Cleaning the Garage

About a year ago the garage refrigerator stopped working. That fridge was the place where the beer, wine, other soda (for guests), and the big Costco stuff were kept. When It died, I had to toss all the stuff that defrosted and pull out all the cans and bottles. I had it removed and in doing so, lost a shelf that had been used for storing garage type things like boxes, cleaning supplies, etc.

-No, this isn't really my garage.-

(Funny story - shortly after getting rid of the fridge I noticed that my sprinklers had stopped working. My gardener came out to check and he realized that there wasn't any power going to the timer; the timer that was plugged into the same outlet as the refrigerator. He pressed the reset button and the sprinkler timer clicked back on. Later that night I sat up in bed and said, "Ah man, the refrigerator didn't die, it was the stupid reset button, and I just got rid of it!" But, I digress)


After the fridge incident, my garage was a mess. Beer and soda bottles lined the cement floor and all the things that came off the top of the fridge were also strewn about the garage. I am not good with clutter. I hate it, but if I have it, I tend to make more because I am too busy to deal with it. It becomes a vicious cycle. Therefore, my garage began to close in on me and my car as the year moved on. Every school break I promised myself that I would do something about it, but I didn't. I didn't until this weekend.


Having 3 days off for President's Day, I had an extra day to do some things around the house; things I had been putting off. As most people who know me know that once I put my mind to something, I put all of my energy into it. It took me a year, but this garage is now clean! I spent all day and it felt good. Well, mostly good. There were some things in the garage that my parents had moved into it before they moved to Hawaii. Family pictures, albums, and other things that they didn't want to take with them, but also couldn't get rid of. As I went through some of the stuff, I got very sad. Dumb little things, like the softball and a horse book that my dad gave me, made me upset. It has been about three years since my Dad passed away suddenly and it backs up on me about once-a-week with little things like cleaning the garage. I bawled like a baby for a few minutes, with my ipod blaring in my ears and my dog staring at me. The neighbors next door were also cleaning out their garage - I sure hope they didn't hear me. I thought I was going to have to stop, but I got through it and, of course couldn't get rid of any of the things that made me upset. The next time I clean the garage, maybe it will be easier.

-Mine is almost as clean as this one.-

Anyhow, now that it's over, I am happy that I can walk to my car without having to rub up against it and the pile of crap that had invaded the garage. It's clean and organized. Now it just needs a refrigerator.