We never know what we will come across when taking content inventories of outside buildings.
We are not averse to getting our hands dirty when it comes to helping a client sort through sheds, garages and out-buildings, in fact some of the things we’ve found over the years have been very interesting indeed.
Regardless of the job, there are certain things we do before we start the process:
Take photographs. Not only is it a great reminder of what it looked like before we started, it’s also a good reference tool.
Create 3 separate areas. These are labelled:
- GOES – These are items you are planning on giving / gifting.
- SOLD – Items that have monetary value
- DISPOSE – This is the stuff destined for the rubbish.
And then we get stuck in.
As the piles get bigger so do the number of photographs we take, but every decision regarding every item is left to the client. What we might think is just a broken piece of junk, may hold a significant memory for the client. But in most of these cases we know which pile they’re going onto.
Of course, we’ve had our share of interesting finds too.
One our senior move clients had a myriad of wildlife enjoying the dark and dusty confines of the shed. A snake, bobtail lizard and a variety of spiders had made their home inside the building – which made sorting through the client’s belongings to conduct an inventory interesting to say the least. It was a good job Elle wasn’t on that particular job!
While doing a property inspection for another client, the many outbuildings held a world of bugs and rodents. We’re not sure who squeaked the loudest – Deb or the mice she found scurrying around. Given the rodents residence it was suggested that the client put down traps to combat the problem. In this case the contents of the shed were being left for the tenant’s use, so it was even more important to complete the property condition report.
So how do we cope when we are faced with these kinds of “problems”?
Safety is paramount. While we don’t expect to find anything “nasty” we always wear steel toe capped boots, long pants, gloves, hats and safety glasses. Of course it doesn’t stop the odd heart stopping moment, but we’re also trained in first aid just in case and have mobile phones with us at all times.
With the long weekend coming up – and winter upon us, perhaps now is a good time to get stuck into your outside decluttering projects. Or you can watch some of us run screaming from the wildlife while you sit back and laugh.
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