The Bagster Bag Blogger Challenge – Updating The Back Hall And Cleaning The Yard With A #BagsterBag – With $100 Amex GC Giveaway

At the end of December you may have seen my post announcing that I was taking The Bagster Bag Blogger Challenge. After Hurricane Sandy hit at the end of October we were left with some work to do around the house, both outside and in. The storm blew off some roof shingles, and it also blew tree branches and debris all around the yard. The yard needed some attention, both cleaning up storm damage and just doing some other clean up n general. Hurricane Sandy didn’t damage the inside of the house per se, but eleven days of power helped us realize we had a couple of things that really needed some fixing and some work. One of those things was the back hallway.

Right now, since Hurricane Sandy, lots of people like us are doing DIY home improvement projects. For some it’s because there was no insurance, or insurance didn’t pay anything or enough. For others it’s just because it’s the right time. You see, our town has been working hard to clean up since Sandy, even now – three months later. Dump trucks and trailers are still picking up garbage, debris and all sorts of other things on a daily basis. Bulk pickups for large items are still happening daily. But that’s about to end. I found out today that this weekend is the last day that township residents can put large items, along with storm and construction debris out by the curb. Starting next week we’re back to our every other week bulk pickup, which has to be scheduled. As far as trash pickup, it’s been the usual for a while – one robocan for trash pickup once a week. Obviously you can’t put bulk items in the robocan, they won’t fit. But there are other rules for the robocan too. No tree branches and limbs. No construction debris. No super heavy items. And some other rules that aren’t coming to mind right now. So basically, to do a DIY home project around here, unless you have a truck and trailer of your own, you need a dumpster. The Bagster Bag has changed that.

Waste Management designed The Bagster Bag specifically for DIY home improvement projects. The Bagster bag is a single-use woven bag that can hold up to 3,300 pounds of debris. The Bagster Bag can accommodate large items, construction materials, trash, debris and many other things.  It’ll even hold a bath tub! In other words, it’s a portable dumpster. Unlike a dumpster, The Bagster Bag doesn’t require delivery. It can be purchased any time at more than 2,200 home improvement and hardware stores nationwide such as The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware and True Value.

Once you’ve bought The Bagster Bag, which retails for $29.95, you are free to use the bag for as long as you need. When you’re setting up the empty Bagster Bag be sure to set it up in a location where it will be able to be picked up by the truck. Then, fill er up.

Hubby set up The Bagster Bag on the front lawn, near the street. he put it in a place that the Waste management truck would easily be able to access. Then he opened it up and got to work. The first thing he did, with my older son’s help, was tear up the old floor in the back hallway. the tiles back there were as old as the house – over 40 years old. Over time some of the tiles had cracked and broken and easy to trip over, something that happened more than once during our eleven days without power following Hurricane Sandy. The tile had worn away so much in front of my son’s bedroom door that it was uneven, which is where we had the problem of tripping.

First we had to empty the hallway. Not only does the back hallway contain my son’s “wardrobe”, but it also contained a fair amount of stuff (and some junk) that had stored there over the years. It all ended up in the dining room. I couldn’t even see the table for a while!

Once the floor was bare it was time to lay down the new floor.

Finally the flooring in front of my son’s door was whole and nice once again.

Once the flooring in the back hall was finished, hubby headed outside with my son. I stayed in to start going through everything that had taken over my living room. Before I knew it, hubby announced that he was finished. Or, more precisely, that The Bagster Bag was full. I went out to take a look. He’d put all sorts of stuff in there including flooring, branches, tree limbs, a broken bike, shingles, wood, fencing that had gotten damaged and much, much more.

When you are finished or almost finished with your project with it you can schedule pickup of The Bagster Bag online at www.thebagster.com or by calling 1-877-789-2247. Waste Management will collect the bag within three business days after that. There is a fee for collection of The Bagster Bag, it ranges from $79 to $249 per bag, depending on your area. That’s between 50-70% less then the price of a dumpster. Detailed pricing is available online and by phone. I did price by phone, but then I called as I had a few questions about the pickup. When I called, I wanted to find out if we could request a particular day for pickup, or if at least we could know what day the pickup would be. The reason for this is simple. We don’t have a lot of room for parking at our house. Generally there is a vehicle parked in front of where The Bagster Bag was located on my lawn. I wanted to be sure that someone would be home to move the vehicle when the truck came. This point turned out to be the one aspect of using The Bagster Bag that I didn’t like. Pickup will be made within 1-3 days of when you request it, but they cannot tell you when. I tried explaining to the rep why I needed to know, and he said the best they could do is call me one hour before the pickup. I agreed to that. Then it was time to make the payment. The Bagster Bag pickup for our one bag was just under $170. I started to give the rep my debit card number and he told me they couldn’t take a debit card. I explained that it was a logo’d card like a real credit card and asked him to try it anyway. It worked with no problem. I received a call on the second day letting me know that the truck was on the way to pick up The Bagster Bag and would arrive within twenty minutes. I was so relieved that we were home, as I didn’t want them to come to pick up and not be able to as there’s a charge if that happens.

So the truck arrived and lined itself up with The Bagster Bag on the lawn.

The man got out to set things up for the pickup. he attached some straps and things and made sure everything was secure. And away it went! The man controlled the robotic arm on the truck with a remote control.

While he moved the Bagster Bag we chatted. He said we could have fit even more into our Bagster Bag. He said that a lot of people build a sort of frame inside it, to keep the walls up as high as they go. I learned that one of the trucks he was driving can hold up to ten Bagster Bags.

Once The Bagster Bag was loaded into the truck, he pulled the protective tarp over, which is there so debris doesn’t fly out onto cars behind it as it goes down the road.

That was it. Aside from the dry spot on the ground where The Bagster bag had been you never would have known it was there. Well, except for the fact that my yard has less junk and debris in it now.

For more information and to see a demonstration of a Bagster bag in action, visit www.thebagster.com.

MORE INFO

The Bagster Bag on Facebook
The Bagster Bag on Twitter

WIN IT!

Compliments of Waste Management, I am running a giveaway. ONE winner will receive a $100 AmEx gift card.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave a comment on this post telling me what type of DIY home improvement project you could use a Bagster Bag for.

BONUS ENTRIES – LOTS OF THEM!

4 – Subscribe to my RSS feed by email (sidebar). Be sure to confirm your subscription. Leave four comments here for this.
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2 – Follow @valmg on Twitter AND leave your Twitter name here.  Leave two comments for this.
2 – Follow @BagsterBag on Twitter AND leave your Twitter name here. Leave two comments for this.
2 – Tweet this giveaway. “I entered to #win an @BagsterBag #giveaway from @valmg. Enter at valmg.com”
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1 – Leave a RELEVANT comment on any other non-giveaway post on this blog. Unlimited entries for this.
2 – Visit my other blog – From Val’s Kitchen – and leave a comment on any non-giveaway post there. Then return here and leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you read or learned there. (That’s three comments you need to leave for this bonus entry, one there and two here.) Unlimited entries for this method of entry.
1 – Visit my Mom’s blog HereAndThere.US and leave a comment on any post there. Then return here and leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you read or learned on my Mom’s blog. (That’s two comments you need to leave for this bonus entry, one there and one here.) Unlimited entries for this method of entry. Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please, no PO Boxes. This contest will end on Saturday 02/02/13 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

Waste Management partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. As part of this program, I received compensation to cover the cost of the Bagster bag and pick-up as well as my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. Waste Management believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Waste Management’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. A winner will be chosen by random and voucher fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.