Clean-up.

A field of debris showed up when the white disappeared, during our unusually warm weather last week at the Hyde Ave project. Enter… the clean-up queen. Donning my old faithful wellies and warm gloves I headed to the job site.

I'm good at clean-up. I tap into my organizational task oriented self and get moving. How much can I get done in two hours of concentrated effort? What areas can I tackle and make a difference in that time span? What tools can I use to minimize bending over.. and over. …


In a total of 4 hours I got almost the whole site picked up. I crouched over cold mud and picked soggy insulation up piece by tiny piece. I pried nails still frozen in stubborn snow spots. I picked little slivers of facia/soffit metal out of the grass. 

I didn't lose my mind. I know my limits and if I have a plan going in and am left to execute my plan… I do well. And to be honest… the Carpenter was surprised how much I got done. Being able to help in an area I am good at.. makes me feel good. You wouldn't want me to rip a board or pound a nail. (Years ago I was pulling nails out of boards where we were gutting a home. The nail suddenly gave way and I promptly hit myself in the head with the hammer!) I was ordered to the hammock to recover. Nice.

I haven't done a lot of site clean-up I realized. Probably because I was working. It was one area I have never thought much about on our job sites. Someone has to do the detail clean- up. Who has done that? Mainly the Carpenter. 

Does anybody think about who's going to clean up the construction mess when it's finished when they hire a contractor? Who's going to search the grass for errant nails and slivers of metal? Well they should. Not only does the Carpenter take great care to protect the inside of our customer's homes, he also makes sure the outside (where needed) is just as clean or cleaner then when our crew shows up. I can attest to that.. last spring I did yard clean-up on a winter deck project. I picked up way more then what we had left behind. 

Not only is the goal to have a clean site… but to leave a safe yard after we exit. 

~ the Artist