After the gray of winter, and Mother Nature's spring weather tricks, it's so nice to feel the warm sun on our backs Ahhh...summer!...That fanciful time of year when forgotten bulbs burst forth in glorious clusters...The shocking pallet of colors with their seductive fragrances dizzy our senses and carry us off to lovely places in our cobwebbed mind. We're young again! We find ourselves thinking about swings and playgrounds, buttons and bows and pleasant things like picnics and puppies. Ahhh...summer...
"Yo, Mardeen, are you in there?"
"Huh?"
"I don't know where your brain is, but doesn't it seem to you, that if we have a two-car garage, we oughta be able to get at least one car in it?"
"Listen to me Carl Shedlester, not all that stuff is mine. Every time you don't wanna fix something you put it in the garage."
"OK, here we go, now it's all my fault! I see, I ‘spouse all those boxes of fruit jars and old baby clothes are mine. Well I can't stand it another day! We're gonna take the kids over to your mother's and by Bill Clinton, we're gonna get the car in the garage by the end of the weekend!"
It's a nice idea but it's not realistic. The Shedlester's garage lost it's car-housing function over time and it's not going to get fixed overnight. Now it's a containment center for good intentions. Carl thinks he can make a leg for that table he found at a garage sale, Mardeen thinks she'll plant a fabulous garden, can everything that comes up and save the family a fortune. Probably a lot of the junk in their garage got there when they went on a basement cleaning binge and rather than making some uncomfortable decisions about getting rid of things, they just moved everything in the cellar out to the garage and nothing was changed. The stuff only migrated up the stairs. To throw a weekend garage fit isn't going to change anything either. Unless they change their hoarding patterns and habits, the only way the cars will fit in the garage is if they rent a large storage unit. (Then they'll fight over the money!)
As boring as it sounds, new habits and a routine are the key. If the Shedlester's fight sounds familiar to you, don't over-goal. Agree with your spouse to start a new habit of making decisions now rather than delaying them and putting them down in the basement, up in the attic or out in the garage. And here's a good hint STOP GATHERING GOOD INTENTIONS. When you're tempted to bring home a new project ask yourself if you care enough about it to finish it or if it'll just join the others in the storage.
Ahh...Summer...it is a great time to play, but if too much stuff is causing you and your family tension, work on de-junking for one hour a week. In that hour, try to fill at least one 30 gallon trash bag with throw-aways and pack three boxes of stuff to take to the Goodwill or other charity. After the hour is up get rid of the garbage and IMMEDIATELY take the boxes to the car and follow through by taking them to the nearest collection center. By Labor Day, you'll have gotten rid of about 13 bags of garbage and donated almost 40 boxes of useable items to people who really need them.
Have a fight-free summer!
Love,
Pam & Peggy