delivery to a skeptical buyer. He contrasts this with his personal commitment to community service, such as delivering large quantities of food to church members in need. He concludes that focusing on gratitude and helping others is the ultimate way to "get the junk out of your life." This episode serves as a testament to the "Junk Refund" philosophy: business is not just about moving objects, but about managing relationships, maintaining integrity, and finding value where others see waste. Despite physical setbacks and the complexities of the second-hand market, Alan J. Cook remains focused on growth and community impact as he approaches his 68th year.

April 30, 2026Episode 381 hr 0 min

Season 2, Episode 38: The Persian Rug Story

April 23, 2026Episode 4058 min

Season 2, Episode 40: “90% Junk Removal, 10% Psychologist”

Send us Fan Mail The Psychology of Decluttering Alan Cook describes his role as "90% junk removal and 10% psychologist." He highlights the "Might Trap," where homeowners hold onto items because they "might" need them someday. He argues that if an item has no immediate use, it likely never will, citing examples of people hoarding spare siding, tiles, or scrap wood that eventually goes forgotten or becomes obsolete. The recommendation is to only keep items if you know exactly what project they are for and when you will use them. Treasure Hunting and Scrap Metal The show recounts several "treasure hunt" successes, such as finding $1,800 in cash hidden in books and shoes and discovering gold coins in a Wisconsin storage unit that sold for $650. Beyond collectibles, the business leverages the scrap metal market. By running 5 Craigslist ads for free metal pick up the company generated significant revenue from materials like copper (valued at $4/lb.) and aluminum.