LOL Maggie that is funny! I dumped out one tonight that gagged me....and we have a portable. These guys are just slobs, the crew we have right now. DH and I went out tonight and cleaned up a bit. I went to Home Depot and bought to big trash cans, cheap ones in case they walk away :-) I also bought two of the sticks with the magnets. I told DD I will give her 5 cents for every nail she gets! LOL! I am just sick about all the wood everywhere. I know it is to be expected but now they are throwing it in the brush piles! ARGH! Oh well. The best I can do is just keep up with it the best I can. Oh, my friends little girl was helping her mom pick up bottles and cans at their house and she dropped one and got her all wet....it was pee! I will not let Lauren touch anything....I even wear gloves as one guy is always drinking cold medicine....HMMM???? Kelly

Is this a cistern...or an old cesspool? That alone might dictate which way to go. The other is whether there is city or well water in the neighborhood - and whether there are any close neighbors. As a real estate appraiser who has valued several "superfund" sites, environmental issues can and do affect value - big time. I've seen situations so bad that the land - a prime, corner retail site in one case - had a *negative* value about double what the land was worth if free and clear, the cost of mitigation being so high. As the recipient of such a dubious 'gift' from the previous owners, you may be able to employ the "innocent landowner" defense if things go bad - legal-wise. You might even be able to get the prior owner to pay for the cleanup - but you have to be able to prove the knuckleheads knew about/caused it. I've seen other cases where parties two or more owners back in the chain of title were held legally responsible, but this was with big corporate entities with deep pockets. You may want to contact an environmental firm and ask for "Phase One" report. Good luck

I wish we had a scheduled "trash" pickup day like that to get rid of large items. The city will only pick up appliances at the curb only if you call and arrange it. I often put large things at the curb and it isn't long before they are picked up by someone. Every night before garbage day people go up and down the streets in pickup trucks looking for metal and any other perceived "useable" items. LOL I cleaned out my basement and one guy came and took everything including old broom handles. Walking down my street a few years ago I came across a box that had all kinds of items in it. The woman had died and her family threw out some of her knick-knacks they didn't want. I picked up some "blue mountain pottery" figurine pieces which I sold for a good price at my yard sale and a few pieces I kept. My best friend's grandfather put his old unwanted fireplace andirons at the curb of his house more than 50 years ago and my brother David picked them up and brought them home where they have been used the fireplace in this house ever since. I love them and would never get rid of them. When my friend and her parents moved in with their grandfather the only thing I remember their fireplace being used for was for holding their toys box. LOL I wonder if old grandpa closed off his fireplace because a new baby was coming into the house and tossed out the andirons because he wouldn't need them. I see good stuff at the curb on my walks or after yard sales and I wished I knew how to refurbish or refinish. My sister was good at finding things and making them work in her house. Now that I think of it the old shutters that used to be on my house to frame the front door came from someone's garbage and I remember going out with my sister at night and taking them from someone's trash. She sanded and painted them black and they were good as new - something we would never have been able to afford back then. Anne

now i know what i'm going to do with all the bowling equipment that is not used around here....lamps!