The Wood and Boxes are Out of the House

I’m not quite sure how you can have this much wood in the basement and claim to never have seen it but so it goes in a hoarder house. She told me it’s been in there for 36 years. Wow. It’s out now and unfortunately in my yard until I can find someone to take it.

Thankfully, I had help in the morning but I went back alone in the afternoon to take care of the cardboard boxes. There were around 50 in there that someone made her take probably 20 years ago. Yes, some of them were nice but they were starting to get that musty smell. I kept something like six of them for her. She was at my mom’s house and then she kind of yelled at my mom because I was getting rid of them. My mom was not happy about that at all. We’re trying to help her and she can’t even get rid of a few musty boxes.

The reason she is keeping the boxes is because if anyone she knows ever moves, she wants to be able to give them these boxes. I told her that there’s still hundreds of boxes in her house. She was relieved but once I have a little more room, those are going too. She’s very considerate but right now she needs to take care of herself and her situation, not worry about someone else moving some day.

After I got the rest of the boxes out of the area I was working in, I stopped for the day. I was there alone and it was terrifying. The only way out of the basement is up the stairs because you can’t get to any of the windows. Two words: FIRE HAZARD. The piles are stacked up to the top of my head and there’s not much light at all. It was so creepy!

Stopping was a good idea anyways because it took me an hour just to cut them up and get them in my truck. If she tries to complain to me about those boxes on Sunday, she just might get an earful. There’s no place there for musty boxes. I do have to admit though that it’s hard for me to cut some of them up. I’m really into vintage-y things and there are some incredibly vintage-y boxes. Some of them are pretty cool. But they have to go. This is an emergency situation and I can’t think about that right now. Plus, they’re musty!

The next day that we’re going over there is on Sunday. My mom keeps trying to plan way ahead but we need to take this one small area at a time. The furnace area has to be done first. I’m planning on doing that Sunday and then maybe Monday if needed. I told her to make the appointment for the new furnace during the week of September 14th. I figured it would help to have a deadline with an extra weekend in there just in case we don’t finish.