Your trash is Garage Brothers' treasure

Trena Carpenter said her garage desperately needed cleaning. "I should have had signs for falling debris," she said.

Garage Brothers workers don't take cash for jobs, but they will take their customers' junk.

"We've found different companies that will purchase certain items from us. We sell on E-bay. We sell on Craigslist," said owner Kraig Bantle.

The Garner-based company he founded two years ago has been so successful that he is able to make a full-time living from it, Bantle said. The business also offers moving and trash-removal services.

"Because of the way the economy is now, a lot of people are looking for services that are inexpensive," Bantle said.

Workers first meet with potential customers for an assessment and to determine what household items are off limits. Once their cleaned-out loot is loaded, the Garage Brothers take it to their warehouse.

There, buyers can find "anything you could imagine," Bantle said – books, bikes, furniture, even big-screen TVs.

What the company can't sell, it recycles.

"One of our main priorities is to keep as much out of the landfills as possible," Bantle said. "So we found recycling centers for just about anything you could imagine."

Carpenter had nothing but rave reviews for the workers who cleaned out her garage for free.

"It was a good deal. ... It's the kind of thing you jump on before it's too late," she said.