Matt Achilles’ cleanout business, I Noah Guy LLC, rolls three of his foremost passions into one.
He gets to collect oddities and antiques found on the job, help others by giving away the more practical items and tell dad jokes.
In fact, the company name is rooted in his passion for puns, passed down from his grandfather.
“We went with ‘Noah’ just because … we like to be punny,” said Achilles, 32. “You get the one catchy phrase and everyone remembers it.”
For eight years, Achilles has run the business out of his home in Buffalo Township. His wife, Cassie, 34, used to help, but these days it’s mostly him and a few part-time workers. Their 4-year-old son, Lucas, helps out when he can, too.
Achilles usually is hired to assist with bank repossessions, foreclosures or moves to smaller homes. Demand for his services has grown from seasonal in the warmer months to year-round.
He acknowledged these can be tough times in people’s lives, but he uses them as a chance to help others in the community.
Plus, he’s not quite sure what he’d do with all the stuff.
“We get so much of it, and I don’t want to keep it because I’d be on the show ‘Hoarders,’ ” he said.
Motorists passing his sprawling property on Bear Creek Road can expect a row of furniture, tools, decorations and more along the curb, free for anyone to take. They might also get a look at various street signs and license plates adorning the place as well as the rusted 1960s Jeep he has turned into a fountain.
Sometimes, he’ll make note of someone’s specific needs and set aside an item for them on his porch. Those range from a pile of towels destined for TinyCause Dog Rescue in Vandergrift to entire furniture sets for people who have lost their homes in a fire or fled domestic abuse.
“I really love the amount of people he’s been able to help,” Cassie Achilles said.
She joked that “if you say it three times,” her husband can make it appear.
Toni and Dennis Besh of South Buffalo stopped recently to pick up a desk, chair, stool and end table.
“It’s really sweet that he does this,” Toni Besh said.
She offered Matt Achilles money, but he declined.
Most of what he takes from properties could fetch a small price. A select few items, such as a lawnmower parked by the fence surrounding his backyard, are posted for sale, but that’s an exception.
“Money isn’t everything in life,” he said. “Could I sell everything? Probably.”
He traces his generous spirit back to his upbringing.
“It’s a soft spot in my heart to help other people,” he said. “My mom raised three kids growing up and it was no picnic, but I always remember those people that helped us out.”
The past two years, the Achilles family has donated Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to those in need. The first time, they purchased everything themselves, but last holiday season, community members contributed with dishes of their own. That created some leftovers, which were donated to St. Mary Mother of God Church in Freeport.
He also is quite liberal in lending his sense of humor.
When a snowstorm hit Western Pennsylvania in 2022, he suited up and got to plowing snow — in a blow-up dinosaur costume.
“If you can’t laugh in life, you can’t have fun,” he said.
