Roll Off

We ordered another roll off dumpster today and it's here! We've already got some things in it!! This is the third one in as many years and it's so cathartic to "hoe out" our stuff! We're also sadly getting rid of a lot of Jon's things and he had tons of things!!

Here's a pic of the first time we got a dumpster! Huge thing but we filled it full!!



We are throwing out old clothes, old bedding (including beds!), old toys, old clothes, pool cues, pool racks, cue stands (we haven't had a pool table for ages!) two or three old desks and so many other things.

One of the main reasons for the dumpster is because our basement got water in it this past summer when our sump pump failed during an awful storm. The problem was that one of our downspouts had blown off, it was one that channels water into the yard and NOT around the house. All that water pouring off the roof ran right down beside the foundation of the house. All that ground water came in the sump hole and the pump just got all messed up. So water then proceeded to do what water does best...sought it's own level, not a problem usually but when it's where it's NOT supposed to be it's a mess! It ruined a lot of boxes of things we had stored down there! Luckily most of our stuff was in plastic totes. Well, once we get all this nasty old ruined stuff out, we'll be sure EVERYTHING in the basement, that's stored down there, will be in totes!

We're going to throw out all the ruined carpet, a whole huge room of it, and totally renovate the basement. I want to make another bedroom down there and re-finish the living area.

We re-finished the bedroom, that's already there, last spring and it was looking really good until that damned storm and the water! Andy and I were able to get it back to good tho...just a bit of the new paint needs to be touched up on the lower parts of the walls. Andy is a whiz with a carpet cleaning machine and got all the water up in the bedroom and with loads of time spent sucking up water and airing out the basement, the carpet is good again.

Our new bedroom, pre-flood...



Refinishing the basement will be Andy's winter project. He's going to try to paint the old paneling and if that doesn't work, he'll replace it with something else, he'll paint the poured brick walls, replace the old ceiling tiles and we'll get all new carpet and furniture. I plan to make the space into a bedroom and a small living room with an exercise area for my weight bench and my other apparatus. I've got more exercise equipment than any 10 people...I have no idea why, I guess it's part of my quest to lose weight...but no one ever bothered to tell me that YOU HAVE TO USE IT TO LOSE WEIGHT! Actually, I used to use the weight bench, the stepper, the exercise bike and the NordicTrac a lot! Maybe if I have a whole new space to workout in, I'll do it more. I want a TV, stereo and phone down there and that will help my resolve! And before I can do any "heavy breathing" (from exercising!) in that basement, I have to get it all cleaned, cleared and fresh!! I can't DO mold. My allergies and asthma would be kicking my butt! As it is, just spending a couple hours down there cleaning so far today has me wheezing and huffing like a freight train!! But I'm so pumped about getting all this done and a brand new bedroom and living area, I'm going to work thru the pain and get it done! I'll just double up on my allergy meds if necessary.

I'm so excited to have this project and Andy is too! We have been wanting to do this for quite a while now. It's bitter-sweet tho...Jon used to stay in the bedroom downstairs. I'm sorry we couldn't have it done for him.