Old Well House – Starting with the Clean Out

A very long while back I mentioned the old well house we have out in our horse pasture. I was going to save up posts for when we actually made some kind of progress but then I decided that the clean out is absolutely progress in itself. And I have also totally forgiven myself for not progressing further on it this last summer cause, ya know, Lodi and I got married and had a honeymoon and held a big reception out here… The weather held for us though so with all big “events” behind me I realized I could actually get a couple of things done this year before winter hit.

This little place has a very long history starting with my Grandpa. He built it and pounded in a sand point well which eventually dried up.

(Big farming’s center pivots that sprouted up like weeds since back in the ’70s can’t possibly have anything to do with the water line dropping over 100 feet…)

Because this old well house had power my dad used it as his “welding shack” for a good decade.

(Yes that is still an electrical line running to it but it was disconnected a long time ago.)

The last twenty years or so it sat empty until I came along and started using it for storage.

Last year Lodi covered the roof with steel because, as you can see, the squirrels and weather were about to make this project null and void. He also wrapped it up in house wrap where it was missing any kind of siding and also starting to be affected by the weather.

We have plenty of siding left over so we can not only save this little place but actually preserve it for years.

My first priority is the clean out.

(To be fair my first priority should be new siding but this apparently is what I want to do and I always say progress is progress regardless of whether we do it in the correct order or not…)

I was once a pretty serious horse enthusiast and rode often in my teenage years and twenties.

I got my gelding when I was 11 and my old man Garcia is still with us. (You can see that he’s convinced he’s “helping” throughout this entire clean out. He absolutely recognized the saddles and bridles and was clearly not impressed.)

(My nice English saddle is actually in the house as I couldn’t bare to let it sit outside. You can actually see it here in my first Office reveal. Its still in that room which is now our guest bedroom.)

Not everything in this old well house is what I would consider technically “mine” so I will be needing to grab my Mom at some point and asking her what she wants to do with her own bridles and saddles.

Leather needs upkeep. None of this tack has been touched (never mind taken care of) since 2018 and it was many many many years before that.

YES I FEEL VERY BAD ABOUT THAT

First thing was to just haul everything to the garage and then try to make some kind of inventory.

I honestly have no expectation of using any of this tack again so this is a hard one for me.

You guys know I’m “miss frugal” and “miss practical” but there are just some things in this world that defy reason.

This is one of those for me.

I just want to cry I love it all so much and yes I am well aware of how silly that seems as I can’t even remember the last time I was on a horse but that isn’t the point at all is it?

The old well house is an asset that is being wasted and all it needs is for me to get this clean out done. Besides, if I do keep any of this, it all needs a WAAAAAAYYYYY better storage spot anyway.

The plan is for this to be a three season bunk house and then winter storage for our outdoor furniture and other “summer stuff”. (Both things we need and REALLY want.)

For awhile I was also using this place for “horse fencing storage” so I took this opportunity to gather up anything “fence” related, went through all of it, and stashed it down in the horse shed where it all belongs.

(Seriously, we have the barn, two sheds, the horse shed, the house and a three car garage and there were partial rolls of horse fence and / or accessories in every. single. one. of. them. How does that even happen? Apparently for the first time in history its all in one spot now and that makes my OCD adult heart embarrassingly happy…)

With everything out and a big haul to the dump I came back and swept out the whole building and removed the hinged “table” that was hanging from the wall.

It was a pretty icky job to be honest…

(That corner full of mold we will cut out.)

With the clean out complete I was able to fit ALL of our outdoor things in here!

That includes (but is not limited to) all of our outdoor chairs, benches and tables besides our flags and a big bin full of our outdoor screens, hummingbird feeders, rain gauges and solar water fountains.

It is just amazing to not have it all taking up room in the house or garage anymore.

And that’s the last of the work this little well house saw in 2022. 2023 though we have big plans!