Somebody, Pinch Me!

After I posted on Sunday, I read through them and realized that I haven't really done or changed anything with my life.  All I have done is tell you what I did (or didn't) do that day.  This blog is suppose to be me learning to tackle the things that I feel like I can never get around to doing...the things that are weighing me down because no matter how clean my house may look, there's always a dirty closet or garage or something that needs de-cluttering; and no matter how cute my new outfit may be, I am usually sucking and tucking something in so I don't let anyone see what's really hiding under the clothes.  You know...it's those things.  I'm not saying that having a clean kitchen or going a day without make up to prove to yourself you are beautiful are not good things...but that's not really the point of this blog for me.  I'm not just going to posting the "daily" upkeep of my life, I need to be posting the projects, the achievements, the ah-ha moments!

So, now what? Well, you may have noticed I missed a day of posting, and there is a good reason for it. I have finally been able to tackle something that has literally been collecting junk, trash, dirt and a whole lot of stress and tears for the past three years...the garage!  Yes, yesterday morning, my husband and I went out there and just started the daunting task.  I am so mad at myself for not taking a "before" picture of the mess, because it was so bad. You couldn't even walk through the garage.  We had about 10-17 boxes FULL of old paperwork and just stuff that I don't even know why we were keeping it...but here is a "half way there" picture:

That was only after about 3 hours of working.  I'm so glad I was able to LET GO of being such a control freak and let my husband help and throw out stuff.  It was hard at first, but I survived...plus, we were moving along so nice that I really didn't care by the time he went through and emptied his third box.  We worked as much as we could while our youngest napped and our middle was playing inside and our oldest was at school.  After that, the cleaning started to slow because it's hard to deep clean and organize with little ones wanting to "help."  At the end of the day on Monday, the garage looked like this:

We definitely made progress! (Again, I wish you could have seen what it looked like when we started.)  We can now walk around and all that was left was things that I needed to put away and find a home for.

So that takes me to Tuesday...today!  After our older two went to school, I put the baby down for a nap and was back in the garage to finish up.  All I could think about today was how much I couldn't wait to sweep the floor.  It's been years since I swept that floor. I pulled down bins and sorted and put away lots of the piles lying around.  I threw out more stuff, I made the laundry pile even taller (ugh, that'll be my next task to tackle), I even did some reorganizing!  It took a little longer today since I really had to think about where to put things and figure out how I was going to organize it all. And again, once all the kids were home and awake, it was difficult to keep moving.  I even had to text my sister-in-law for some motivating words.  It definitely helps having someone there to cheer you on.  I know my husband was too, but he isn't as vocal as I would like sometimes. ;-) Anyway, after not letting myself give up, I went back out there and did all I could do today. Ta-da!

YES!! I still can't believe this has happened...I was able to sweep and everything! Now let me explain what is left in the garage, because I'm sure you have noticed that it's not quite at 100% yet.  The huge laundry stack on top of the washer is actually coats, costumes and blankets that need to be put away (some will need to be washed as well). Below is a pile of trash and items for donating. I can't do anything with the trash bags and recycling because we already filled all out trash cans from the initial clean out, so that'll have to wait until the next trash day.

These are all my bins of decorations and things that "live" in the garage (I'll be going through some of these bins someday to just clean out and get rid of things we don't use):

This area is where we keep our games, chest freezer, extra carseat/stroller, but the three boxes on top of the table are things that will go upstairs once we get the closet and room cleaned out and organized so they actually have a place to get put:

Lastly, this area is what I am dreading...well, not all of it. The black shelves are our tools and other things, there is a box of kids shoes that I keep as the kids grow out of their shoes, and a cute IKEA cart that I really want to find a use for, but haven't yet.  What I am dreading are the are the two extra chairs from my dining table that are covered with clean laundry that has not made their way to closets and drawers in MONTHS! We have a very bad habit in our house...if there is not laundry basket in the garage when the laundry needs to be switched, we just put it on the chair.  But then it gets forgotten and wrinkled and no one wants to deal with it.  Well, now it is going to get dealt with!

Sorting the laundry is my next garage task.  But first, let me show you what we have not been able to do in three years...

Park a car in the garage!! This is our extra car for emergencies and when family/friends need a car when they visit.  It's been out on the street for so long since the garage has been a disaster, but now we can keep it in the garage and it won't get so dirty and worn from just sitting outside since it doesn't get used very often.  I am soooooo excited!  I can't way to finish the garage completely and not have to think about cleaning it.  

Tonight after dinner, I needed to do some laundry and while I was in there, I was still feeling motivated to get things done so I had a great idea. I turned the hood of the car into my "folding table" by using one of my old blankets. You see, I dream of having a real laundry room someday, but in the mean time I'll just pretend I do by using what I have. Haha, see...

It sure makes going through and sorting the mountain of clothes a lot easier.  This is where I have left off for the night...

All the items that are laying out on top of things are my shirts that I don't put in the dryer.  And you may have noticed the chalkboard and baby saucer that made their way out there...that's because my girls wanted to be with me while I did this. :-) Tomorrow morning, once my shirts are dry, I will be able to put all the laundry away! Wahoo!!

I honestly still cannot believe this has happened.  Here are my tips for when you are wanting to tackle a huge project like cleaning out a garage. 

1) Have a plan. - Our plan was to first throw away all the trash and junk, and then focus on organizing.

2) Ask for help! - I am someone who likes to do things alone, but I am learning to ask for help when a project is overwhelming or when I know there are going to be multiple distractions throughout the day.  As a mom, my kids need me, so knowing that my husband was there to either take over or take care of the kids when there were needs made it so much easier to keep going.

3) Create "zones." - I had a trash zone, a keep zone, a this stays in the garage zone, etc. It made sorting easier because once boxes were emptied and things were in their "zones," I only worried about going through and organizing one zone at a time.  

4) Make a list! - I made a to do list before we started the garage.  But after we finished Day 1, I updated my list with what needed to be put away and how to organize the newly clean areas.  It really help keep me on track because towards the end, I was losing steam and focus but I looked at my list and would see an item and take care of it. (i.e. magazines - I have magazine boxes that these needed to go in, so instead of moving them to the side and creating another project for later; I just assemble the boxes, placed the magazines in their appropriate box, and put the boxes upstairs on the bookshelf.)

I hope this post helps motivate you to do something that has been weighing you down as well.  It's been about three years since this garage has been in this condition and I hope it stays this way!  One of the things that kept me motivated was the thought of moving someday.  I kept telling myself, "Andrea, if you don't get this done, you're going to have to do this when you move into a house someday.  Do you really want to take all this junk with you?" Haha. Whatever works, right?!