Who Knew I Could Be So Trashy?!

I've spent the last several days working on the rental house we no longer live in. Because we moved so quickly, it's a mess there. I've had to bring loads of stuff home every time I go there - odds and ends that didn't get packed up properly, yard or garden stuff, and trash.

I've always marveled at how people moving throw away so much stuff; they fill their trash cans to overflowing. I won't do that when I move, I'd think to myself every time I saw this happen. I'm organized and keep on top of getting rid of trash and donating things we don't want anymore.

Well, guess what. Last week, our trash can was filled to the brim. I do have to share the blame here, though, as quite a lot of it came from the garage, my sweetie's domain. Despite weeks of pestering to make sure it was cleaned out, all trash was gone, and anything we wouldn't need had been donated, he opted to discard a lot of little odds and ends that nobody would accept as donations.

My computer hutch also bit the dust. After many moves, it began to fall apart when my sweetie started dismantling it for this move. We opted to get rid of it as particle board (or was it MDF?) is simply not worth repairing once it starts to go. He salvaged all the the drawer hardware and then put as much of it in the can as would fit. Rather than overload the trash can this week, I loaded the bigger pieces in the vehicle for a run to the transfer station. We also discarded a really ratty armchair that no-one would want. I started to take it apart to salvage the wood but stopped when I saw it was infested with mealworms... Ick!

Despite the dump run, I still managed to fill our trash can again today. Contents include:

• much dirt and dog fur from vacuuming the filthy house. (Can't compost it as the compost has already moved to the new place.)
• dirt, leaves, and miscellaneous debris swept up from garage.
• raked eucalyptus and olive leaves from the yard. (Bad for compost and mulch. The oak leaves and old mulch from garden beds were all raked under the citrus trees for mulch.)
• pruned branches from citrus, Banksia rose, and mesquite.
• rotted wood planters.
• dry-rotted plastic pipe and twine used for trellis supports in garden.
• plastic zip ties cut from shade cloth and bird netting used to screen in patio container garden.
• Styrofoam lunch container. (Why does the vegan restaurant do their take-out in styro?)

Unfortunately, I have not raked the front yard yet, which has quite a lot of eucalyptus leaves from the neighbor's tree. Maybe they will let me put them in their garbage can. I still need to do some weeding in the front yard and weed-eat in the back yard. However, those won't be going into a trash can. The gal in the neighborhood with chickens said her hens would be happy to have another infusion of greens from my yard.

We're almost out of the rental house. A little more cleaning, the yard work, some minor repairs, and loading up the rest of our stuff (cleaning supplies, vacuum, and a little bit of yard/garage stuff) and we'll be all done. The final steps are getting the carpet professionally cleaned and turning in the keys.

It will be a huge relief when that's done because all these trips into town to deal with that house are keeping me from dealing with MY house and also burning a lot of gas. By Earth Day, I will be starting my new routine of driving into "the city" only once a week to do my CSA work, any other errands necessary, and visit friends. Other than that, I plan to stay home, unpack, and get settled into my new life. Hopefully, this will include being considerably less trashy!