It’s been our first long weekend at the house. Normally long weekends are a relief, a chance to relax and unwind. But it’s a little different when you’re lugging bags of rubble down a narrow staircase.

We had planned to hire a skip to remove the bulk of our DIY waste. However, due to the narrowness of the road and drive we were concerned it wouldn’t be possible to unload the skip. While we were pondering the rubble piles piled up and eventually we decided to start making runs to the recycling centre.

Moving rubble is one of those ‘little’ jobs that I’m convinced won’t take very long, until, that is, I start it.

So far we have removed the plaster from the walls of five rooms, roughly half, in volume, of what needed doing. Starting in the first room we began shovelling, filling old sand and cement sacks. One sack, two sacks, three sacks, and we had barely moved a foot. In the end we filled 25 bags in one room, seeming only to inch along with each bag.

Although this was tiring enough, next came the tricky bit, carrying the bags out of the room, down the narrow stairs, through the house, along the uneven garden path, down the garden steps and into the boot of the car. As someone with very little upper body strength this is work I find particularly exhausting.

Car filled, sweaty and dusty, off when went to the recycling centre.

I love recycling centres. They fill a basic desire in me to save and reuse as much as I possibly can. I find satisfaction in seeing all the neat piles of things going off to a brand new life. When the time comes to drop off all the batteries, light bulbs and tetrapacks that I’ve been saving up for months, I feel elated knowing I’ve done my best not to be wasteful.

Our old plaster, broken and ruined as it is will now go on to a new life, largely heading back into the construction industry, reincarnated into new buildings, roads or other projects. All 60 bags of it.

Yet after four car loads, with Chris’s suspension depressed to it’s lowest limits, we decided a skip might afterall be our best option, and the remaining rubble sits stacked up in bags waiting for it’s saviour to arrive.

Following the recycling theme, more of the previous owner’s possession have been rehomed. The 80s washing machine, oven and fridge all went to someone who repairs and resells old electronics, while some vintage floral curtains that Chris wanted to use as dust sheets sold for £20, to someone with a discerning eye and a love of sewing.

Although not necessary as part of our replastering works we also cleared the plaster off an old brick fireplace in one bedroom, and an internal wall in the dining room. While exposed stone on external walls could reduce the effectiveness of our insulation, this isn’t such a big issue for internal walls. Therefore, we are leaving a few key features exposed to add to the texture and character of the house.

Along with the creational and removal or rubble, Chris, cursing the excessive use of glue and nail, began dismantling the storage above the stairs. Currently, the stairs are dark and cramped. To mitigate this we plan to widen them and open up the area above them. The remaining space in the bedroom will be turned into a much more practical built in wardrobe.

And finally, we had our first guests, showing them around the destruction and chaos we’d created. But as the old saying goes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.