Packing it up
Aug. 9th, 2020 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elizillaI haven't posted much lately because I have been incredibly busy. My parents have moved to their new house by the lake, and we have been clearing their old house. Soooooo much stuff to go through. We have taken away many truckloads to either throw away or donate, and barely started. Also there are mice, so we focused first on removing ALL food, and putting down traps.
My mom is very upset by the whole thing. She can't remember they moved, so whenever they come back, she thinks we are trashing the place. Then when we re-explain the move, she either argues, or wades in to help. Her "help" is not helpful; she just throws things into boxes and leaves havoc in her wake. The new place is smaller and we don't want to fill it with junk, so we need to sort it a lot better than she is capable of doing. She will pack the packing tape, her medication, and old potatoes, all buried in trash. I have to unpack those boxes and re-sort. I'm paranoid that she'll pack the mousetraps. I encourage my dad to just leave it to us and keep my mom at the lake but he thinks they must help, so they keep coming back.
I can't move boxes. I have hired a local teenage girl to be my hands and feet and sort through objects under my supervision. This is working out very well but I can't have her there when my mom is present; it is too confusing and upsetting for mom, and I want to shield the kid from possible verbal abuse. So whenever my parents descend on us I sweep the kid away.
I have a landscaper coming out later this week to cut back the jungle, and a handyman lined up to help do the repairs once we have cleared more stuff and I get a list organized. We'd like to sell the place by the end of the summer. Probably just do "For Sale By Owner". Steve and I have both done it successfully in the past and know how. But before we can consider listing it, we need to finish clearing it out.
My mom is very upset by the whole thing. She can't remember they moved, so whenever they come back, she thinks we are trashing the place. Then when we re-explain the move, she either argues, or wades in to help. Her "help" is not helpful; she just throws things into boxes and leaves havoc in her wake. The new place is smaller and we don't want to fill it with junk, so we need to sort it a lot better than she is capable of doing. She will pack the packing tape, her medication, and old potatoes, all buried in trash. I have to unpack those boxes and re-sort. I'm paranoid that she'll pack the mousetraps. I encourage my dad to just leave it to us and keep my mom at the lake but he thinks they must help, so they keep coming back.
I can't move boxes. I have hired a local teenage girl to be my hands and feet and sort through objects under my supervision. This is working out very well but I can't have her there when my mom is present; it is too confusing and upsetting for mom, and I want to shield the kid from possible verbal abuse. So whenever my parents descend on us I sweep the kid away.
I have a landscaper coming out later this week to cut back the jungle, and a handyman lined up to help do the repairs once we have cleared more stuff and I get a list organized. We'd like to sell the place by the end of the summer. Probably just do "For Sale By Owner". Steve and I have both done it successfully in the past and know how. But before we can consider listing it, we need to finish clearing it out.
