We accomplished clearing the last bedroom and bathroom today. There are a few closets and half of the sun porch left to do, but, otherwise, the house is clear! While Kathy and the guys were clearing, Alice and I sorted through five bagsters, narrowing the clothes to keep down to one bagster (although it was really full). This is the “budget” amount Alice agreed to meet and she did it! Great work today, Alice. Thank you for your cooperation.

Steve Scott, the social worker in charge of overseeing Alice’s safety, dropped by for a visit today to see the progress, and was really pleased with how the house is shaping up. Next week, Kathy will tackle cleaning and more repairs. I will get started organizing the basement. I am starting to believe that we will actually make the 30 day deadline for the county — even though it was graciously extended by the code office.

Alice is happy to have her house back, and is looking forward to hosting her first dinner party in years over the holidays. As I was leaving I asked her how it was going to feel to sleep in her bed again after more than ten years of sleeping on a pile of clutter. She joked that she wasn’t sure she would know how, but if she had trouble, she would go in the guest bedroom and sleep on the bagster full of clothes to keep.

When I left the house today, the yard was clear of sorting after three weeks. We have a wall of trash bags to load in the dump truck as soon as another one is available. Still, it was a great feeling to be done with the massive amount of sorting.

Danny and Paul have been over today working on other repair projects. The floor is level! Danny is installing new and safer locks, now that the doors actually open. Paul did some work on the plumbing, and installed a new laundry rack over the washer/dryer. Thanks, guys!

We will be taking the next three days off, but will be back at work on Monday, rested and ready to clean.

—Reported and photos by Jackie Wells Smith

Day 17 photos below. View report and photos from Day 18

Alice was hard at work when I arrived today. We got through these bags and two more. The wall of more than 1,000 trash bags is in the background. The cleared bathroom ready for a new sink.

The office Bob made for Alice years ago, cleared and ready to clean and organize.