So here is the story of a weird little guerilla decluttering project I've got going on. The small house across the street from us was owned by Mr. & Mrs. O. Mr. O died about 20 years ago, leaving Mrs. O alone in the house. Several years ago, she apparently developed dementia, and her sister-in-law moved in to help take care of her. Eventually Mrs. O went into a nursing home and then passed away maybe 3 -4 years ago. SIL has occupied the house since then, and made some updates, replacing the front door and a few windows. She seemed like a sweet woman and the neighbors all pitched in with lawn mowing, leaf cleanup and snow shoveling. About 6 - 8 months ago, SIL vacated the premises. We were told by a neighbor that SIL had dementia and had gone into a nursing home. SIL had a grandson who came by to help her occasionally, but he lives a couple of hours away. Neighbor apparently talked to him when he came to pick up SIL's possessions, and neighbor's impression was that he would not be back again because house is still in Mr. O's name and grandson has no ownership or expectation of ownership of the house. We are guessing that the house might be vacant for quite some time.
Anyway, SIL had done some decluttering a few years ago, and just piled crap in the driveway (apparently Mrs. O was quite a packrat). It's part of the view out my kitchen window. It doesn't make me crazy or anything, but it's not a pretty scene and I would prefer that the pile of crap wasn't there. I told my intentions to the abutting neighbors, and they had no objections, so DH and I are starting to tackle the pile of crap. Last week, DH put out a barrel of rotting garbage that was in the driveway. This week I filled 3 bags with small crap and 1 large item with a green $2.00 sticker, which is required in our town for disposal of larger items. The plan is to chip away until it's gone. I figure I can bankroll this project.
I'll admit that I do have a tiny bit of trepidation, because I have no authority whatsoever to do this, but it's really crappy crap, so I feel like the risk is low enough that anyone will ever care. There was a particleboard desk that DH touched and it collapsed into several pieces, because it's been sitting in the rain and snow for several years. There were lots of old plastic plant pots filled with water, so it was also mosquito hatchery. As a retired person who is reasonably able-bodied, I figure this is my little beautification project on behalf of my neighborhood.
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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry
