YOU LOVE CHRISTMAS

You begin preparing to display your next season of holiday decor in February and you shop all year long for new items to add to your collection. The twinkling lights bring back nostalgia of your childhood so you asked your husband to hang them in every room of the house as well as outside. Now that Mom and Dad are both gone, it’s up to you to carry on the family tradition of setting up tiny cities and miniature settings on every flat surface you can find in your home. First you pull out the lights and you have all your nails and hooks left in place so it’s easy to put up year after year and add more each year.  This year you invested in a full set of vintage trains and a track that runs through the entire 2035 square feet of your 3 bedroom two bath home. Each bedroom has it’s own tree and ornaments by individualized theme that you change up every year.  You’ve invested in holiday themed bedding and pillows, blankets and sheets.  You have swapped out all your dishes that you use everyday for the snowman collection you add to every year.  Each year a different snowman is realeased and so you must keep current with the latest design to add to your collection. Throughout each room are the sound of tiny music boxes playing Christmas carols.  You’ve never counted exactly how many you own, but you love them so much. Snow globes are displayed throughout the dining area and the magic of the season creates a joy and peace in your heart you want to spread all year long. The smell of pine is in the air from the scented candles you have burning in the kitchen. Because you live in Arizona you have 5 pre-lit trees instead of cutting down a fresh one every year. They last longer and make less mess, but they also make it possible that you can display them for longer periods of time since they won’t dry out the way a real tree would.  As you begin setting up your trees each themed differently each year, you rummage through your massive and sentimental collection of a lifetime of ornaments.  You’ve never counted those either although you know they are rotated between 15 cardboard boxes.  You have so many different ornaments you have collected throughout the years.  There’s one from the vacation you took at the Grand Canyon right before Dad passed.  He bought it for you in the gift shop that year.  Dad had always given you a new ornament each year and it was your favorite gift to open. This is the first year he isn’t going to be able to give you one so each ornament has tremendous sentimental value to you. Of course Mom’s hand crochet snowflakes are proudly displayed in the living room. You received one from her every year in your stocking and they have enormous sentimental value as well since her passing two years before Dad. Your nutcracker collection is always sure to bring joy. Each one hand painted and tells a story of where and when it was added.  There are oversized Santa Claus dolls in each corner of the couch, alongside the decorative pillows and themed throw rugs.  Every ornament you choose to display is picked out with care and planned out in advance.  You have spent years organizing your collection and you open your home during the holidays to neighbors and friends to share in holiday cheer and sing carols.  They sip hot spiced cider from your vintage tea cups, each unique and matching saucers. The tiny spoon that is used to stir in the red hots was passed down from your grandmother’s grandmother to you. It’s always kept in a special spot so you can find it every year.  After all, Grandma had her hot cider display exactly the same and you want to carry on tradition. There’s so much going on as far as what the eye can take in. It’s almost overwhelming to someone who has never seen your home. You are what we would call an enthusiast. Others might call you a hoarder. All that you know is you absolutely love Christmas time, so much that you decided it should be all the time.  That’s why it was so terrible when the ceiling burst open with a pipe bursting and water was seeping in every crack and corner it could go.  You had been out for the day shopping, at Hobby Lobby for a new wreath for the front door and to see what wonderful item you could bring home to display.  The water ran and ran and ran until a neighbor noticed it pouring out of your garage and called you after shutting your water off at the main valve.  All your boxes and storage containers were in the garage and since you were still in the process of setting up the display (it’s actually a year round project) all the boxes got wet and the contents therein.  There’s damage to your beautiful wood floor.  It’s buckling and now your doors won’t close correctly. Wood has swelled and there is a humidity in the air that is not normal for our dry temperature in Arizona. Every porous surface has been sucking up the moisture and it’s evident that your home needs to be emptied in order to repair the damages. Thank goodness you have insurance and this sudden water loss is a covered claim.  The problem you face is the enormity of contents in this home and the details that need to be restored back as best you can to pre-loss condition.  The like kind and quality flooring now has to be picked out as your contractor informs you the flooring is destroyed and so a packout approval is needed. To the average person it seems to look like junk in your home but this is your sanctuary. You can literally walk around and tell hours of stories about every precious and sentimental piece you own.  You have enough coverage but you find yourself having to articulate how necessary it is to save Dad’s holiday sweater and the handful of his items and clothing you decided to keep because they reminded you of him that got wet.  The tiny scenes and displays you so painstakingly put up need removing before the furniture pieces underneath them can be inventoried, packed out, evaluated, cleaned if needed, stored and retuned to you. Nothing can be lost. These items have been in your family for generations and it’s up to you to make sure they are handled with care.  Good thing your carrier recommended calling ABSOLUT RESTORATION to walk the loss with you with your adjuster right away at the first notice of loss and help wrap their arms around the magnitude of the scope of work.  You hold the Owners hand as she walks through each room with you asking you to tell her about the items that are most important to you.  Frankly, all of it. You would like this back the way it was when everything is said and done. That’s no problem for us because we took detailed photos and inventoried your collection down to the last detail.  You won’t have to worry about where is Dad’s sweater or clothing, we know exactly what room we took it from and we have a photograph as well.  It’s detailed on our inventory and we have it being expertly cleaned and deodorized to remove any microbial that could have resided in it from sitting in a humid environment.  The relationship ABSOLUT RESTORATION has with your carrier is comforting to you as they are working in concert and unison to do the most efficient and cost effective method to restore you back to whole condition.  They take all your phone calls about the details and questions you have concerning your personal property eliminating hours of frustration and waiting. You didn’t expect this but you received a partial delivery in your temporary residence.  It included Dad’s sweater, Mom’s crochet snowflakes, your antique tea pot and matching tea cups and saucers.  Most importantly, great great Grandma’s spoon. We wanted to make sure you had it in your possession because we remembered how you mentioned it’s importance to you. If you would like to learn more about ABSOLUT RESTORATION or how we help you with your water affected contents and personal property feel free to call us anytime at 602-442-1514.  We are honored to bring you back to your normal.  

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