As the demolition of the old house was approaching, I began to feel really guilty about sending so much stuff to the landfill. But what to do with it? We contemplated a yard sale/craigslist sale, but the hassle factor seemed just too much to handle. There are services that you can pay to come and dismantle and recycle a house, but my investigation of those outfits made me suspicious that they are a rip-off. And then. . .

I stumbled across Habitat for Humanity’s web site, and discovered that they do demolition and dismantling FOR FREE. As long as you have a certain amount of stuff that they can re-sell in their ReStore or re-use in a Habitat project, they will send out a crew to take apart your stuff, load it on their truck, and take it away. I get a tax deduction for the contribution of the stuff they took, I save money on demolition costs, and I support a good cause. Everyone wins!

The crew came out earlier this week, and they could not have been nicer. And they were amazingly efficient – it’s unbelievable how much they accomplished in a morning. Here are some shots of the team and their handiwork:

Salvaging an old wall AC/heater unit —

The ReStore truck —

Getting ready to pull out some re-usable vinyl windows —

Not much to look at anymore —

Next step – taking the rest of that old house down!

Tearing stuff apart is kinda fun! This weekend we managed to take down all of the old fence that was still left standing. And we dismantled all of the planter boxes, and all of the irrigation lines. And took down the string lights. (Don’t worry, mom, I packed them up nicely in their original boxes, and they will be re-installed in the new house! Maybe you’ll have to come out and help with that.) And we packed up all the random stuff that had accumulated at the house – dishes, glassware, cleaning supplies, towels, swimsuits, tools, candles, flower vases. . . All of it’s tucked away for safekeeping. Along with the silly (rusty) bell at the front door, which Lev insisted we take down and save.

Here’s an action shot of me taking apart a planter box. The awesome debris box is in the background! That thing will hold a whole lotta sh*t.

Hallelujah – although there are trace levels of asbestos in the old cottage walls, the readings are so low that no abatement is required. Let the demolition begin! (Respirators required, though.)

Yeah, nothing but crickets here for a while, I know. Sorry. But after a few fits and starts, we may be ready to roll soon. Construction financing is secured, loan is closed, money is in the bank and soon will be available to spend.

Signed all the loan paperwork this week. The “realness” of it was pretty scary. But now it’s time to get excited! Let’s get this house built!