cleaning out :: reflections

A month or so ago when we had the idea to have family all over to our place for Easter we knew this would be just what we needed to get our place whipped into shape for spring.  Seeing as our 800 square feet of indoor space is not going to accommodate everyone, our yard and garage spaces are key to everyone having a nice time. Especially if the weather decides to turn on us and forget that it is supposed to be spring. 

We went about getting things going, making arrangements for help with certain projects and scheduling out different weekends to accomplish specific tasks.  Most of all I scheduled a specific date when we would tackle the garage.  I gave ample warning to my husband so he wouldn't be surprised when the day came.  I love my husband, but getting rid of stuff is not something he enjoys doing.  In fact he will do anything to avoid it.  He even hates the idea of someone else having to get rid of something and will take it off their hands for them.  Time had come to put an end to the collection of stuff that had no purpose but to take up space in our yard or garage.

With the date set, there was no getting around it.  As it got closer I became more and more intimidated by the entire idea of it. 

A conversation with my mom just 2 days before the set date went something like this . . .

Mom " Do you want our help Saturday?"

Me "Yes, your help would be great. You can help us keep our eyes on the prize."

Mom "Dad wants to know, what's the prize?"

Me "A garage I can walk through without having a full anxiety attack because it is such a mess. Oh and a trip to the dump with all the crap we accumulate that we either might use someday or will be great if we just fix it . . . it is all going away. ALL!"

Mom "I can almost hear your eyes rolling back in your head . . . or your head spinning around."

Me "Yep."

Mom "That's it. It's an exorcism."

Me "Pretty much."

With that, the exorcism began.  Only a couple times did my husband and I hit heads together . . . ultimately the result was successful and we were able to simplify and get rid of a ton of stuff.  I finally let go of a lot of stuff I had been holding onto since the girls were babies and my fabulous husband let go of stuff he has been holding onto for longer than our marriage but hadn't even looked at in over 10. We are so happy with the end result and super excited to have family gatherings and be able to use the space.