The junkmen cometh
Jul. 22nd, 2011 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithThe junkmen loadeth. The junkmen taketh away. All hail the junkmen.
It's all gone, the two metal desks and the dead treadmill and other exercise equipment. Old office chairs and remains of that odd basement storage table. The old humidifier. And the boards.
I think I mentioned before that my dad was a packrat. In addition to the old desks that he brute-forced into the basement, he collected wood scraps. These scraps--old 2x4s, 2x2s 1x3s, take your bloody pick, he stashed atop the exposed roof supports--joists, whatever the hell--in the garage. I'm not sure how much of a problem they posed, or whether their weight would have adversely impacted the integrity of the structure at some point. They were up there a long time and if something bad were to happen, I would think it would have happened by now. But they attracted wasps and blocked the air flow to the roof vents and crowded the area around the door opener. I need to have a new opener installed, probably in the fall, and I wanted the space around the old unit to be free and clear and easy to access.
So last night, in the heat and humidity, I hauled down as much wood as I could, swearing and grappling as dirt tumbled onto my head and down the back of my shirt and old wasp nests fell to the floor and crumbled and the sweat flowed. Along with the boards, Dad had stashed a couple of cardboard "wardrobe" boxes that he found who-knows-where. Some old venting. I levered it all down and piled it in the driveway. I had been contemplating this chore for years and couldn't work up the nerve to try--I thought the wood would prove too heavy and that I would need to enlist the help of friends and oh hell, what a nasty chore to drag them into on a hot, muggy day. But then I got started and I plugged away and in a couple of hours I was done. Funny how sometimes the tasks you worry over the most turn out to not be all that bad. I mean, never before did a shower feel so good, but still. I did it.
So the two major junk collections have been taken care of. I still have boxes of family stuff to go through, photos and papers and whatnot. Then there's my gear, books and old manuscripts, golf clubs and house repair stuff. There are still a few boards in the upper reaches of the garage, in an area I couldn't reach because I would have had to move shelves and equipment and lacked the time/energy. But what remains is manageable. It's getting there. I didn't expect to have to do this now, but now that it's done I feel pretty good.
Sitting outside. It's humid, but not as hot. 80s. T-storms passed through during the night, lasting well into the morning. Nearby totals equaled a couple of inches or better, and while we did need the rain, it fell so fast that storm drains clogged. On the way to work this morning, a Hummer or tricked-out Jeep veered in front of me to avoid some standing water, and sprayed me with so much water that I couldn't see where I was going. Think water from a firehose hitting your windshield. I had to stop and wait until the SOB cleared the flooding. Luckily, the car behind me saw what was going on and stopped too. When the water cleared, I saw I almost veered into oncoming traffic.
I hope that jerk had a lousy day.
Anyway. I'm still alive and it is Friday and I've gotten rid of a lot of junk. I dedicated the clean-up to my mom. It was four years yesterday that she passed. The day was hot and sunny, but not near as humid.
It's all gone, the two metal desks and the dead treadmill and other exercise equipment. Old office chairs and remains of that odd basement storage table. The old humidifier. And the boards.
I think I mentioned before that my dad was a packrat. In addition to the old desks that he brute-forced into the basement, he collected wood scraps. These scraps--old 2x4s, 2x2s 1x3s, take your bloody pick, he stashed atop the exposed roof supports--joists, whatever the hell--in the garage. I'm not sure how much of a problem they posed, or whether their weight would have adversely impacted the integrity of the structure at some point. They were up there a long time and if something bad were to happen, I would think it would have happened by now. But they attracted wasps and blocked the air flow to the roof vents and crowded the area around the door opener. I need to have a new opener installed, probably in the fall, and I wanted the space around the old unit to be free and clear and easy to access.
So last night, in the heat and humidity, I hauled down as much wood as I could, swearing and grappling as dirt tumbled onto my head and down the back of my shirt and old wasp nests fell to the floor and crumbled and the sweat flowed. Along with the boards, Dad had stashed a couple of cardboard "wardrobe" boxes that he found who-knows-where. Some old venting. I levered it all down and piled it in the driveway. I had been contemplating this chore for years and couldn't work up the nerve to try--I thought the wood would prove too heavy and that I would need to enlist the help of friends and oh hell, what a nasty chore to drag them into on a hot, muggy day. But then I got started and I plugged away and in a couple of hours I was done. Funny how sometimes the tasks you worry over the most turn out to not be all that bad. I mean, never before did a shower feel so good, but still. I did it.
So the two major junk collections have been taken care of. I still have boxes of family stuff to go through, photos and papers and whatnot. Then there's my gear, books and old manuscripts, golf clubs and house repair stuff. There are still a few boards in the upper reaches of the garage, in an area I couldn't reach because I would have had to move shelves and equipment and lacked the time/energy. But what remains is manageable. It's getting there. I didn't expect to have to do this now, but now that it's done I feel pretty good.
Sitting outside. It's humid, but not as hot. 80s. T-storms passed through during the night, lasting well into the morning. Nearby totals equaled a couple of inches or better, and while we did need the rain, it fell so fast that storm drains clogged. On the way to work this morning, a Hummer or tricked-out Jeep veered in front of me to avoid some standing water, and sprayed me with so much water that I couldn't see where I was going. Think water from a firehose hitting your windshield. I had to stop and wait until the SOB cleared the flooding. Luckily, the car behind me saw what was going on and stopped too. When the water cleared, I saw I almost veered into oncoming traffic.
I hope that jerk had a lousy day.
Anyway. I'm still alive and it is Friday and I've gotten rid of a lot of junk. I dedicated the clean-up to my mom. It was four years yesterday that she passed. The day was hot and sunny, but not near as humid.
