By the end of Tuesday I’d finished everything except the trailer’s back yard, because these were generally very lazy people and messing up 40 whole acres is hard work so they mostly concentrated on dumping shit in their own yard – setting it on fire, maybe pouring some dirt or used cat litter on top, breaking a beer bottle or 12, blasting it with a 20-gauge for laughs, then dumping more shit. In their way, these were moderately busy people.
Yesterday and today I spent seven hours on the yard, about a third of the total labor time. I was especially impressed by the tangle of old chicken and stock fencing in one large burn pile, that alone took at least an hour to sort out enough that I could drag it to the dumpster. A UV-degraded plastic garbage can filled with heavy car suspension parts came as an entertaining surprise but it didn’t get the win; I could just shortcut by dumping the can and falling back quickly till I learned what-all was living in there, then piling the heavy stuff into the trailer. But when I hit that half-buried, half-melted, really tangled fencing, I did have a few moments’ doubt that I would finish today. So that one gets the win. Good thing I keep fence pliers in the Jeep.
But I finished anyway, because damn how I wanted to be finished.
Now I’m trying to remember invoice formats – normally people just give me cash – and I need to have it ready to meet the owners tomorrow morning. Gad, I hate filling out forms, even forms I made up myself.
Hopefully I’m done, but even if they find something more they want me to do I’m pretty confident it won’t be much. They went over the work I’d done up to yesterday and declared it good.
And I hauled home three solid trailer-loads of scrap wood and pallets, which I didn’t originally expect. Along with some other pallets people wanted me to haul off for them, next winter’s firewood is collected and ready to cut. In your face, Martha Stewart.
I politely declined a job offer for cleaning out the inside of the trailer. No way I’m spending days inside that cat-piss-smelling thing.
I’m genuinely interested in knowing how one goes about politely decking the cleanup of a cat piss smelling trailer- you must be much more adroit with language than me…
Glad you got it done.
I’ve declined jobs… If you want to leave the door open for future offers, you say something like: “I’m so sorry, but I have a prior commitment that will keep me busy for (whatever time period you think wise), but I’m always glad to consider assisting you in the future.
Or, “No way!”
There just doesn’t seem to be much in between those. 🙂 Unless you are a lot smoother than I am.
“that cat-piss-smelling thing.”
Yes! That would be the main reason why we didn’t replace our last aim-challenged cat when she finally ascended to kitty heaven. Yuck!
No, it’s a house-cleaning job, so I had a perfect out. It really is a job for which I have zero talent or patience.
I just said, truthfully, “I’ve never had anybody hire me to do that, who ended up happy.”
“I’ve never had anybody hire me to do that, who ended up happy.”
LOL!!! Great line! I have to remember that next time I don’t want to offend someone offering me a job. 🙂
In contrast to your wisdom, I spent the day cleaning out my uncle’s cat-ma-hal. Apparently his own family was too smart to be available, and the job fell to me.
Six to twelve inches of cat-piss soaked and cat-turd laden sand, shoveled out of an area where the ceiling is to low for me to stand, then several tonnes of clean river sand shoveled in and spread evenly.
Next time, I’ll use SCUBA tanks and a bio-hazard suit. Oh, and about 10,000 milligrams of ibuprofen.
So is there actually going to be any salvageable trailer under all the mess to make it worthwhile. I have some idea of how trailers are made and how they age. Rip out all the carpet and you get to find out the weaknesses of the floor – and there likely will be some. How the owner handles this sets the tone for the next tenant. My money is on ‘do it on the cheap’.
You made a good choice, Joel – and a great reply – btw. That business has tarball written all over it 9 ways from Sunday!
An interesting one to toss out sometimes with clients: “How much money are you prepared to throw at this?” Not every situation calls for this – but it does cut right to the chase. Better have some numbers and scenarios ready if you throw that out – of course.