Day Four felt like one of our most productive days yet. One of the biggest blessings of this project has been meeting and talking with so many neighbors. People walking, driving their golf carts, or simply passing by have been stopping to chat. It's been really fun to put names to all the faces we've seen in passing for the last seven years. It’s also exciting to feed off the enthusiasm of others who are thrilled to see something happening to this house after it sat stagnant for a while.
Brian held down the fort while I had two morning appointments that kept me away from the house. By 2 pm, with the help of a neighbor and a friend, Brian had the house about 98% empty. And yes, you guessed it, the second dumpster is now full to the top, with a new one scheduled to be delivered on Monday.
I returned around noon and helped sort through the last boxes from the attic and garage. I'm happy to report we saved every family photo we found and also a plethora of relics collected from China during a chapter of military service. I also salvaged two paintings that, after a quick Google search, revealed they were worth some money. It’s important to Brian and me to return those to their rightful owners.
All that remains in the house from the previous owners are miscellaneous kitchen items that need to be donated or thrown away, a few random garage items, and some books that I need to look through. Brian was determined to remove the original 1960s carpet, carpet pads, and some underlayment for the sake of our lungs. All of that is gone, except for one more room since we ran out of space in the dumpster.
One surprising item found in the garage was a grenade. Yes, a grenade with the pin still in it, which scared us. But thankfully, we saw it had a hole blown out the bottom, and a brave neighbor confirmed it was empty.
The pool is looking better, but still needs some work and now we are ready to start demo!
Stay tuned for more updates!