One afternoon this week, and in a fit of idiocy, I started "moving a few things around" in the basement.
We had purged the "car parking" surrounds a few months ago and this "garden tools and long-things" area was always going to be next on the list.
Anyway, G soon came and joined in, and in the space of a couple of hours we had carried almost everything outside - including moving one of the cars, as one parking space was immediately needed as decanting space with temporary tables and piles of "stuff".
We completely filled the "pool-patio" area, the pool-side, the path outside the garage door - to such an extent I video´ it all as it really looked like we had emptied a tardis - it seemed impossible that it had all come from one small section of the basement.
G (naturally) started painting the walls as soon as I had moved all the wooden racks and dismantled them (ok, disconnected them from each other), also when I had removed all the stuff that was hanging on the walls (and everything that could be hung had been hung).
I had taken the "spare wood and long things" out a few weeks ago when I was looking for something, so that was fairly easy.
The overall plan was to get rid of anything we didn´t need , either to the bin or, if it was metalllic to the guy we know as "Metal Mickie" who has a shagged old car with a bedframe on the roof and who goes around collecting anything metallic he can sell.
Unfortunately for those who live near there, his "disassembly workshop" is a bit of land behind the old sales office for the Miramar apartments (halfway to the Niño) - actually right opposite the main bins (which is convenient for almost everyone except the neighbours really).
He is a real grafter and actually provides a service and even the local bin-men drop stuff off for him
Anyway, one one of the early trips to the bins (dropping some wooden wine boxes, guttering, drainpipe and formica panels which I wonder why I kept), I spoke to him and told him I had some stuff he could have. We swapped ´phone numbers and I went back to purging and him to hammering (note, when all you have is a hammer, funny how everything looks like a nail).
Yesterday (day two) we decided that the two(!) spare gas barbecues could go, along with the Syrian barbecue and spare barbecue grill plates and associated tools (but don´t worry, I kept the Syrian kebab skewers and the smoker / barbecue and the gas one on the kitchen patio).
I called Mickey him and he appeared within minutes. Somehow he managed to get the 3-burner barbecue into the back of the car, but unfortunately all the rocks and cat litter (don´t ask) fell out. He was most apologetic and, even before I got the brush and pan out, he had been on his hands and knees and had cleaned everything up.
Next he managed to get the 2-burner in to the car through the back doors, then and old and very heavy ladder onto the roof. Many other bits of odd metal disappeared into his car too, then he went off happy as a sand-boy.
Later we took some more stuff to the bins and I asked him whether he had any way of using or selling off odd bits we had destined for the rubbish, despite some being totally unused.
Turned out that he was happy with that stuff too as he had a mate somewhere who dealt in "any old stuff".
So, happy us with clean and tidy "garden" section of garage, happy planet as we managed to recycle most things (the wine boxes, drainpipes and formica had gone within hours) and happy recycler in the form of Metal Mickey (who I now know is named Salvadore - or Salvage-adore as he shall be renamed).
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