Before
After
This cleaning and purging job took about 4 full days. Not bad since it’s been in there for 4 years. Heck, I could even park my car in the garage if I wanted to. I gave away several car loads of stuff to the thrift store and had my driveway filled, and I mean the whole thing, for freecyclers to pick up. I still have a long way to go on the “garage minimalist” approach, but I sure have made significant progress.
Here’s the deal. Most people, including myself, can get help or clean an area like this by themselves, but how do we maintain it? I’ve cleaned out my garage several times and it always ends up looking like the before pictures within weeks. The difference this time? I got rid of a lot of stuff and I have a new minimalist outlook on this whole thing. I might like stuff, but knowing the stress associated with it, the high cost and the gridlock factor, I can let go. Even if it’s just a few things at a time, the process is in motion and will stay that way.
Here’s one little guy I’m keeping, as I found him in my garage this week. He’s been hidden away for 4 years. He’s broken and he’s part of my weird stuff collection. He’s a vintage Kreiss Psycho Pottery piece from the 60’s. He depicts how I feel when I’m in gridlock with too much crap in my house. I need to prominently display him where I see him everyday, reminding my that life is not about collecting a bunch of stuff, but about the people in our lives.
Would anyone out there like to name this little guy?