Degrees of Dilapidation

This week’s Sundaystills challenge is right up my alley, so to speak. If I had an alley and not a lane way.

Different degrees 
Stages dilapidation
Just change your mindset

Each image below depicts some sort of dilapidation. Here’s the thought though that percolates through my life. What can we do with those items that fall into disrepair or ruin? How we reuse them or give them new life in their old state. Man this post so speaks to me! It’s not just that I am frugal but that I think all resources need to be evaluated. Perhaps it’s easier to just click a button and buy a new “whatever” but is it the right decision?

Literally falling over

The fence to nowhere

Blue jeans past their prime

Well loved baby blankets

Very dilapidated and run down

50+ years since it was used

Stone house that I wish I could restore

Salvaging from an old house

Just another prairie barn falling over

A Maritime barn falling over

Old trim from a dilapidated house was restored and became trim at our house. Those blue jeans became a beach blanket. The baby blankets are lovingly used even with their rips. That decrepited thumb gets “rejuvenated” every few months with a steroid injection. It is, after all, the only one I have. That old section of fence is one of my favourite spots to take photos but alas the cows have knocked it over again. The stone house (oh how I wish), the church and the two barns who knows what will happen to them. But there is a way to at least reuse the timber but more people need to get on board with deconstruction versus just demolishing it all. Check out “The Unbuilders” out of the GVRD area. Here on the prairies we have Prairie Barn Timber. Whoops. Jumped onto my sandbox and preached a little about why dilapidated doesn’t need to mean discarded.

I mean look at our house. This is what it looked like when we bought it. The farmer who had just bought the land was going to bulldoze it but instead sold it to us. The inside looked as dilapidated and dirty as the outside.

1918 Eaton’s Eager pre move

Lots of elbow grease, carpentry, masonry work, hours and hours of painting and look at it now. If you are interested you can check out the journey over at The 1918 Eaton’sEager blog

What hard work and imagination can do with old dilapidated items!

So that’s my take on dilapidated. What’s your favourite photo here that shows it best? Or share one below in the comments.

Bernie