I didn't mean to wait until it was 100 degrees outside ...

... to clean my garage but that's what I did. I can't tell you what came over me. Clean The Garage has been on my Projects List for five years. Essentially, ever since we moved in and were in a rush to just get everything in, loosely organized, not on fancy racks or shelving systems. We just wanted to be able to get the car in the garage on day one but it was essentially a mess. 

I guess I was moved by the slow and endless summer days. I can only do so many Sudoku puzzles, am I right? Just as I let out a sigh to start yet another puzzle, I closed my laptop, stood up, and walked to the garage, pulled by an unknown force - a force so great as for me to avoid further avoidance.

With an eye on the weather, I've been putting off doing anything in the garage because it's only cooled to 90 degrees. I'll let that sink in: It's cooled to 90 degrees. I've been waiting for a day when the morning temps are less than 90 to vacuum out the car or, for that matter, anything else.

I didn't perform miracles out there but I found a lot of empty boxes and packing materials for "just in case" - in case we need to return something. Or send something. "Just in case" hasn't happened in five years so I think we're safe.

I also have a hamper full of golf balls, a garbage bag full of other garbage bags, swim goggles that no one is going to wear anymore, a couple of empty water bottles that we could fill in an emergency but were now pretty dusty and have probably degraded to an unsafe level (microplastic-wise), two toilet seats, and a bag of wine corks. 

Decisions were made.

I've already delivered packing materials to the local Postal Store to be re-used, a trip to Goodwill has been organized and scheduled, plastic bags will be dropped off at the grocery store for recycling, plastic bottles were squeezed into an already full recycling bin, and a trip to the Habitat For Humanity Re-Store is scheduled. (Anyone need some used golf balls or kid-size swim goggles before they get donated?)

I was dusty and sweaty but I'm not done by a long shot. I don't think I was out there for more than an hour or so. Too hot. But I made a dent and I feel good about that.

It's going to be over 100 degrees all week. Not ideal for cleaning the garage. But, really, it's not ideal for anything.

This could be embarrassing.

It's not entirely my fault. Hubby decided we didn't need such a large recycling bin so he had the garbage people swap out our rather large recycling bin for a smaller one. This has proved to be more challenging than I thought it would be. It also emphasizes how much waste a household can produce when you see it filled to the rim.

One of the problems is all the cardboard that comes with delivery of goods. (I mean Amazon. Let's be real.) With our larger bin, Hubby regularly ignored the mandate to break down boxes and tossed them in fully intact. Of course, we had the room so it was rarely a problem (although I couldn't help myself from pulling them out and breaking them down anyway). 

Leaving them intact isn't remotely possible with the smaller bin. All the boxes must be broken down or the week's recycling simply won't fit. Even the smallest box, when broken down to lay flat, makes a difference. What's more, I flatten all the plastic gallon jugs from our bottled water. That also makes a huge difference. (I really need to finish cleaning the water line in my refrigerator and stop buying plastic-bottled water.)

What's more is our garbage pick-up day is Friday. In the past, when we had too much recycling to fit in our bin, we'd put the overflow cardboard in our neighbor's bin and it would go out with their trash. But they've rented out the house so now we can't do that! Not only that, if we leave for any given weekend our bins remain unemptied until the following Friday.

It's no problem if the garbage bin or the yard waste bin are not emptied weekly. There's very little waste in those bins on a week-to-week basis. But it's a very real problem if the recycling bin isn't emptied so long as the neighbor's house remains rented which is exactly our current situation.

Last weekend we were out of town and our bins didn't get emptied. Luckily, I had a cardboard box that had yet to be flattened from a recent delivery of wine. I pulled out all the cardboard that was in the recycling bin and stacked it neatly in the cardboard box and found I had a lot of room leftover for even more cardboard not to mention more room in the bin. I think I can put the box out on the curb next to the recycling bin on the next pick-up day (tomorrow) and the garbage guys will take it.

However, what was left in the recycling bin after all the cardboard was sorted out was an embarrassing amount of wine bottles. It occurred to me that those wine bottles are going to make a huge racket as they are dumped into the truck outside my house Friday morning! They probably make a lot of noise every Friday but at least there was cardboard in the bin to muffle sound somewhat.

Now I have two weeks worth of wine bottles in a bin with no cardboard. (It's true I drink a lot of wine but I had help, people. I didn't drink all of it!) There are still those flattened gallon-sized plastic jugs in there. Maybe those will help soften the sound.

Or maybe people a mile away will hear it!

Do you think I could park the bin in front of your house tomorrow morning?

Little Nervous

I just signed up for my first water aerobics class at the old folks home senior center 55+ community gym and I'm a little nervous. The last time I signed up for a class it was Pilates and I got my ass kicked by a bunch of 90 year olds old people contemporaries. I was sore for days.

There's no reason for me to be nervous. I'm in relatively good shape (I thought). I'll probably know nearly everyone in the class. I just don't want to look like a doofus.

Which is a dumb because I am a doofus. You should see me dance! Or see any candid photo of me. Or just see me lol.

Oh well. Here I go. (I wonder how long convalescence recuperation recovery will be this time.)

Speaking of co-ops

I've often thought of running one out of my garage. Buying in quantity usually saves money assuming you can store and use everything you buy. Think about bottled water, eggs, paper products. Even meat. How about products that live on the shelf of your pantry, or on those tiny shelves in your refrigerator doors, that you bought because you needed a tablespoon of it for a recipe three years ago?

In a perfect world, I would post what I buy and what I paid for it. Perhaps there would be a website or an email chain where anyone could buy or sell what they have at cost. There is no profit motive here. Just a desire to pass along savings. 

There are some things I would give away. Like the other half of a bunch of cilantro that would otherwise go bad in my fridge because I've already used what I needed. I know it only cost me a dollar but if someone else can use some, we can avoid waste.

I have a similar idea for small tools like a drill or a ladder. I don't need these things all the time but it would be nice to have access to them when I need them. Like a lending library. In a perfect world, this particular library would have a small pickup truck for moving things like the aforementioned ladder, or large purchases that might not fit in a standard car.

Or maybe even a "second car." We don't really need two cars. But every once in a while a second one comes in handy. 

Since I don't live in a commune, most of these ideas wouldn't work. However, I have had the opportunity to share coffee, strawberries, and dates with neighbors just by reaching out and seeing who is interested. So that's something.

Here's another something. I was going through my checkbook and noticed that I had shared some dates with neighbors last year in August which means we can be on the lookout for fresh dates in a couple of weeks.

Who wants some?

Housecleaning Co-op

OK. Clearly, I'm bored.

I've been cleaning my own house lately and by "lately," I mean not even two months. Most of my life (and nearly all of my married life which pretty much covers the same timespan), I've hired someone to clean my home. I've been lucky in that the people I've hired have been extremely good at what they do for the most part. The house gets clean but every once in a while there's some minor damage to a wall, a vase, a barstool, sheetrock. It happens.

Even when I retired a few years ago, I kept my housecleaning service. But after I came home one day to find that a toilet seat had been broken, I decided it might be time for me to clean my own house.

So far, it hasn't been too bad. I mean I thought it would be harder on my aging body but I don't do it all at once so it seems wholly manageable. Plus, it gives me something to do and, in some respects, I actually do a better job than the people I hired. Mostly, it comes down to the details. Small stuff that I wouldn't expect anyone else to do for what I was paying.

I find that I mostly clean while Hubby is away doing whatever it is he does. I have no trouble imagining that I could easily become resentful if all I was doing was cleaning house and all he was doing was sitting in a recliner. But when he's away, I don't mind busying myself with some housecleaning. Plus, I feel good about the results. Results I can see. An accomplishment, if you will. Items crossed off the list.

But, here's what I'm wondering. Would it be more fun - can I use that word in this context? - fun or more sociable if there was a housecleaning co-op? What if a group of people got together to clean one of the co-op member's houses, each person taking a job they either like (or are good at) or otherwise dislike the least? The job would be over in an hour and then in a couple of days, they could clean another member's house and so on. 

But if it's all done in an hour, what will I do for the rest of the day?

Hm... What if wine was served?

Has anyone actually stopped on a dime?

And, why? 

In the continuing quest to slow aging, drink coffee.

 MSN | Coffee found to have startling effect on aging, says new study

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Safe cautioned. 

 Can I volunteer to be a test subject?

Accidentally Finding Something to Do

I need to wipe down all the countertops in my laundry room. I spilled some coffee beans in there and I picked up as many as I could find but the counters have a speckled pattern to them so I'm not sure I can see them all. Plus, they probably need a good dusting anyway.

(Ask me later why there's a coffee grinder in my laundry room.)

PRO TIP: Remember to take the lid off the coffee grinder before attempting to pour coffee beans into grinder.

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