Disaster looming

I guess I could have chosen a less dramatic blog post title.

On Sunday I was intending to clear space in the cedar chest (in the garage).  My idea was to make space for the most important mementos I want the kids to have someday.  Pictured above is a fraction of them.  A little overwhelming.

And in the process, maybe clear out the shelves directly above it, because what sane person needs 2 water buffaloes, 2 water coolers, 2 lunch coolers, and 3 full size coolers IN ADDITION TO the Yeti cooler we were using for Highlands?  

{That's a rhetorical question.}

I need this garage to work for me.  And I need the storage.

I started by pulling everything out of the cedar chest, then came across a layer of what I think used to be a framed certificate and a stack of irreplaceable photos and mementos but who could tell as there were so many larvae and so much debris and rot.  It was sickening.  The smell alone...

I used the shop vac to clean out the dry crap (chewed up paper and wood pulp), then wiped out the inside with a 20% bleach and water solution.

Moths?  Bark beetles?  Not sure.  Whatever it is, they have eaten through a swath of cedar leaving tracks and pits that may well lead to the outside of the chest and now it is up to me to figure out how to repair it.  And don't suggest I hire someone, because that is not in the budget.

My plan:  bug bomb the garage, use wood putty that I tint brown to patch and repair the damage, then seal everything, place it back into the chest, sprinkling moth balls liberally as I go, and hope for the best.  I'm not moving that thing into the house.  It weights a freaking ton.

I guess I'm just glad I discovered it before everything was a total disaster.

I will show you the repair once I get it done...

Gina