You know how it goes: you move into a four-bedroom farmhouse with an immense barn and a seven-bay vehicle shed, and after a few years, all of it is bulging with stuff. Where did it all come from? What’s it doing here? And why can’t I find anything anymore?
So for the first time ever, I’ve rented a huge commercial dumpster (30 cubic yards). It showed up in late afternoon, so I didn’t put much into it today — a couple of broken-down wheelbarrows, the kids’ childhood little red wagon, sadly and irreparably rusted, a tractor gas tank with a hole in it, several decrepit office chairs and other defunct furniture. Soon the balance will shift as more farm stuff gets put in — rusted-out feeders and the like.
In case you’re wondering, it’s going to cost me roughly $300 to have the dumpster delivered empty and then taken away full, more or less depending on how long I keep it, since there’s a $16 daily rental fee on top of everything else. I’m sure I can fill it, so the issue is, “How fast can I fill it?” If I can fill it fast, I save on rent.
The driver who delivered it, interestingly enough, used to live here on Norton Creek Road when he was in high school. I keep running into people like that. Seems a little strange, since there really aren’t many houses here, but it seems as if everyone lived here once upon a time!
A lot of our clutter is recyclable. I’m pretty sure that Allied Waste will separate out all the iron and steel with an electromagnet, so I may not go to the trouble of recycling it myself — not if the price of scrap metal is as low as I think it is. It’s a long drive to the scrap metal dealer, and I don’t see the point of burning lots of gas to recycle scrap metal unless it’s a money-maker! I can recycle cardboard and such locally. Other stuff can go to Goodwill and other local nonprofits.
The dumpster has metal doors at one end, so you can carry stuff inside — you don’t have to heave it over the top the way you do on a smaller dumpster. It’s ideal for the kind of large objects that you’d never fit into a regular trash can — things like mattresses, water heaters, or twisted metal roofing from chicken houses that did a tumbleweed imitation during a storm.
And I’ve already found some missing treasures!
I Publish Books! Norton Creek Press
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Allied Waste doesn’t pull the metal and prices of scrap steel are surprisingly high. Not quite as high as when China was building for the Olympics but getting pretty close.
One day earlier this summer I realized I have way to much STUFF!! I recycle or donate most of it so very little ends up in the landfill. How much stuff does one person need? My motivation comes from the fact that my dad died in April and my mom moved to assisted living. I will not leave my mess for my kids to deal with. Slowly, but surely I am getting the job done- it gets easier as I go along.