Monday, September 21, 2009

One thing leads to another...

One thing will always lead to another. That's the truth.
Was it only a month or so ago that we took my mom up to Phoenix to look at places to live? That just seems impossible to me.

Since then, we've packed up her house, moved her in to the new place, cleaned the house here in town, interviewed realtors, put the house on the market, and had a yard sale to sell a bit of the stuff that she didn't take with her and unload some of our junk. Such a simple little paragraph, isn't it? But the reality of each one of those things, separately, is quite an undertaking. So much involved with every one of them.

And then this...AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH !


Once we had started going through things, it became obvious that the garage was out of control. I've known that for quite a while, but it's so easy to just shut the door to the garage, right? Hubby's way of cleaning is to drag EVERYTHING out into the middle of the room, sort through it, then only put back what you really want to keep. I hate doing it that way because it's so overwhelming. But it is effective.

So we staked the dogs out in the front yard (they just want to see what's going on), and began an all day adventure. This type of sorting takes us back to pictures from 30, 40 years ago, sweet handmade cards from the kids, books we've known & loved, and some things that we can't imagine today what we ever thought was important about them.



Whew! The boxes on the right are waiting to go to the big honkin' shredder in Tucson, and the chair to the dump! And since one thing leads to another, the next project is that workbench...and then the shed...and then...

But that's another day. :)

16 comments:

NanU said...

Wow, that's efficiency! I know people who would battle such a garage for weeks, proclaiming incremental progress, then leave the whole thing as cluttered as it began.
Congratulations - a day well spent!

DawnTreader said...

I'm awestruck by the "simple paragraph" alone, not to mention the garage. I know what awaits me and my brother... one day... and I have no idea how we're going to go about it, when that day comes...

septembermom said...

Wow! You did a great job!! That's was a huge task to undertake. It looks terrific.

Heather said...

Love the before and after shots. There WAS a lot of hard work involved in the last few months, wasn't there? I understand about keeping things while your kids are young. I have a boy that wants to keep candy wrappers and old balloons and..well, never mind.

Very proud of the both of you for tackling and conquering these BIG projects!

♥ Heather

Sandy said...

Been there, done that. Good job, quick!

amuse me said...

Take a deep breath . . . you've been jumping over hurdles for at least a month! Great job! :) M

Irish Gumbo said...

Wow...looks like we are all doing some house(garage) cleaning, in one way or another.

Thank you for your kind words on my "Epilogue" post. I am happy to have your eyes on the page.

Cynthia L. H. said...

Wow! You people are ORGANIZED!!!!
I'm thinkin' I need you at my house.
;^)

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of how I used to clean our playroom when I was a kid! I would start in one corner of the room and make my way to the other side of the room putting away the things that were near where they belonged and throwing everything else in the direction of where it belonged, the result of which was that eventually the room got cleaned (after a few passes) but the mess made in the process was huge! So if I was interrupted part way through, it looked worse than when I started!

The pale observer said...

Congrats on the move! Great pics - how did you get them to display so wide on blogger?

Great blog - glad I found you!

Cheers
Holli in Ghana

shabby girl said...

So glad you stopped by!
Our wonderful blogger friend, Heather, shared how to make your pictures larger here: http://simplyheathersblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/larger-photos-skittles-and-no-longer.html
Once you do it a couple of times, it's easy peasy!

Dan Felstead said...

Shabbygirl...WOW what a transformation! Great comparison shots.

Dan

pam said...

Wow! How far do you live from me. Cause I think I need you. Right now.

The pale observer said...

Thanks I will definitely go and take the tutorial on the large photos!!

Will be visiting again. Of course you are welcome also to visit my little blog on life in Ghana!

Unknown said...

You have been a very busy lady. I was exhausted just looking at the pics and imagining having to do the same. BTDT...(been there done that). I dread the day if ever I have to move again...I hope NOT. I hope this is the LAST home we will be in. HUHONEY just doesn't have it in him to build another! What a beautiful lady you are!

KellyMellyBoBellyBananaFanna said...

I totally hear you! Takes forever, doesn't it?

Kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com

Flora & Fauna

Books I have known & loved

  • Life of Pi
  • A Hundred Years of Solitude
  • Kite Runner
  • The Way the Crow Flies
  • Fall on Your Knees
  • Poisonwood Bible
  • East of Eden
  • Shantaram
  • I Know This Much is True

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