Some may call it trash that's piled up around Brenda Owing's home along Berkford Avenue in Citrus Park. 

For Owing, the items around her property are mementos of her life.

Monday, crews hired by Hillsborough County started throwing it away. They said the clean-up had to be done.

"Everything goes out," said Hillsborough County Director of Code Enforcement Ron Spiller.

The Director of Code Enforcement said the county spent 17 years trying to get Owing to tidy up her property. This past weekend, she finally hired a crew to start work.

But by then, it was too late. The county had already ordered crews to cut down the overgrown brush and throw items out.

The clean-up could cost taxpayers about $90,000.
 
"The planned course of action is to foreclose and then sell the property to recoup the amount of money that's being used to clean the property up," Spiller said.
 
Monday, Owing watched the crews throw items into a huge bin. There was not much she could do about it.

"I'm stressed out," Owing said.

Next door, neighbors were excited to see crews on the property.

"Oh Lord, I'm so happy," said neighbor Pat McRae.

For years, McRae said she has complained about mold and rats running from the property next door. The Director of Code Enforcement said there was not much the county could do because Owing was protected by a homestead exemption.

Recently, the code enforcement director said his department discovered the exemption did not apply because Owing had not been living there. Owing said it's not true.

"I've been in and out of my property," Owing said.

When asked how the place got so out-of-hand, Owing said she moved around a lot and didn't have time to pick up.

Since 1997, she has faced code violations. Owing has racked up $300,000 in fines.

Meanwhile, the Director of Code Enforcement said the Berkford Avenue clean-up is just the beginning. He's revisiting other properties that are in bad shape to see if something can be done.

"There are other cases, but not to this degree," Spiller said. "We are aggressively looking at those properties to figure out what actions are available to us legally to get those properties cleaned up."