It may have taken seven years, but yes, our garage is finally being cleaned. I don't mean the yearly cleaning that one does to get rid of all the old stuff that has accumulated. I mean a down and out grudge match with the junk.
I walked in my garage about a month ago (I rarely go in much further than an arm's length to reach the kids bicycles). I was in awe by the mess. I say this with complete embarrassment, since I consider myself to be incredibly organized. It is however a trait that I do not share with Hubby.
When I met Hubby, I realized from the beginning that there may be serious problems down the line when it came to agreeing what must be thrown out, and what may stay around another year to collect yet more dust.
I'm not one for saving, storing, or hoarding. If I'm not using it, I probably never will. I am the queen of hosting yard sales, but you will never see me shopping one. Who needs all that junk? Not me!
My husband on the other hand suffers from Rainy Day Syndrome. He believes everything has it's time, even if it's ten years down the line. This includes everything from the extra molding when we finished our basement to the old microwave from our first home.
I thought I knew before I entered the garage what I may be dealing with. I was wrong. Apparently as the years have past, my Hubby's need to hold on to junk has gone into overdrive. Maybe out of consideration, I really shouldn't label anything junk. Let's face it, at one time, it made someone happy. But as I walked through the stacks of empty boxes, the hundreds of tools that were bought for that one project then discarded like old sneakers, a ripped solar cover, and the 50 gallons of paint we kept for that touch-up that never happened; I came to the realization that this wasn't making anyone happy.
Somewhere in my mind I was under the impression that a garage was a place reserved for parking your car. I would need super human powers to think I could park a car in my garage. Honestly, a Matchbox would even have problems finding space. In seven years, I've only parked my car in the garage once. We were expecting a big snow storm, so to avoid clearing off the car the next morning, I simply drove it into the garage. (This was obviously before things began accumulating). So, the snow storm came and went (2 feet that time). The next morning I went to the garage to retrieve my car for work. There was only one problem: I couldn't get the door open. I pulled, I pushed, I kicked, but it never opened. I think in some way that was my first sign. What goes into that garage, rarely leaves.
So there I was going through the mess. It's amazing the things that one will find, if only they look. I have since put many of these things at the curb for trash pick up tomorrow morning. However, if you hurry, you may be the lucky new owner of:
1) Half a case of Corona (left from my graduation party 2 yrs. ago)
2) An opened pack of swimmy diapers (size small)
3)Mosquito curtains for the gazebo (minus one. Hubby ran it over with the lawn mower).
4)Jimmy Hoffa's tombstone
5) A ceiling fan motor (sorry, no blades).
6)The Nixon tapes
7)A license plate (car not included).
If any of these items look like something you can't live without, please call the number at the bottom of your screen. Times a wasting, so hurry before you miss your chance. Call within the next 10 minutes, and you get every item on the list!
