DIY demo, professional clean-up in Hope Island

I'm in Hope Island, and I'll be honest: I put this off for far too long. We did the demolition on our kitchen ourselves to save a bit of money. Taking it all apart was surprisingly fun. Getting rid of it was not.

Broken tiles, an old cast iron bath, a vanity, a toilet, plasterboard, and a mountain of empty adhesive buckets and packaging.

Hope Island is gated golf and canal estates with strict presentation standards, and getting things out isn't always simple. Gate passes and estate speed limits are arranged before arrival.

When I rang, the person who answered asked a few simple questions about what it was, where it was and how to get to it, and said they could come and look that afternoon.

The crew pulled up, had a look, and told me the price straight away. No surprises, no 'we'll see how it goes'. I said yes and they got started within five minutes.

The splashback glass was what worried me most. The crew wrapped it in an old blanket and carried it flat between two of them. Nobody got cut, and they didn't break it until it was safely on the truck.

What I appreciated most was that nothing was rushed and nothing was a hassle. They explained where everything was going: charity, recycling or the tip. I felt good about it.

It's a small thing, but having someone else carry it all out made a much bigger difference than I expected.