Progress in the Process

I took Monday off, for myself like I said I would, but it was spent on the couch in and out of naps and a migraine. Old-School Law & Order got me through it, and the excitement for going back home again in the morning. So today, we got in at around 10am again, but I wasn't sure what I'd actually do. My parents were in fact gone for the day, so that took some pressure off. But once we got in the building, I was disappointed to see that nothing had really changed. Sure, there wasn't a lot of new stuff around, but there were some things on her front desk, that was supposed to remain absolutely clear. The stack of boxes to be donated were still in the foyer also. Under my mother's desks, were the boxes of tupperware and kitchen goods that she fought to keep. Those, and a few things that needed to go in her van were still there today, five days later, even though I tried to encourage her deal with them immediately.

The good news is, I made progress in the back room. Real progress, and you can see the floor, lots of it.

BEFORE :: The view into the backroom from the offices

AFTER

BEFORE :: The accordion door/wall, exercise equipment, clothes

AFTER

BEFORE :: More equipment, dresser, old retail merchandise, boxes of stuff

AFTER

AFTER :: Still large piles of old merchandise and stuff mom needs to go through

BEFORE :: Bedroom headboard, boxes of stuff, shelving with great aunt's stuff

AFTER

AFTER :: More of great aunt's stuff on shelves, we hung a table full of clothes on an unopened clothing rack

I am really proud of the progress I made, and when I think about the big picture, it's not a lot, but it's visible and necessary, and this one room took two days, of about 4 hours each day, one day with my mother (which slowed things down, but hopefully helped her), and one day alone. The biggest help, was when my boyfriend found an unopened box that contained a rolling wardrobe rack. He put it together, and we started hanging anything up that we could. I ran out of hangers early on, so we ran to the dollar store and I finished up with everything I thought the rack could hold weight-wise.

I really took care not to throw a lot out, just the absolute trash, and debris the I swept up every so often. I even left the garbage bags by her desk so she could see exactly what I thought was worth throwing away. There were...some unpleasant findings, however.  More tupperware. I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have named this blog something clever like "Tupper-Every-Where." (The boyfriend made some weak joke about being "Glad" when it's all gone...*eye roll*) So, in addition to all the unending mountains and bags and boxes of unopened or unused tupperware, is the gross. The ick.

There were so many things that were covered in mold. Mugs, cups, bowls, silverware, and yes, tupperware. A pumpkin plate with four round things, was wrapped up in two layers of plastic shopping bags, in a box. A lot of things that haven't been dealt are stored in this manner. It's like, as soon as there is a layer of plastic around it, it's gone from memory and lost. So back to the pumpkin plate with forbidden fruit, and moldy dinnerware. I had three boxes full of this stuff, and by this point (the end of the day), I had had enough. These things found their temporary home on my mother's front desk. The front desk that I told her to keep clean, if nothing else. We hope that this makes a statement to my mother, that this is not okay. It's not healthy on any level to have moldy dishes hidden away, let alone spoiled food.

I'm a little nervous about what my mom might say about what she see's at the shop, because of what she said about her refrigerator the other day. I have to draw the line somewhere, and the minute she tells me to stop everything, and not come back, that's exactly what I'll do. As long as she allows me to help, I will do my best.