"Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
--Hans Christian Anderson

 

I couldn't agree more!!

 

Yesterday, I cleaned out the garage. I cannot for the life of me figure out how that place can get so disgusting so quickly. I think I could open a sports equipment store with all the sports paraphanalia out there. If we have one baseball, we have a hundred. I rounded up and corraled three golf bags full of clubs. Then in a back corner I found enough lose golf clubs to outfit at least three more players. I don't play golf. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they need so darn many clubs, but I'm not going to say a word. I don't want to have to explain my scrapbooking room and the need for all the items in there. I figure turn about is fair play.

 

 Shoes; I think that my guys have some superstition about throwing away old footware. I now have a box full of work boots, tennis shoes, cleats, and snow boots. I did not, however, find my little red garden sloggers that have been missing for about a year.

 

I found a lot of evidence of mice. Just in case you don't know, I absolutely HATE mice. Judging from the "evidence" I found yesterday, my garage must have been the venue for a mouse family reunion of gigantic proportion. The mice were gone, but I was still shaking when I picked something up (like shoes) thinking that one would run up my arm. Had something like that happened, I wouldn't be alive today to tell the story ( no, really, people you have no idea how much I hate mice).

 

So, my garage is clean and organized. Not a cob web or mouse dropping remains. I took everything off of every shelf and scrubbed them clean. I not only swept up dirt with a broom, I went over the entire floor with a vacuum cleaner even.

 

What I've done, actually, is create a monster. ME! I can't stand for a single thing to be out of place or a blade of grass to be on the floor. I've got to get a grip! I think I need to find a support group.

 

I also need to find a way to let go of a bunch of "stuff". While working out there yesterday, I realized that most of the things that would fall into the category of useless junk, is mine. I would never, however, admit this out loud to a certain male member of this household.

 

 I have an unusual amount of large empty (but clean!)  coffe cans. I threw them all away the last time I cleaned the garage. Wouldn't you know it, the very next week I need at least 3 of them! So, this time I compromised, I only saved about 6 of them and threw the rest away. (No, I will not tell you how many I threw away!) I could list many other things here that I have deemed "necessary" to hang on to. I think I will just keep that list to myself for now. Suffice it to say that I am prepared for several unimagined emergencys that could require aforementioned "stuff". (My husband has another word for this "stuff"; his word also begins with "s".)

 

Do you know what the best thing is about having the garage clean? I can now spend all my time before going to work today working out in my flowers with no guilt. Well, okay, I'm a Mom, there is no such thing as "no guilt", but at least the garage chore won't be looming in front of me.