Moving

Tax-free trash: an update

When we moved to Holbrook last November, I wrote about how I considered the town’s solution to the expensive problem of trash disposal to be quite fair. At the time, homeowners paid what was essentially a consumption tax on the trash. You could throw out as much trash as you needed, as long as it was all contained in special bags that cost $3 each. In addition, recycling was included, but you had to separate paper from plastics and put them in paper bags and tie up cardboard with strings. It was kind of a pain.

Then at the end of the year, the town changed the deal. They lowered the price of the bags slightly and instituted a per-household fee because they weren’t raising enough money to pay for the cost of trash disposal. (The town had passed an ordinance a couple of years ago that trash disposal had to pay for itself, not rely on other taxes.) So the bags went down from $3 per bag to $2.10 per bag, but we now have a $240 annual fee. Based on our household’s consumption, that would raise our cost for trash disposal by $150 per year. Not a devastating amount, but I could find other uses for that $12 per month. Still, I wasn’t so motivated that I was actively seeking alternatives.

But the alternative came to me. Last Saturday I found a flyer stuck to our door advertising a local independent trash hauler. They would supply two 96-gallon bins, one for trash and one for recycling. The recycling is single-stream, which means no more sorting and bundling. Everything goes into the bin. They pick up every other week, trash and recycling on different days, and pick-up is not affected by holidays, except when it falls on the actual holiday itself. (This year it’s just July 4 that’s affected.) And the best part? I would pay a little less than I did under the old town-run system before they raised the prices. Plus I get a lot more convenience.

... [P]roving in the process once again that in most areas of society private enterprise can provide a superior product/service at a competitive price over government’s efforts.

Of course, I called on Tuesday and signed up right away, proving in the process once again that in most areas of society private enterprise can provide a superior product/service at a competitive price over government’s efforts, which usually have little incentive for cost-cutting and inefficiency. After all, when government needs more money it just raises taxes. Except in this case, there is an escape hatch for the taxpayers.

I do recognize that the reason they can’t cover costs is that people like me opt out of the system, thus placing the structural costs upon fewer shoulders. But what they don’t recognize is that they provide no incentive to keep us from leaving the system. They provide an inferior service at a higher cost because they make me subsidize a bunch of people who get abatements as well as the inefficiencies inherent in any government bureaucracy.

The best part is that the town just signed an agreement with a company that wants to set up a regional trash transfer station with a rail-link in town and part of the agreement is free trash and recycling pickup for all residents, plus a huge annual payment-in-lieu-of-taxes to the town’s coffers. So if all goes well, in 2 years, I switch to the no-cost-to-me service and save the $300 I’m spending on private trash disposal. Until then, I’m looking forward to a good relationship with the private company and not having to worry about special trash bags and sorting my recycling.

Photo credit: Flickr user feministjulie via a Creative Commons license.

Shedding the apartment dweller’s reflex

Melanie and I were talking today about the mental adjustment we’re going through in our new house. I’m having a hard time grasping that we’re not going to be moving from this house for some time, hopefully. Yet, we’ve both been apartment dwellers for so long it’s hard to settle in. In my case, I’ve lived in six different places in the last seven years. I’ve practically been a nomad.

When we got the new desk yesterday, we spent a little time trying to figure out where to store it. I’d had the unconscious reflex that we need to keep it in case we had a use for it in “the next place” we live. Likewise, Melanie’s been holding on to the area rug that had been in the girls’ room in the old apartment. Since we have wall-to-wall carpet we have no use for it, so she finally listed it on Freecycle.

We really are going to stay here for a long time, God willing, and so we can get rid of anything that doesn’t fit our needs in this place. I know we’ll get mentally adjusted at some point soon. Still takes getting used to.

Takeout menu

I just cleaned out our takeout menu file of all the old Salem/Beverly/Peabody places we frequented to make room for new Holbrook/Randolph/Abington menus, which was a sadder experience than I expected.

There are a lot of memories in those old restaurants. Asahi, in particular, was the sushi restaurant where I had lunch every Friday when I lived at the rectory and they were across the street. They were closed for a few years when their building was torn down, but when they re-opened it became a place for me and Melanie to go. In fact, the first meal after she gave birth to Isabella was takeout from Asahi, accompanied by well-wishes from the owner who came to know us on sight.

Then there was Cilantro, the high-end interior Mexican-style restaurant that was our first official date. (Melanie doesn’t recognize the unofficial first date as canonical.) Or Passage to India, site of many a memorable meal alone or with friends. Or The Landing in Marblehead, our last fine dining before Isabella was born.

Of course, the reality is that once Isabella and Sophia came along those days of frequent nights out faded fast. Not that I really regret the loss. I’d rather have mac-and-cheese with the three women in my life every night than any fancy restaurant without them. And as the girls get older, we’ll have those opportunities again. (Especially now that we have Melanie’s sister, Theresa, around the babysit occasionally.)

So, out with the old takeout and in with the new memories and experiences we’re sure to share, not just over a table, but in all areas of our new “South of Boston” life.

Incidentally, we discovered a new authentic Mexican place on the way home from Home Depot in Brockton today, called Burrito Wraps. It was very good, inexpensive, and even my Texas-born wife declared it to be worthy of regular visits. And that’s saying something!

(Double-incidentally, am I the only one who calls it “Home Despot” and imagines a maniacal dictator requiring new home improvements from everyone who comes in. Oh. Yeah. I guess I am.)

Photo credit: Flickr.com user Amoeda. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Taxing trash

Our new hometown of Holbrook is one of the smallest municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in both population and land area. It’s a classic New England small town, with a representative town meeting, which sounds like fun. Maybe I’ll run.

There are lots of small-town changes to get used to, but one there’s one I want to point out. Trash disposal has become an expensive problem for cities and towns, large and small. Most just bite the bullet, pay exorbitant fees, and spread the pain among all property owners, large and small, however much trash they actually produce. But Holbrook has come up with a solution that—while it seemed initially to be a pain—is actually quite fair.

In this town, your trash will only be picked up if it’s in a special blue trash bag, marked “Town of Holbrook” that you can can buy in local stores. The bags cost about $3 each, which sounds like a lot for a trash bag, but is quite economical for trash disposal.

What we have here is, in fact, a consumption tax. If you’re someone who doesn’t recycle and who creates lots of trash, then you pay for the waste you produce, whereas people like the elderly folks who live around me who throw away maybe half a bag per week pay only for their consumption. And if you don’t like the systems at all, you can pay a private contractor to take it all away for you, no special bags required.

Yes, there are inconveniences. Making sure that everything you throw out ends up in the blue bag can be tiresome. We’re still using regular kitchen trash bags for everyday use and then putting two of those in one of the big town bags. And I understand that just before we moved in the price of the bags doubled from $1.50 to $3. That could be a bit of sticker shock.

But the idea is itself a fairly conservative, small government way of doing things. You often find that on the local level, even in a very liberal area like eastern Massachusetts.

Photo credit: Flickr user feministjulie via a Creative Commons license.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a house or condo

If you’re buying a house or looking to sell, I want to recommend my friend Paul Goyette to represent you as a buyer’s or seller’s real estate agent. Paul is a good friend, a very generous and devout Catholic, and a very patient real estate agent. Week after week, he took us to house after house—more than 30 by my count—until we found the right house at the right price.

So Paul and his business partner are making an offer that for anyone who seeks out his agency for either buying or selling, based on a referral from this blog, upon completion of your transaction, they will make a $500 donation to your parish in your name. That’s a pretty good deal.

If you’re interested, please email Paul at paul@stelmachrealty.com.

In the new home

Yeah, I’m up and running! I know I haven’t posted in about a week now—and on the eve of a national election!—but we’re finally settling in to our new house in Holbrook, Massachusetts. I think I’m going to like it here. McCain/Palin yard signs outnumber the Obama/Biden signs about 10-1.

I won’t go into all the details of the last week, but here’s a brief rundown. On Wednesday, we were supposed to have our closing at 11am. But the time came and went without a finished closing package from the mortgage underwriter. Instead they kept asking me for paperwork and documentation of items they either had already received or should have asked for weeks ago. Apparently, they were calling my employer and former employers (and sometimes people who they mistakenly thought were former employers) while making me jump through hoops to get tax returns and explanatory letters to them. Finally, at about 4pm we got the call to head down, we hopped in the car and drove to the house to make sure it was still there, and then drove to the seller’s agent’s office where—at 7pm—we began signing a three-inch stack of papers that asked me to verify things like the fact that eating lead paint is bad for you.

On Thursday and Friday we made trips to the house bringing fragile and important items while Melanie’s father-in-law helped us pack. He has been a real godsend. Without him, I don’t think we’d have got everything done. Also on Thursday, we had our new appliances delivered—washer, dryer, and refrigerator—as well as had the cable installed (Internet!) and had a plumber out for an estimate. My father-in-law and I also took a trip to Lowe’s for what is sure to be the first of many visits there and to Home Depot.

On Saturday morning, the movers arrived bright and early. We filled Melanie’s and my mom’s cars with a s much as we could and sent them on their way, while my father-in-law and I hung around to supervise. (I took the time to meander next door to Treadwell’s Ice Cream for the last time to say goodbye to the owner, Tom. He’s a good guy and a good neighbor and he gave me a last orange sherbet freeze, on the house.) The hardest part of this element of the move is the sitting around waiting. And since the computer equipment was already packed, I couldn’t even go online. (I need an iPhone.)

The great part about the movers is that, even despite getting a little lost on the way to the house such that I had to drive out and guide them in, they still managed to come in $600 under their estimate. I’d recommend T.E. Andresen to anyone looking to move in eastern Massachusetts and beyond.

Since then we’ve been unpacking like crazy. The kitchen is smaller, so we’re dedicating some of the utility room to pantry space. We also don’t have a basement (we’re on a slab) so the shed out back will suffice for stuff that can survive the cold.

But the best part is the office/library. We’ve put almost all of our bookcases in here (9 of them) and filled them with our books (about 40 moving boxes, although they don’t all fit). It looks like a real library! Melanie and I have always wanted a real library and I think this qualifies. Although someday I want floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases. That goes on my to-do list.

And now I’ve finally got my desk setup, although it’s only temporary. The old desk I’m using is a bit flimsy and already got a bit abused in the move so we’ll need a new one. I’m thinking this one. But until then, I’m happy to be back online.

In the home stretch ... literally?

You may have noticed that postings here have been somewhat sparser than usual lately. Of course, as I mentioned earlier this month, we are buying our first home and that has consumed much of my non-work time, attention, and energy. We are finally in the home stretch (pun intended) as our closing is set for this Wednesday and our move date is Saturday.

As you can imagine our apartment is now full of boxes. Melanie’s dad flew into town on Friday to help us move and by the end of Saturday he had nearly everything boxed that could be boxed. He’s so enthusiastic, we’ve actually had to unpack some things, including the book that was on my nightstand that I’m currently reading!

We’ve also been able to get rid of some unnecessary items. Even after our purge last year when we moved into this apartment, we were able to whittle down our closets even more. Well, I was. I managed to get rid of a bunch of clothes are after about 15 minutes of shuffling, but I left Melanie reminiscing over every blouse and skirt that she used to wear before having kids, where she bought them, how much she paid, and where she wore them. But I’m the weird one for remembering football stats and the complete product lineup of Apple Computer. Oh well, vive la difference.

I was also able to pawn off give away our three window air conditioners to my sister and a co-worker. Our new place has central air and odd-shaped windows so these would do us no good. I think this week we’ll get rid of our old broken-down couch on Craigslist to some college kids. I was also able to give away an old Power Mac 4400 on Freecycle. (Unfortunately the woman sent a cranky email because she’s unhappy it’s old and doesn’t have USB ports. If she’d asked I would have told her that. I think it was up to her to do some research before leaping at the thing. We did have three other interested emails so she isn’t stuck with it.)

So for the rest of the week, on Wednesday we pass papers; on Thursday, I get to wait in the new house for the delivery of our new refrigerator and washing machine (the dryer comes on Monday); the plumber to give an estimate on a few odds and ends; the cable guy to install TV and Internet (especially Internet!); and whatever else I can manage to squeeze in. Then Saturday, we move! After that, is unpacking and a number of improvements: insulation in attic, work on the furnace, installing shelves, etc. I’m going to become very familiar with Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Ikea, I think.

Anyway I can’t wait, especially for my 1-1/2 to 2-hour each-way daily commute to shorten to 15 minutes. That’s an extra 3 to 4 hours per day I can spend with my family!

On a final note, our landlord—who is really a great guy; I’d recommend our apartment to anyone looking for a place in Peabody—is having the old house insulated today. They’re blowing insulation in through the walls. Would have been nice to have that last winter because these old buildings are expensive to heat, especially when the furnace is so old too. Oh well, so much the better for the next tenant.

Photo credit: Flickr.com user TheMuuj. Used under a Creative Commons license.

House hunting and climbing in windows

We went out this afternoon to go to an open house. Yes, not more than 5-1/2 months after our last move, we are beginning the process of our next one, although this is a long expected one. I wish we could have just moved once, but the last one was unexpected (landlord selling the condo) and came at the same time I was starting my new job.

Some friends are selling their house, about an hour south in Norwood, which would be closer to my brothers as well as to the location of the new Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Boston. It’s a nice little house, 3 bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, working fireplace, big kitchen, big yard, and so on. We’re not quite ready to buy yet—a few odds and ends to tie up—but today was their open house and the way the market is now, I’m sure there will be plenty of “fish in the sea” for some time to come.

Anyway, getting out of the house was a bit chaotic. Isabella hadn’t napped very well, and was putting up a fuss while we got on our coats and checked the diaper bag and printed directions and so just as Melanie closed the back door, I had a horrible realization: I’d forgotten my keys. Which wouldn’t be bad if Melanie had taken her keys, but she never does.

There we stood, a screaming child wanting to go, nearly single digit temps, and a house apparently sealed up tight. I briefly thought of calling my landlord when I had a hunch. I pushed up the screen of the window over the kitchen sink and—sure enough—the window wasn’t locked for some reason. (Hmm, losing heat —and money—out of that; have to remedy that!)

Unfortunately, as I’m sure my photos make eminently clear, I wasn’t about to fit through the window and over the sink. The only logical solution was… my six-months-pregnant wife. At first I refused, but it was obvious it was either her or try to call the landlord. So I boosted her up and held onto her legs and—tall drink of water that she is—helped her manuever herself around and through. Crisis averted!

(Of course, longtime readers know that we have lots of experience in breaking and entering into our own home.)