I don't read the posts "above" as negative. However, I've been naive in the past - I don't think that's the case, this time. I think a lot of people got invested in actually helping him in the past and he's not ready to accept it.
I hope this thread is locked because it'll become a magnet for drama... if it hasn't already.
Bill, I know you didn't answer my question in the past, so I'll ask once again: What's the reluctance to going all in and get a 20 yard dumpster and really clean up?
I have answered it before. The cost is a lot. And it wouldn't make for faster progress.
Until today, I had all the trash can capacity I needed. 12 or 14 of the 95 gallon Courville containers per week. More than I could fill alone.
Now, with Julie helping we could fill them, and did.
Let me help you understand. The following is a short list of some of the things we have to deal with and what will be done with them.
Household things:
This is all the things we purged from the house to make it liveable. They were under tarps in the back yard. All this needed to be gone through. It couldn't be thrown out wholesale because there were some things Julie and even I wanted to keep. Much of it was ruined by rainstorms. Easy for us both to part with. Of the rest, Julie, especially, needed to look at each item.
So over the weekend, I toted boxes out from the yard to the sidewalk where we set up a triage and she did her thing. This is how we filled the dumpsters. Everything ruined went right in, and everything else got decided on by her. Now, we still have a bunch of boxes. I have thrown away some things from this, reducing it further. Most of it, in her own words, is stuff she doesn't want to keep, but wants to sell rather than throw away.
To me, that means it has no value to us. The shortcut is to not wast time trying to sell or donate it. I will be throwing it away. We are pretty much at the end of this. Not much more of this in the yard, and wht there is, is ruined and will go. So no need for a big dumpster for this.
Lumber:
Ruined lumber is getting cut up and tossed. But not too much is ruined. And what I have, has a purpose. It will be the new shop. Have it designed and planned. It needs to be properly stored in the existing sheds.
A stack of vinyl siding also needs to go with it.
Tools:
There are some wood and metal working tools stored under tarps in the yard. These were bought for a purpose and are not going to be disposed of, with a couple of exceptions. They DO need to be put in the big shed. That is one of the tasks ahead of us.
The OSB ad drywall I had stored under tarps in the yard were all ruined. I have disposed of them all.
There is a stack of bundles of shingles for reroofing the main house. They need to go up on the roof.
There is a stack of brick that was to be used to line the front walk and driveway. It's time to do that. It's 1/3 complete and will be finished this weekend.
There is a few tons of limestone that was for lining the flowerbeds. This too, needs to be done, and will be this week.
A bunch of fluorescent fixtures. Will scrap or use on the garage and big shed.
There is 20 or so bins of clothing that was purged from the house. Since I will have room in the yard by tomorrow evening, when the brick is removed, there will be space for Julie to go through all of them. I suspect they will all be too old or out of style or wrong size and will go. Nothing we need a big dumpster for, but along with som of the other ods and ends, may require a trip to the DPW yard with the HF trailer.
Yard equipment:
Mowers, edgers etc. One of the sheds we are cleaning out will get this.
That's a rough outline.
This will leave us with a back yard clear of piles, with everything stored inside.
Should even be room for the utility trailer and pop up camper!
It is a throw out the ruined stuff and organize and put away the rest where it belongs project.
So your answer is that I don't have enough to fill a dumpster, nor could I fill it fast enough to make it worthwhile, even if it was free. If EVERYTHING was trash, it would be a good option. And if the trailer proves inadequate, and I can afford it, it will be an option I will take seriously..
