Just because it is parked in your garage..

 

 Just because it's parked in the garage doesn't mean it's a car. There is lots of “stuff” parked in my garage, things I have collected over time.  Some I wanted to keep, some I intended to throw away and some, I just did not know what to do with them.

   As I turned into the driveway and pushed the garage door opener and looked inside, I decides that it was to clean out and straighten up. Basically, the garage had been neat with plenty of storage space, with hooks and shelves on the wall and an overhead area for who knows what. But if I did not act soon, the car would soon be parked in the driveway instead of the garage.

   I pulled the trailer close to the door for the larger items and placed boxes on the floor, each one with a different label; throw away, auction, antique booth and I don't have a clue. After a few minutes of frenzied chaos by pitching things in every direction, I decided I needed a system. Why not start in one corner and move around the room. 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. I believe my neighbors feel the same way about their garages. That may be the reason many have garage sales. But I don't have time for a sale, I only want to “get rid of” and organize..

   The project was more difficult than I thought. I have a number of tools that belonged to my father. Too sentimental to throw away or sell. But who needs seven hammers.

   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 were everywhere.   I can't throw away books.  No matter how old or new, the words on the pages need to be shared . Perhaps under the cover of darkness I would drop them off on the library steps or at a local shelter where someone might pick up one or two. Everyone should 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. It was at that moment that I made a pledge to myself to never let this happen again. In the future I would decide, before putting something new into the garage, whether I would keep something or not. 

   As I sipped the coffee I looked around. From the outside the garage looked like a place to park cars. Inside it was something quite different. My garage was like people. Just because they look one way on the outside, doesn't mean that's what they are 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 make them a believer in God or an honest person . If someone smiles sweetly, does that make them a friendly person?

   If people wear flashy wrist watches or gold jewelry, are they rich? Designer labels and branded athletic shoes have been known to cause death among those who desire them.

   What appears on the outside isn't always what is on the inside.  Parked in my garage is more than a car.  Like my garage, we make too many assumptions about people and how they look on the outside rather than really getting to know what's inside.

   OK. Time to get back to work.

(I wrote this several ago and decided to reprint it with this update. After cleaning up the garage about two years ago, the strangest thing happened......yes I need to do another cleanout and organization. How did that happen?   :)