I’ve been in a decluttering frenzy. Somehow I’ve made it out of whatever funk was keeping me from living life beyond the bare necessities (probably that stupid Christmas thing I go through the last quarter of every year), and I now find myself with tons of energy and a huge desire to improve my space. That’s what prompted the last post, this “what do I do with this crap” quandary.
I pared down and organized the contents of my kitchen first, and then I actually took the stuff to the Salvation Army. Once I broke the ice, it became easy to let things go. I tackled the books, donating a large box to the library (all mine and the kids’—can’t get the hubs to sort his books), then the kids’ clothes and toys, including the ones in the shed.
And wow. The shed. My “shed” is huge, mmkay? People mistake it for a two-story house. It actually looks bigger from the outside, but still. That’s a lot of space to hold everything we decided we don’t need but don’t know what to do with. The guy that lived here before was a hoarder, and we inherited (long story) the shed portion of the hoard. O. M. G. It was packed. I tried to clean it a little at a time because I didn’t have a pickup or money, but finally gave up. I never did get all his stuff out. Especially irksome is an inline V-6 motor that’s immovable and constantly in the way. I’ve tried selling it on Craigslist and giving it away on Freecycle, and nobody wants this stupid thing.
But I digress.
Point is, I’ve been sorting stuff in there, too, and it feels good. A big problem in the shed is storage. There’s a ton of floor space but very little shelving, so everything ends up piled here and there. I’m dying to do a whole renovation to the place, maybe make a little apartment out there with a bathroom and everything.
First I have to rid myself of all those things.
But you have a pickup truck now, right? So in theory, you could haul it away (provided you could find someone to get INTO the truck if you needed help, and provided you can find a scrap yard or something to take it) now?
ReplyDeleteIf the "shed" is structurally sound and can be plumbed and insulated, that would make a bomb-diggety(sp?) writing escape, n'est-il pas? I mean, heating it would get tricky, but a simple wall A/C would suffice to cool it I'd think. A decent desk (easier said than done IMO), port your laptop to and fro, and keep out Possum Durden, and you've got yourself an enviable code.
While we're dreaming, maybe you could insulate it and put up dry wall someday too. You know, after you win the lottery and everything.
Seriously though, if you can get it in usable condition, and it sounds like you're close, what a great get-away spot to do your writing. Or crafting. Or thinking.
Awesome. (Possum.)
Transporting the motor is the problem. Not enough manpower to lift it, unless I get all my neighbors together, and then they're going to want refreshments, etc. It's probably worth something, if I can find the right person. I thought about disassembling it as far as I could and then if it's light enough I could take it to the metal recycling place and make a few bucks. Hate to destroy it, though.
ReplyDeleteThe shed, remember, is where I had my office before. I walled off a portion of the upper level and put that little a/c in the window, space heater in the winter...worked pretty well. I haven't written up there in a couple of years, though. After the kids all went to school for the day, it seemed pointless. It needs new wiring, stronger floor joists in the upper level, total insulation, just all kinds of stuff to make it dwellable. I've been dreaming of it, though.
Funny you remembered the Possum Durden. That was a keeper.
'Tis the season! I think getting organized is like #2 on everyone's NY's resolutions lists, right after "losing weight." :)
ReplyDeleteA blog I follow is actually starting a 3 wk thing on decluttering on Mon, if you're interested. http://glynniswhitwer.com/2011/12/announcing-a-january-clutter-free-challenge/ She might have some tips or something you can use.
As for the engine - what about high schools? I would think teen boys in machine shop would swoon over an engine, or perhaps finding a mechanic and donating it? At the very least, you might be able to find a boneyard that would haul it away for you. There's an auto-wrecker here that does that so maybe there's one down there too.
Good luck with it all! It's a great feeling clearing stuff away. :)
Good idea about donating the engine to a school. We have a vo-tech that might be able to use it in their mechanics classes. I'll check into that. Thanks for all the good ideas!
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