We are getting there. The furniture that's left will be going into consignment (although I don't expect much to happen there as it's "vintage"). We are taking a cedar chest for our bedroom, Rick's grandfather's rocking chair, and a very old gooseneck lamp. I'm hoping to find a neat lamp shade for the lamp, but I don't know. It's a floor model and it's really neat, but finding a shade could be tricky. I'll post a picture of it when we get it home. Our son is taking another cedar chest and Rick's mom's rocking chair....he really wanted that chair and I was glad he could take it.
The tvs will go into recycling. The weight bench and weights are going to the landfill as nobody wants them. And then, it's just a matter of finishing up the cleaning.
The realtor has decided that the carpet must go. There is hardwood in all the rooms, so it stands to reason. Rick and I have already agreed we are not doing that work, much to his sister's dismay, so they'll have to get a company to come in. Rick's done. Rick and I have been dealing with that house in our spare time since November and enough is enough. So, no, we are not tearing out carpet, and no, we are not refinishing floors, just in case his sister gets that idea into her head yet. HIs mom tried to talk to Rick about the floors a couple months ago and Rick told her that he and I simply were not dealing with it.
Yesterday, I was working in one of the bedrooms. I was trying to wash down walls and his sister would come in to "talk". About nothing really. She had come down to go through some final stuff, get it in boxes, etc. But she didn't want to do it without Rick, who was upstairs trying to clean. Since she had to wait for him, she would either come back and "talk" or she would sit in the living room and drink water or eat granola bars. She never offered to help me; she never offered to help Rick. She either got in my way or she would talk to me about stuff I had no interest in listening to. I've started to use my iPod when I'm up there, simply so I don't have to listen to the blather anymore....until she walked over one time and physically removed my ear buds because she wanted to talk to me.
I was up on a stool yesterday, washing the ceiling. When I got down off the ladder and turned around, I walked right into her. I went out to the kitchen to get clean water in my bucket. Turned around and walked into her. Went back into the room and started moving some things from the floor to another area so that I could wash the wall. And she started yelling at me, telling me that I couldn't move it, the stuff was there and all separated and Rick would get mad. I had already told Rick that I was going to move the stuff, so that I could wash and he had said it was fine, that was the stuff they were going to go through, so no biggie. But that was it. I turned around and walked out of the house. And I went for a walk. When I got back, I took the truck keys off Rick, told him to text me when his sister left, and I'd come back. And I walked out and came home. Rick thanked me for that because, after I left, then she went upstairs, sat on the floor up there watching Rick work and complained to him that I was mean to her.
Didn't offer to help, of course, just sat there complaining. At least if I'm there, she's hassling me, not him. She is useless, completely useless.
Rick and his sister did get some more things packed up, so she did do something yesterday. Rick said he made up his mind that she was actually going to work for a change, esp since I wasn't there. She didn't stay long once he put her to work....she said she had to go home. But it's really frustrating, trying to deal with her and try to clean at the same time. We've been trying to go to the house when we know she's not going to be there, simply because, between the two of us, we can really work and get stuff done. She's in the way more than anything and yesterday was pretty much the limit for me. I am not going to deal with her anymore. We're going back up to the house this morning after I'm done with laundry here, so that I can finish the walls in that room and get the vacuuming done in that room. That will be two rooms completely done. (Yeah, two rooms.....since November. Well, three, I guess, because the kitchen is cleaned now, too. And the basement is pretty well cleaned, other than the room with the weight bench and the weights.) I still have the bathroom, the dining room, and some of the upstairs.
You know, I'm not afraid of work. I'll work my butt off and I'll help anybody do anything that I can do. I'm not afraid of ladders and I'll wash down walls and ceilings and do whatever it takes. But that house is simply in a horrible state. It was filthy, just filthy. We didn't realize how bad it actually was until we started working. It wasn't just clutter; the house was filthy. It's a cinder block house with brick exterior and there is no insulation. So all the exterior walls are cracked. The carpet that's there is cheap indoor/outdoor carpet, nothing good, so I can understand the realtor's insistence that it be removed. The place seriously needs to be rewired....switches don't work properly anymore and lights flicker all over the place. The upstairs is just one big room with a small bathroom; that was Rick's room when he lived at home. Those walls also need to be washed because of condensation up there. At the bathroom window upstairs, the bat guano is so bad that I won't even think about touching it. Sorry, but I'm not going there. And that's just some of it. (When we were getting things ready for the public sale, I spent 3 hours cleaning her KA mixer because it was that filthy. 3 hours! And that is no exaggeration. I'm talking steel wool pads and Magic Erasers.) There was mice dirt in the kitchen. We were appalled. And Rick had (and still has) some serious problems with it. He's having a really hard time with things. We went through 60 pounds of cheap cat litter, just trying to fill old paint cans to dry out the paint......why somebody would even have that much old paint around is beyond us. Old tires, old dog collars, old dog beds, broken-down small appliances (who keeps 3 broken toaster ovens???), just tons and tons and tons of junk. Boxes and boxes of cleaning supplies, not used, and those I took home. They were just lazy and it was easier to throw stuff in the basement than throw stuff out. And we've been dealing with this. Since November. Rick is pretty much done.
I don't even think it can be considered hoarding. It's simply that they never cleaned and they never threw anything away. They lived in that house for almost 50 years and never threw anything away. Ever. Like I said, Rick is really having problems with the whole thing. He didn't realize things were that bad.
She had a cleaning lady come in, but what in the world that woman was doing is beyond us. She certainly wasn't cleaning anything. The cleanest that kitchen has ever been was after I went in, cleaned it all out, and then washed all the cabinets, the shelves, the walls, the appliances, all that good stuff. It took me two days to get it all cleaned...it was just filthy. Greasy filthy. When I started tearing the bathroom apart, that's when we found all the mold. You have no idea. And it's been Rick and me doing the work. His sister comes in, but she walks around a little bit, sits in the living room because she's "soooooo tired" and then gets in my way because she wants to talk to me. Talk to me about what? Well, usually, she's playing Little Miss Victim because her mother has picked on her all her life and she has problems. Or it's about her health issues. Or about their cats (they do have four adorable cats). Or about MY weight. Yes, MY weight. Considering she's heavier than I am, I think that takes balls. Yesterday, she was concerned because I seemed out of breath while I was washing down the walls and she thought maybe she should go home to get her nebulizer for me to use. I am serious. I have a cold, for crying out loud. And right before we went up to the house, I had been on the treadmill. But she was adamant that I needed a nebulizer treatment. That's the kind of stuff she talks about. It's all blather.
My parents' house? While it wasn't immaculate, it was clean. My parents always took a lot of pride in our house. My dad constantly updated whatever needed to be done. My mother wouldn't go to bed with a coffee cup in the sink. I went up there once a year, took their kitchen apart, and Mom and I cleaned. Washed down cabinets, new shelving paper. I helped Dad paint the rooms whenever they needed it. I offered to help Rick's mom in the same way. "No, no, I have it. We're fine." Well, no, you weren't fine.
So there you go. We are nearing the end....at least we think we are. Like I said, we both have refused to do any kind of floor work. At this point, the house should be sold as a fixer-upper and whatever his mother gets for the house, she gets. His mother isn't happy about it because she needs to money to live where she's living now. But we are done. It just needs to be done.
End of rant. Thank you for reading.
The tvs will go into recycling. The weight bench and weights are going to the landfill as nobody wants them. And then, it's just a matter of finishing up the cleaning.
The realtor has decided that the carpet must go. There is hardwood in all the rooms, so it stands to reason. Rick and I have already agreed we are not doing that work, much to his sister's dismay, so they'll have to get a company to come in. Rick's done. Rick and I have been dealing with that house in our spare time since November and enough is enough. So, no, we are not tearing out carpet, and no, we are not refinishing floors, just in case his sister gets that idea into her head yet. HIs mom tried to talk to Rick about the floors a couple months ago and Rick told her that he and I simply were not dealing with it.
Yesterday, I was working in one of the bedrooms. I was trying to wash down walls and his sister would come in to "talk". About nothing really. She had come down to go through some final stuff, get it in boxes, etc. But she didn't want to do it without Rick, who was upstairs trying to clean. Since she had to wait for him, she would either come back and "talk" or she would sit in the living room and drink water or eat granola bars. She never offered to help me; she never offered to help Rick. She either got in my way or she would talk to me about stuff I had no interest in listening to. I've started to use my iPod when I'm up there, simply so I don't have to listen to the blather anymore....until she walked over one time and physically removed my ear buds because she wanted to talk to me.
I was up on a stool yesterday, washing the ceiling. When I got down off the ladder and turned around, I walked right into her. I went out to the kitchen to get clean water in my bucket. Turned around and walked into her. Went back into the room and started moving some things from the floor to another area so that I could wash the wall. And she started yelling at me, telling me that I couldn't move it, the stuff was there and all separated and Rick would get mad. I had already told Rick that I was going to move the stuff, so that I could wash and he had said it was fine, that was the stuff they were going to go through, so no biggie. But that was it. I turned around and walked out of the house. And I went for a walk. When I got back, I took the truck keys off Rick, told him to text me when his sister left, and I'd come back. And I walked out and came home. Rick thanked me for that because, after I left, then she went upstairs, sat on the floor up there watching Rick work and complained to him that I was mean to her.
Rick and his sister did get some more things packed up, so she did do something yesterday. Rick said he made up his mind that she was actually going to work for a change, esp since I wasn't there. She didn't stay long once he put her to work....she said she had to go home. But it's really frustrating, trying to deal with her and try to clean at the same time. We've been trying to go to the house when we know she's not going to be there, simply because, between the two of us, we can really work and get stuff done. She's in the way more than anything and yesterday was pretty much the limit for me. I am not going to deal with her anymore. We're going back up to the house this morning after I'm done with laundry here, so that I can finish the walls in that room and get the vacuuming done in that room. That will be two rooms completely done. (Yeah, two rooms.....since November. Well, three, I guess, because the kitchen is cleaned now, too. And the basement is pretty well cleaned, other than the room with the weight bench and the weights.) I still have the bathroom, the dining room, and some of the upstairs.
You know, I'm not afraid of work. I'll work my butt off and I'll help anybody do anything that I can do. I'm not afraid of ladders and I'll wash down walls and ceilings and do whatever it takes. But that house is simply in a horrible state. It was filthy, just filthy. We didn't realize how bad it actually was until we started working. It wasn't just clutter; the house was filthy. It's a cinder block house with brick exterior and there is no insulation. So all the exterior walls are cracked. The carpet that's there is cheap indoor/outdoor carpet, nothing good, so I can understand the realtor's insistence that it be removed. The place seriously needs to be rewired....switches don't work properly anymore and lights flicker all over the place. The upstairs is just one big room with a small bathroom; that was Rick's room when he lived at home. Those walls also need to be washed because of condensation up there. At the bathroom window upstairs, the bat guano is so bad that I won't even think about touching it. Sorry, but I'm not going there. And that's just some of it. (When we were getting things ready for the public sale, I spent 3 hours cleaning her KA mixer because it was that filthy. 3 hours! And that is no exaggeration. I'm talking steel wool pads and Magic Erasers.) There was mice dirt in the kitchen. We were appalled. And Rick had (and still has) some serious problems with it. He's having a really hard time with things. We went through 60 pounds of cheap cat litter, just trying to fill old paint cans to dry out the paint......why somebody would even have that much old paint around is beyond us. Old tires, old dog collars, old dog beds, broken-down small appliances (who keeps 3 broken toaster ovens???), just tons and tons and tons of junk. Boxes and boxes of cleaning supplies, not used, and those I took home. They were just lazy and it was easier to throw stuff in the basement than throw stuff out. And we've been dealing with this. Since November. Rick is pretty much done.
I don't even think it can be considered hoarding. It's simply that they never cleaned and they never threw anything away. They lived in that house for almost 50 years and never threw anything away. Ever. Like I said, Rick is really having problems with the whole thing. He didn't realize things were that bad.
She had a cleaning lady come in, but what in the world that woman was doing is beyond us. She certainly wasn't cleaning anything. The cleanest that kitchen has ever been was after I went in, cleaned it all out, and then washed all the cabinets, the shelves, the walls, the appliances, all that good stuff. It took me two days to get it all cleaned...it was just filthy. Greasy filthy. When I started tearing the bathroom apart, that's when we found all the mold. You have no idea. And it's been Rick and me doing the work. His sister comes in, but she walks around a little bit, sits in the living room because she's "soooooo tired" and then gets in my way because she wants to talk to me. Talk to me about what? Well, usually, she's playing Little Miss Victim because her mother has picked on her all her life and she has problems. Or it's about her health issues. Or about their cats (they do have four adorable cats). Or about MY weight. Yes, MY weight. Considering she's heavier than I am, I think that takes balls. Yesterday, she was concerned because I seemed out of breath while I was washing down the walls and she thought maybe she should go home to get her nebulizer for me to use. I am serious. I have a cold, for crying out loud. And right before we went up to the house, I had been on the treadmill. But she was adamant that I needed a nebulizer treatment. That's the kind of stuff she talks about. It's all blather.
My parents' house? While it wasn't immaculate, it was clean. My parents always took a lot of pride in our house. My dad constantly updated whatever needed to be done. My mother wouldn't go to bed with a coffee cup in the sink. I went up there once a year, took their kitchen apart, and Mom and I cleaned. Washed down cabinets, new shelving paper. I helped Dad paint the rooms whenever they needed it. I offered to help Rick's mom in the same way. "No, no, I have it. We're fine." Well, no, you weren't fine.
So there you go. We are nearing the end....at least we think we are. Like I said, we both have refused to do any kind of floor work. At this point, the house should be sold as a fixer-upper and whatever his mother gets for the house, she gets. His mother isn't happy about it because she needs to money to live where she's living now. But we are done. It just needs to be done.
End of rant. Thank you for reading.
That sounds absolutely draining - not just the physical work, but also your s-i-l's annoying behavior. 
