Stage 2 – Clean Up The Interior… I think I’d rather EXIT Stage Right, lol
Boy oh boy! I thought cleaning out the front yard and backyard was a big challenge. Little did I realize how much worse this would be!
Cleaning out the interior would prove to be exhausting!
Grimy, Dirty, Sweaty, Smelly, Toxic
HAZMAT SUIT worthy!
You get the picture!
And so it began
AVEL Rolloff Bins showed up early one day to drop off the first of the 40 yard bins.
Notice the lovely ocean beckoning me from up on the Widows Walk Balcony…
…Or what’s left of the balcony…cringe!
I dream of the day I can sip a cold drink from up there. GOALS!
It Took 2 – 40 yard Dumpsters to get most everything out of the house
Yes, 2 – 40 yard dumpters…
Those are the big ones
They were stuffed with incredibly nasty things.
The front yard was still full of debris after cleaning out the garage.
Which was another mess!
Home Depot Helpers to the rescue!
This is not for the faint of heart
For those wondering, I invited many of my neighbors to come into the home and take whatever furniture and possessions they wanted with the exception of a few antiques and items I actually wanted to keep.
This is a GREAT way to meet your neighbors and get on their good side, lol.
Let’s start upstairs.
Believe it or not..this IS after the cleanup just before the filthy carpets were removed.
This is Bedroom 1 Upstairs
The rooms are SURPRISINGLY Large! Those are KING sized beds in the rooms. This is my favorite bedroom.
You can see the trophy and award certificate on the top left shelf the owners from the 80’s left to this previous owner.
Yes, in the 80’s this home won an award for contributing to the beautification of San Pedro!
This is also where the photo books from the 80’s were, thank GOD.
I only kept that stuff and the rocking chair which is currently been moved to the front porch
Getting the furniture out and downstairs was EXHAUSTING.
He has A LOT of Large, Heavy Stuff!
The property came with ALL of the furniture and possessions inside and outside the home.
I had just finished cleaning out my mom’s estate the end of the previous year. It was challenging because my dear, sweet mom couldn’t part with any type of paperwork. As she got older she had this need to have 5 or 10 of everything. Not sure why but it happened gradually.
I was exhausted getting everything out of her home. It did NOT prepare me for what was to come with THIS HOUSE!
You can’t tell in the photos, but EVERYTHING is covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. The carpets are filthy and smell of dog & cat urine and cat feces are EVERYWHERE!
Even though it is gross right now,
I love the way the light filters into this room
and the ocean breeze is wonderful as is the view of the Cabrillo Way Marina.
And the room is quite large!
Cleaned out but still a mess!
All of the floors upstairs are painted a blue grey color. It wasn’t even a good paint job! Someone even painted right over the old burlap carpet backing that was stuck to the floors. So strange, who would do such a thing?
Below is a sun room that was being used as a rental.
It has an exterior entrance.
The room was filled with junk!
There are oddly LOW ceilings. I will have to see about opening up the ceiling.
There is an access door
I can see the roof line pitches up, so hopefully, I can vault it or raise it up.
This is the 3rd upstairs bedroom. A bit smaller than the others.
It was being used as an office, super filthy.
I Spy With My Little EYE….An incredible Barley Twist Table…
That’s a keeper!
Ugh, where’s the wood floors?
Is that cardboard? Seriously?
The vintage floral linoleum is charming
You don’t see that so much, anymore.
2nd Bedroom upstairs. The worst one of all.
Feral cats were living and defecating in this room.
Broken glass in window. (See that traingular shape? Glass is missing)
Very SCARY large hole in wall where fireplace chimney was leaking from the roof.
Thankfully someone fixed that part of the roof but didn’t bother fixing the hole.
And YES, the owner WAS sleeping in this room. Ugh!
    
That dog cage is incredibly HUGE! I could fit in it, lol.
The saving Grace? Another bedroom with a nice view of the marina
This is the ONLY “finished” bathroom
It also has those oddly low ceilings that I hope to vault.
I love the tub.
NOT the pink color.
I was squeamish removing the shower curtain. It was pretty bad.
Yes, that is champagne…CHAMPAGNE!
Several bottles!
In the bathroom…Imagine THAT!
The owner was quite a ladies man…seriously, I’m not joking
The thought of having champagne…
In THAT BATH TUB!
In THAT FILTH!
Makes my SKIN CRAWL
It’s been scrubbed as clean as I can get it for now.
Yes, that is plywood on the floor.
Don’t be fooled by the photos.
While the house is cleared out, it is hardly clean.
The kitchen is so scary. The photos don’t show the thick cobwebs clinging to everything.
It amazes me that someone was cooking and eating food from this kitchen.
It is incredibly dirty and a total gut job. The cabinets are not original to the home.
The fireplace back in the kitchen will be challenging to work with.
Let’s think about the REFRIGERATOR!!!! To my horror, it was filled with food…and frozen meats…and GOD knows WHAT!
4 years it sat WITHOUT power…ROTTING, DECAYING FLESH & FOOD.
It is the stuff NIGHTMARES are made of!
My helper Rony had STRICT instructions NOT to open it UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! We duct taped it shut!
The previous owner liked to entertain & cook. Lot’s of old food to get rid of in the cabinets…UGH!
Cool old stove
But boy is it FILTHY
The OOZY gunk on the floor where the refrigerator used to be?
Lord have mercy, it smells as bad as it looks. Rotting flesh dripping out of the refrigerator for over 3 years, GROSS!
Have you recovered from that nastiness in the kitchen?
Downstairs Bedroom 4
Was being used as a pantry and “junk” room. Yes, there are mouse and rat traps there. UGH!
It’s a bit better
Everything is so dirty
Once again, those are pet stains on the carpets, not shadows.
All the carpets were saturated with these stains. Yuck
You gotta love how he kept cleanser and poisons mixed in with his food.
This is a small room. Not originally a bedroom. I believe the interior part was framed into a bedroom in the 50’s.
I think it will become the new downstairs bathroom and possibly part of it, a pantry
This is the front parlor.
I plan to spend most of my time in this room.
The cat & dogs seemed quite fond of this room. The carpets were dreadful.
The front window sash has been clawed to death by huge canine beasts.
And he had WHITE sofas! My oh my!
Better already, but a long way to go, for sure!
This is the dining room with an incredibly beautiful bay window.
That is not shadows on the carpet, that is filth!
And pet urine
And cat poop, lots of cat poop.
That is 1 of 2 matching antique pieces I kept, but I do not think they will work in the home if anyone wants to buy them?
In all fairness, this room never really got cleaned out.
My birds moved in right away as well as some of my antiques from my other house
And a few that I kept from this house!
It will be such a beautiful dining room when it is finished.
It is a large, bright, spacious room.
This is the Library
As it has been referred to.
Apparently it was used as a make shift bar…
And Gym/Workout area…
Because we ALL deserve a good stiff drink after a killer workout, right?
In all fairness, he actually was an avid reader and seemed like a very interesting person.
He loved animals and books.
I love animals and books, but NOT filth!
That black panel on the wall is supposed to be some sort of fake breaker box he used as a safe?
Yes, there is one very small fireplace that has been updated in a very BAD way!
It’s an old coal burner, not big enough to burn wood
But scarily, someone was burning wood and paper in it while it sat vacant.
Once again, lots of pet urine & feces. Fun stuff!
Upstairs Landing
I really love the way the light filters in.
The french door leads out to what used to be the Widows Walk
The view is very nice.
This shot shows the smaller of the 3 bedrooms to the left.
Bathroom and sunroom (they call it a rental room)
Lastly, I share with those of you who are still riveted to your seats reading this post…(Thank you!)
The unfinished downstairs bathroom & laundry?
It was a perfectly GOOD bathroom
With a CLAWFOOT TUB
Alas, That has GONE MISSING!
No permits
It will all be ripped out.
In this photo, He was in the process of plumbing a new laundry.
And there goes the last of 2 bins filled.
Well folks, that’s it for now!
I suppose the fun really begins.
Check out ALL of the PHOTOS OF THE INTERIOR AFTER IT WAS CLEANED OUT
Thanks for stopping by!
