So, when we left off, we were staring at this:
For now, my plan is to remove the cabinet and the card table and set up some shelves. Since I can't really build anything right now, they're going to have to be those black resin shelves. She has a few of these units throughout. Here's one on the porch--wouldn't you know it? It's already holding some tools.
This porch needs to be torn down and replaced--another reason to get the tools into the house!
I've also bought some plastic bins and I'm going to try and use them to wrangle some organization out of the mess that way. The goal is to make the tools accessible--easy to find--easy to put back.
But first, I needed to get that cabinet down and see what's going on with the window back there.
What a chore! It took me probably twenty minutes to find a screw driver. Then, I had to spend another ten looking for a work light so I could even identify the screw head! I will be so happy once this is done!
Anyway I got it emptied and down. Then I brushed the walls with a corn broom. Her old dryer used to sit here and the area was just caked with lint.
That's a seriously boosted photo, folks. No way is that area that well lit. It might be when we're done, though.
My Mother had an addition built onto the side of her house about twenty-five years ago. (It's the area with the little shed roof to the right of the front door in the photo above.) That addition totally blocked this window--it no longer had any access to the outside. However, she had used it for two things:
1) Her outside tap ran through the opening, and
2) Her dryer vent also ran through it.
The animals who worked on her house decided to run the heating duct through the opening. And I suppose that would have been OK--except they never sealed it back up.
Never. sealed. it.
In a climate where it can go forty degrees below zero. In a climate where it is below freezing five months of the year.
So, I have to seal it up. Obviously. But it isn't all that obvious exactly how I am going to manage it.
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2 comments :
Oh dear! Not sealed up? One has to wonder about the quality of work that is often foisted on the unsuspecting consumer. Having grown up in Winterpeg, I'm quite aware of the heat loss that is/was a-happening!
No worries now! Alana is right on it! 😆 You have more energy than I can muster up these days. My biggest complaint is we hired a big name roofing company to come in to re-roof the house, redo the insulation in the attic, knock down the top portion of our brick chimney (new direct vent furnace) to disallow squirrels coming in, and...to build a roof/porch cover for our front steps. While doing the chimney teardown they smashed a hole in the wall/ceiling inside our guest bedroom's closet. Also, we told them to remove the wrought iron railing from the steps (so they could build new ones to match/properly line up with the new porch columns and porch roof. 8 weeks later, we still have no railing. I've been on crutches since my durgery on Nov. 24th and the rails came down 2 days later. I would love to know when I will be able to exit the house without fear of falling down the stairs! Today I actually had my husband take me to school (no driving with the cast) so I could help my replacement write report cards and as we were putting our coats to leave, I saw the roofing company's truck slow down in front of our house and thought, "yeah, today's the day I get my railing!" The truck pulled on by but I thought it was because there is no street parking at that time (school zone) and our driveway was still full with 2 cars. I thought they were turning around to come back!
You can imagine my thoughts when I arrived home and nothing has changed! No railing yet! The teacher who drove me home pulled in the driveway, looked at me and asked, "How in the world do you get up your steps? There's no railing!" ðŸ˜
Unless there is a woman supervising a male worker, I don't think a job ever gets done correctly. I guess dealing with paid workmen (I'm using the word 'work' very loosely) is one of the reasons my husband has always done these jobs on his own before.
Good luck to you with the tool organization. I avoid working in the basement whenever I can. If you get real motivated I can give you my address. There are some areas waiting for 'assistance' in our basement.
Jan
Oh, Jan, you made me laugh! I do hope you get that railing fixed soon! And I'd love to come and work in your basement. It can't be worse than mom's!
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