My House, My Niece, and My Messy Garage

Today was my 6th Housiversary. I’ve lived in 4 states, 7 towns/cities, and at least 24 apartments/houses. I bought my house and moved into it 6 years ago today. This is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere. Making that day even more special, my sweet little niece Alex was born that day too. I was supposed to be in the delivery room with my sister and her husband when she had the baby, but she went into labor 2 hours before the movers were supposed to be at my apartment, so I didn’t get to be there for her birth. I got everything moved in and a few things unpacked and then left the next morning to go see my new sweet little niece. It was a pretty special day, February 22, 2003.

Have you ever seen that Friends episode, “The One With the Secret Closet”? It’s the episode where Joey and Chandler decide to find out what’s behind the door that is between the bathroom and the balcony in Monica and Chandler’s apartment. When Chandler finally gets into the door, it’s just a bunch of junk that Monica has piled in there willy-nilly, completely opposite to the organized person we had known her to be since the beginning of the series.

This, my friends, is what my garage looks like. Granted I’m not as organized as I used to be, but I’m still probably more organized than about 85% of the people out there. It may even be bordering on OCD. My aunt once made fun of the little squares in my underwear drawer because they’re all folded and organized according to texture and type. My clothes have to be hung on the right kind of hangers: white clothes can hang on colored hangers, but any clothes of color must hang on white hangers only. Sweaters can’t hang with short sleeved shirts. Etc., etc., etc. Even the “junk” drawer in my kitchen is not really junky. But, open my garage door and it’s a completely different world!

I have the intention of being organized out there, and I try periodically to get the job done, but it never happens. It’s just junk that I’m not using or don’t know what to do with, thrown into the abyss. I have these great little shelves to store stuff on. I have different colored baskets to help with the organization. I have a label maker. I have everything a person would need to have an organized garage. I just can’t get it together to…well…get it together.

In my itch to simplify, I really am going to be organizing that sucker! I have too much stuff that I don’t need, don’t use, and am irritated looking at. I have this fantasy about what it will look like once I’m done with all the cleaning out and organizing. A few years ago on Will and Grace, there were some scenes that took place in Will’s mother’s attic. I want my garage to look like her attic. Logically I know that it won’t. I don’t have a set designer to make it look like that for one thing. But, I will just be supremely satisfied if I don’t cringe inside if I find out that someone opened my garage door when I wasn’t around and saw just how unorganized I can be.