Bryan Jacobs (Ft. Jana & Cooper)
My POD just got picked up from my driveway last week. I’m not talking about my POD of immediate family members during COVID, but rather the Portable On Demand storage box full of a life’s belongings sitting in my front yard cozied up against his friend, the National brand Porta-Potty. It’s the real life landscaping of a fixer upper. They don’t show this stuff on HGTV; there is no glamor in showing how it’s really done. The lone Porta-Potty now remains; its bright blue color complimenting our new Agreeable Gray with black trim exterior paint color. But I digress…
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In 2021 my family sold our home on Lowell Street and bought a fixer. We had owned the Lowell house for about 7 years, and had bought it as a fixer, along with the existing tenants made up of a significant amount of rats. We displaced the rats and then rebuilt and added on to the house. Just about a month before we decided to sell it, we actually finished the final project, the backyard fence. We got to enjoy the fully completed house for a total of just over 30 days. On to the next one! Sell the nice one and start over with another dump. While Karen and I have done many many fixer projects, this would be the 6th time I’ve bought a fixer as my personal house to live in. My wife and I chose (actually my son was the one who made the decision) to live in the house while the project was in full swing. Doing an extensive remodel and addition is always a challenge; and living in the house while doing the work presents more unique challenges. Which brings me back to the POD and the Porta-Potty; two highly essential items for a “live-in” fixer upper.
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If you really want to get to know your neighbors, put a Porta-Potty out front. Interesting people visited the house regularly as a result of our big blue public restroom. The Amazon truck driver knows our house and visits more often than dropping off deliveries. A host of other construction workers from the neighborhood, postal employees, and just random neighbors who get the wiggles from a full bladder while walking home. We eventually put a lock on the door and, taking a page out of the playbook of the gas stations along highway 5, I had thought of placing a sign in front saying “No public bathroom, for employees only.”
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Needless to say, I’ll be looking forward to getting the big blue bathroom removed. Hopefully that happens in the next couple weeks. I’ll keep you posted.
