Tag: decluttering

The Garage Isn’t Done — But I’m Still Proud

In 2025, I started a mission to declutter. It started well, and I did manage to get through quite a lot. My goal was to have a usable two-car garage by the end of the year. But as of today, the 28th, the garage is still a one-car garage and one cluttered space.

The boxes are still there, the chandeliers we took down are still there, and so is the mess. As I’m writing this, I realize that I am my own worst enemy. Instead of being happy with what I achieved, I’m focusing on the glass being half empty.

Yes, my mission wasn’t completed, but we need to celebrate small achievements sometimes. We cleared one big shelf in the garage and donated many unused items. I finally cleared out the bathroom vanities in preparation for the bathroom remodels we’re planning for 2026 — I even chose the backsplash.

I went through all the prescription and over-the-counter medications in the house and tossed the expired ones. I also sent all the GLP injections I had to the proper disposal area.

I looked through my makeup, tossed the old products, bought some new ones (of course), and simplified my already simple routine.

We also made progress in our living room. We got a new sofa, built a cute corner library, and started working on the plants we love in that space. It’s not finished yet, but it’s getting there.

This year included both great events and challenges that affected our progress. Our middle child got married, and shortly after, my husband had a seizure. That put all decluttering on pause as we tried to understand what went wrong and adjust to our new lifestyle.

For 2026, my goal is to continue this mission — to reclaim a quarter of the garage and finish working on the office and all the paperwork stored in boxes. I’m trying to keep my goals manageable by breaking them into one small assignment per week. I’ll plan ahead, write everything down, and track my progress. And if I don’t complete everything, that will be okay too.

Here’s hoping 2026 brings fewer challenges and more balance.

A Six-Year Mission: Decluttering One Box at a Time

A Six-Year Mission: Decluttering One Box at a Time

We’re on a six-year mission to declutter the house—a mission that began when a broken pipe flooded and destroyed our entire first floor.

We had to box up everything salvageable and move it to the garage while the renovations were underway. Just as the construction was finally completed and we were allowed back in, COVID hit. Suddenly, four adults and a dog were working and living full-time in a house that still wasn’t organized. Computers were everywhere. The boxes? Still in the garage.

Our two-car garage quickly became a one-car-plus-boxes garage. For the past couple of  years, we stared at those boxes, inventing every excuse not to deal with them. It’s too cold. It’s too hot. I’m tired. My leg hurts. Any excuse, valid or not, was enough.

But this past year, we finally started. Every weekend, we tackle one box. This weekend’s box? Flat sheets.

I hate flat sheets. I know people use them as a barrier between themselves and the comforter, but I find them cumbersome and annoying. I donated some, but we’d kept extras in the garage “just in case”—for painting, protecting furniture, or other projects.

We pulled them all out, washed them, sorted them. Now we’re asking: what do we really need? Maybe two or three. The rest? Donate or sell.

We don’t always see progress when we take small steps. The garage isn’t clean or organized yet—but there’s one less box to tackle, and one small shelf that’s now empty and clean.

I saw a post today that said: “There’s nothing too small to celebrate.” And so, I’m celebrating one less box, and a decluttering journey that’s still moving forward.

Starting the cleaning process

Our garage has been a mess since the great downstairs flood of 2019. We had a pipe leak that destroyed the first floor of the house and raised our standard of living as we were relegated to only using our 2nd floor.  And as much as we enjoyed the “open concept” living of our first floor which included  open walls everywhere, we were very excited the fixing up was completed just before the pandemic started we had the stay at home orders.

The only thing that we have not gotten to organize was the garage, during the remodel we moved all our furniture and belongings to the garage. When we started to put the house back together we brought only the most important things back and  donated a lot of household items since  who really  needs 20 serving platters.

But for some reason  we never cleared the garage completely and instead of using the garage for the two cars like it was intended, the garage has become a one car garage with a side full of stuff we have not organized yet and have no memory of what is in the boxes anymore.

I promised my husband for the last three years  that as soon as the California heat dies down I will start Marie Konding the garage, unfortunately or fortunately I have been using the same excuse for the last three years as well as why I never got to clean it.

Truthfully, there is so much stuff there that it is overwhelming and I could never  figure out where to start, so today my son and I decided to tackle two boxes. He helped me primarily cause he was looking for the weights we haven’t seen in ages, but I did not care what the reason was I just jumped in and said let’s start.

We succeeded  kinda, we cleaned 3 boxes and filled the trash cans with trash and there is a little more room in our packed garage. I see this as an accomplishment! And as I decided that from now on I will celebrate any accomplishment, big, small or tiny, I will be celebrating this one and maybe I will be inspired to actually complete  this cleaning project (I would have added pictures, but that would be really embarrassing).