Chapter 4: Where to Begin... Inventory, Organize, and Sanitize the Set

Initial arrival during PreMasqueTest/Prep Week during April ‘13 would find camping and LARPing gear, hand and power tools, left over beer bottles, pop cans, and plastic waste strewn about and behind the bar top; mystery boxes stacked in both utility rooms; and piles of random in the tool shed. In addition, everything in the Kitchen area, including both fridges and most wooden feast ware, was covered in a layer of mold, while evidence of winter inhabitants were easy to spot about the counter tops and in most drawers. Everything needed a massive bleaching, sweeping, and organizational overhaul. This overhaul would also extend to the method in which garbage and waste would be disposed of or rather recycled, but that information is further down the blog post.

While I was busing myself with Tavern organization and sanitation, Anvil and Elon would spend their time preforming a massive overhaul of the Tavern Bar Top.

Back in the days of old, the bar top used to be made out of 1/2 inch ply with no lip and due to the Taverns exterior nature, the front lip of the bar top was beginning to fray and crack apart. - Captured July 2011

If I remember correctly, Anvil, Elon, and myself would spend the first four days of the Test Week trying to accomplish the yard project that lie ahead before the masses arrived for Masque Ball while our nights we lighted by the generator allowing us extra time to work into the night hours. Anvil would donate his CD player and sound system for the Faire to use that season so right from the start we had a way to play good music to energize our work ethic.

All the old bar top was removed to be measured and cut by both Anvil and Elon. The following days, while Anvil and I were finishing up the yard work tasks, Elon would take the time to coat each surface in stain and Poly. This was also done for the boards that would now constitute the bar lip. 

The finished product would be ready to use by the time the Masque Ball event started and was very well received. 

Before I could start any new project in the 2013 year, I thought it best to discover what tools and equipment the Faire offered during my stay here, and what things I would have to bring of my own stock. I use the word "discover" for the reason that organization was a fail and nothing had a permanent home. Everything would be gone through and its contents searched: every cabinet, every drawer, every box, in every corner of every room.  

While I didn't take photos of the initial state the three of us found the Tavern in back in April , I did make time to capture the initial state of the tool shed before I was able to get my mind and capable hands on ALL the things in the beginning of June . Anvil was a huge help in this process as an extra set of hands and a great gofer. All the appreciation for him.

 

The initial state of the tool shed far left view.

Panning right: this is the mess that was left to rot behind the shed. Everything would be gone through by hand and sorted down to the tiniest detail. All plastic and glass went to the nearest recycling drop off station (FREE by the way) while all the separated steel and aluminum were taken to a scrapping facility. The funds received by recycling the scrap metal would go on to fund the removal of actual unrecyclable trash at a transfer station: as it cost X amount of funds per bag of trash you take in.

By first being aware of the situation, secondly staying conscious of what you’re throwing out, and thirdly sorting “waste” to this extreme: there is practically no waste to end with. The Faire does not have a separate fund for garbage disposal therefore recycling is VITAL. This will keep my pockets happy by not having to dispose of other people’s trash with my own personal earnings, when onsite metal scrap dwindled and no longer covered the budget.

Continuing the pan, this picture completes the view of the tool pile… I mean shed. This area would be placement of hand tools, broken drywall, roofing paper, buckets of Spackle, wood stain, and multiple paint cans in the middle of the floor, usin’ up all the space.   Let the CHAOS bending commence. Anvil and I spent an entire day (Morning’s light to Evening’s dusk) removing everything from the shed to start organization from scratch. 

Just want to point out five non-working weed eaters and two non-working chainsaws. If there not working, then why continue to store them as they are just taking up space.

These are all of the small engines that bit the dust during their service and mistreatment at Britannia Faire. I was really sad to see the push mower go. Briar bushes and baby prickers were no match; that thing would decimate. These were given to Timmourne, who had intentions of tinkering with them to see if a second working tool could be salvaged or built out of all the pieces. I do not know what became of the intended project or if they were just scrapped. Its amazing what taking the time to tune up and clean your tools (mechanized or otherwise) will do for their lifespan, in correlation with remembering to keep the tool up off the lawn and out of the rain. 

After organization and inventory, the shed took on this type of look. Once unburied, the tool table was moved to the opposite side and four shelves were built to use additional vertical wall space and less of the floor to store things. The most commonly used tools were hung for easy finding and storage after use. That still didn't correct the problem of "putting the tool back where you found it" concept that most volunteers could not seem to grasp. Most adopted the mentality of, "Oh I'm done with this, I'll just leave this here on the Tavern and get squirlled on something else; after all I might need it again and the Tavern is a closer walk." However, what would normally happen is that all these tools would collect on the back end of the Tavern near the entrance of the Kitchen and clutter the common space. Sadly, this habit was never broke, so when guest and volunteers went home, I would most commonly spend a day putting things back where they belong.

Prior hand tool storage was moved elsewhere to make room for the second work bench, topped by a new shelving unit that would hold all the small motor accessories: weed-eater threading, motor oil, 2-cycle engine mix, wrench and socket sets, WD-40, oil pan: basically anything to be associated with mechanized repair and maintenance.

Once the trash center behind the tool shed was cleaned up, sorted, and properly removed, the area became storage for hand tools, hauling buckets, coolers, and spare PVC.

Once again, all the tools were hung to make use of all the vertical wall space. Wither or not they stayed that way throughout the season’s use, is completely beside the point; the organizational thought was there.

This area is also the temporary trash/recycling holding center during events, and I like to keep refuse piles out of the public's eye. Sometime in September of 2013, this quick wall was built to replace the VERY PERIOD LOOKING ELECTRIC BLUE TARP. Trash from all over the campsite, various attendees, cooking waste, and bottles collected from excessive drinking, pile up here until I can find time to sort through it all to decrease the amount of trash yield. To further complicate the sorting task: some bottles and cans  have a 5 cent return credit per can in certain states; one of those states being where I frequently travel to. Thus both the glass and plastic drinking bottles are gone through a second time to separate out the ones that equate to 5 cents. The returnable bottles are stored until I travel back to NY, while the others wait to be taken to the recycling drop off.

On warm evenings, a low floating mist drifts into the valley and encases the Faire in a mystical cloud. This adds a little bit extra to that fantasy land aura.

Lets quickly recap some important things this post covers. Why do I dig through other people’s garbage and OCD over trash and tool location??..... Remember, I had to PAY to get rid of refuse at the transfer station. The more attendees recycle, the less I personally had to sort and PAY to rid the grounds of other people's trash. Recycling is free and in some cases, there are places to GET PAID for your recyclables. Please take the time and think, is that water bottle, pop can, ANY plastic wrapping, cardboard and paper products recyclable; YES THEY ARE. Sorting through trash, is a dirty job, but its all the worth it. Point in case: one event BF went from 9 bags of trash to two bags. Just think that is 7 bags less that the Goundskeepper has to PAY to get rid of it. 
Anytime you are at Britannia Faire, please remember that this is a primitive location with no access to modern conveniences like garbage pick up and dumpster services. Please take the time to carry out that which you have brought into the Faire grounds, or at the very least help in the efforts to reduce and recycle, not only here in this fantasy land, but anywhere you go. 

This is a pile of all the extra trash, tools, and objects spread out along the Faire after masque Ball 2014. Everyone had left, and this is what remained of the aftereffect. With just a little conscious effort this pile could have been drastically reduced.

As for tool and item organization: for the most part, I function without electricity almost all of the time we are not holding events. This means alongside the lack of hot and running water, I function without light or in lowlight during the evening hours. Being this organized allows me to know exactly where things are, and by knowing EXACTLY where things are, this enables me to see in the dark.  I trained my body to use my spacial awareness to direct me to my desired object rather than my eyes thus saving energy wither it be electrical from the generator, or chemical from the candle. Either way, I saved resources, spent my own energy and produced heat for my body. It may seem small, but it adds up.

The beginning of June saw the small gathering known as the Pre-Rag Shindig. This would be the only event that would run the entire month of June given that Ragnarok (Dagorhir's week long camping event) was around the corner. The Sunday after the event was spent cleaning up my surroundings, sorting and disposing of extra trash, all communal dishes were washed, the Tavern space was clean, or as clean as an outdoor living space could be. The pressure of not having things on the to-do list to prep for an event, finally freed up my mind space for other activities like designing how I could make the public areas of the Tavern more pleasing to the eye and how I could improve my own living conditions to make them more efficient and less dependent on chemical and electrical energy, in addition to the money that provides those means.