it's here it's here!

Our dumpster is here!!


So when you go to rent a dumpster, first you have to figure out how much trash you're going to have. Dumpsters are sized by the cubic yard -- ours is the biggest the company offered, at 30 cubic yards (the 'Biggie Benjer'). They recommend, however, that you think of it in terms of pickup trucks full -- the 30 cubic foot dumpster holds about seven pickup trucks worth of trash. If you're throwing away certain materials -- sand, concrete, other heavy things -- you're only allowed to fill the dumpster half full. If you're just throwing away regular junk like we are, you can fill it up. There is a set amount -- I think ours is five tons -- that if you go over, they start charging you overage charges. But it's not all that complicated when you get down to it. Here's a pretty informative FAQ from the company we used.

The dumpster arrived on a big truck, and to set it down they had to first tilt it up into the air so it could slide off the truck. This presented a little problem, because there's an electrical wire at ceiling level right over where we wanted them to put it -- the squirrels use it like a highway, somewhat unnerving when you're standing at the window it's next to. Fortunately, with a little maneuvering, the delivery driver was able to get it very close to where we wanted it to be.

Next step is getting the materials to build a temporary chute from the window to the dumpster, so we can just slide the stuff out as we pull it off the walls. That'll happen tonight; then tomorrow, Don's dad, Don's sister, and her boyfriend will be showing up at 8 AM (plus anyone else who chooses to come), and demolition will begin.

Unfortunately, you won't be getting a play-by-play description, as the office is one of the rooms we are tearing down -- which means no internet until at least Monday. Ugh!