I Don't Even Know Where to Begin!

This is my task for the weekend:


I have been dreading cleaning this damn garage since the last time I did it, over a year ago. But it can wait no longer, as Peter and Aleks have been told that they MUST do a major cleaning of their rooms before they head off to college in the next two months, and it only makes sense that I clear out some household junk as well.

If only Tom weren't such a pack-rat, this wouldn't feel so futile -- but the guy can't let go of anything! Drives me bonkers! There's a four-drawer Sterilite "commode" that used to be by our bed... like YEARS ago -- and it's filled with receipts and old chocolate bars and expired credit cards. But will he go through it and throw anything out? Noooooo! And when I ask why, his answer is (I kid you not), "It's like your journals. Would you throw out your journals if I asked you to?"

Uh... no.

Futile, right? So all I can do is clean around his boxes upon boxes upon boxes of stuff that (I promise you) he will never again touch, but also can't bear to throw out or give away. My rule of thumb is that if I haven't used something in 6 months and it has no sentimental value, it GOES. Unfortunately, when every receipt has sentimental value to him, very little can be tossed out.

So, while Tom and Peter demolish and rebuild the shed that's falling apart in the back yard, and while Tom begins to build the front yard fence I've been begging for (hey, I never said he was lazy... just a pack-rat!), I'll attempt to make a dent in the dark netherworld of our garage.

See you on the other side!