At 7:12 on a bright Saturday morning, Elena Ruiz stood in the middle of her driveway in Pasadena, holding a cracked lamp base and wondering how one house could produce so much stuff. Behind her, a century-old bungalow was being prepared for renovation. Ahead of her, the narrow driveway was nearly swallowed by a stack of broken cabinets, plaster, carpet, and boxes that had been in the garage since her father moved out.
