Where do we start?! That is what we asked ourselves when we showed up at Das's childhood home. Many years ago his mother started taking trips to India and would stay for 5 or 6 months. In the meantime, no one was around to care for the home. And after Pete (my father in law) passed away two years ago, the situation became even worse.
The home was Das's grandparents and was left to Pete. Then Pete left it to his children. No one had the time or motivation to clear it out. This past year they have been trying to sell it, with no luck. Das had a realtor walk through it a few weeks ago, and said it would be better if the place was cleaned up.
And when we say clean.....It means gloves and masks required. The past couple of years the house has been used as a party place for some kids, and a home for some pests.(not the kids) Pipes have bursts, and dogs that lived there were not let out to do their business. The home basically had been abandoned.
Pictures are graphic. Be prepared....
My father owns Weidner and Associates. They sell and manufacture safety/fire/mining equipment. He gave us these masks to use. They were put to good use. They protect against mold and the hauntavirus.
Das had a guy give him a bid on how much he would charge to clean the place out. This guy has dealt with many foreclosures and is experienced in messes like this. He told Das to have the place cleared of the items that the family wanted to keep and they would throw out the rest. They will be coming in and putting everything else in the trash and cleaning the mice/dog poop and mold. As well as yard clean up. Ratha took it upon himself to cut down some all the trees. Don't ask us why. We are all still a little stunned. I am sure the neighbors are thrilled that action is being taken. Many of them drove by giving us the thumbs up. I wanted to give them the finger. lol It would have been nice to have some neighborly help. I am sure our neighbors here in South Jordan would be out in a heart beat. And people love Holladay....Why?
This damage is from a leak in the roof.
Keli and Randy came. Randy helped Ratha clean up the trees and Keli got the stuff out of her bedroom.
The basement was as bad as the upstairs. The boys had many parties with friends who didn't respect the place. Very talented kids.....but obviously not much discipline. The walls in the basement are covered with their taggings. Maybe I can hire them to come paint some cool things in our boys, "Big Boy Room."
Randy couldn't stay long, but his help was greatly appreciated. Although he felt he should be helping inside instead of clearing the trees and shrubs. Thanks Randy for supporting your girlfriend!
Just as we were finishing up, my girlfriend Amy stopped by with her adorable daughter Adyson. It definitely made my day better. It was definitely neat to be a part of this though. We have several videos of Das growing up in this house. And at one point, it was a beautiful home. It's been a long time coming and we are glad its finally getting taken care of. And I am pleased to say....we are proud owners of a piano. And we are excited that Das came across many photo albums of the family as children. This clean up is a good thing! Thanks everyone for working hard. I am sure in the end it will all be worth it.
