Forty years of 'that might come in handy' in Surfers Paradise
Rebecca Ryan · Shed Cleanout · Surfers Paradise
The story
Living in Surfers Paradise, you get used to council collections that are always months away. My father-in-law built his shed in 1983 and never threw anything out. When he moved in with us, the shed had to go empty before the house sold.
Old drums, rusted roofing iron, pallets, a ride-on mower frame, a pile of tyres, fencing wire and a couple of rotted bags of cement.
Surfers Paradise is a dense high-rise beachside centre where most homes are apartments and short-stay units, and getting things out isn't always simple. Metered street frontage is limited along Cavill Avenue and the Esplanade, so we usually load from basement car parks or side service lanes.
I half expected to be put on hold, but it was the bloke who'd actually be doing the job. He asked about stairs and parking, which made me think he'd done this a few times.
Two of them turned up right on time in a tipper truck. Before they lifted anything, they walked the route from the pile to the truck and pointed out a couple of spots where they'd put down protection.
A lot of it was metal, and the crew kept it all separate for scrap. Chris said it took a fair bit of weight off what went to the tip, which helped the price.
When they were done, they swept up and walked me around to check. I paid the price we'd agreed, and that was it. The whole thing took less time than I'd spent worrying about it.
My advice to anyone in the same situation is not to wait as long as I did. The relief was worth more than the cost.