So what's tucked away in your garage...besides your car?

   Just because it's  in the garage doesn't mean it's a car. There's lots of “stuff” in my garage, things I have collected over time.  There are pieces of furniture  I need to keep because of the antique business, but  some of the other stuff...maybe I intended to throw away and some... I just didn't know what to do with it.

   As I turned into the driveway and opened the garage door and looked inside, I decides that it was to clean out and straighten up before winter sets in. The garage had been neat and tidy  with plenty of storage space. There are hooks and shelves on the wall and an overhead area for who knows what....possibly a home for squirrels? But things have gotten a bit messy over the past few months and if I don't  take action soon, the cars would soon be parked in the driveway instead of in the garage and be covered with snow after the first storm. 
   And then there are the comments from  my oldest daughter when she comes to visit.. Dad, it's time to clean this up a bit.  I tell her..."there may be some 'rare finds' in here for you someday!" And she just walks away shaking her head. 

   I pulled my trailer close to the door for the larger items and placed boxes on the floor, each one with its own label; 'throw away', 'auction', 'antique booth' and one that says..'I don't have a clue.' 
   After a few minutes of frenzied chaos, I decided I needed a system. Why not start at one end and move out from there. I always considered myself to be rather concrete and sequential, but the older I get I find that I am becoming more random.

   Now there are some great treasures in my garage, much like my junk drawer and it is going to be difficult to get rid of some of these treasures. This project was going to be more difficult than I thought.

    I still have a number of tools that belonged to my father. Too sentimental to throw away or sell... but who needs seven hammers and every size C clamp ever made.

   There were some boxes of dishes from an auction at least 6 months ago that I had never opened. Dollar signs danced before my eyes.

   Books are everywhere. I can't throw away books. No matter how old or new, books should not be thrown away. Perhaps under the cover of darkness of night I will drop them off on the library steps or at a local shelter where someone might pick up one or two. Shouldn't everyone  read “The Oxford History of the American People.”

   An hour into the task and I was exhausted. I needed a break. Coffee would be good. I'll use one of the coffee cups from the 'throw away box'. 
   It was at that moment that I made a pledge to myself to never let this get out of hand again. In the future I would decide, before putting something into the garage, whether I would keep it, sell it or just throw it away..

   As I sipped my coffee I looked around. From the outside with the door closed the garage looks like any other garage. What's inside may be quite different. My garage is 'like people' I thought. Just because they look one way on the outside doesn't mean that's what they look like on the inside. If someone looks old on the outside it doesn't mean they have no value inside. Just because someone goes to church each Sunday doesn't necessarily mean they respect and care about other people. If someone smiles sweetly, does it  mean they are friendly?

   What appears on the outside isn't always what's on the inside. Stored in my garage is more than just my car. Stored in my garage is a collection of things I have collected over time. But I needed to ask myself "why?' This revelation might  be the beginning of a "life's little lesson" here too . Like the 'stuff ' in my garage and deciding what to keep or throw away, we often make  similar assumptions about people, deciding who we want as friends and who we do not, and then just move on.  

  But I digress! I am suppose to be cleaning out my garage. OK...time to get back to work.