Life After Decluttering - Garage & Outside

 

I had been chomping at the bit to get out into the garage and the backyard to do some major decluttering.  I’d braved the cold temperatures a few times to start in the garage but as soon as spring finally sprung I was full throttle to get this part of my decluttering journey completed.  I was so ready to get rid of crap!

 

Through the winter months I was busy canning a lot of the meat I had in the garage freezer until I had whittled it down to the point I was able to fill my refrigerator freezer and empty out the chest freezer.  Once that was completed, and it was a job to be sure, I listed it on Facebook Marketplace and sold it right away.

 

My next HUGE project was to get rid of A LOT of scrap wood I had accumulated from all the home improvement projects I’d been working on the previous four years as well as stuff I’d collected for projects I changed my mind on and decided no longer needed to be done like a larger chicken coop and a greenhouse.  Nice, but definitely not necessary at this stage of my life.  I gathered up my first big pile in the backyard and offered it up on Facebook for free and then a few weeks later I emptied out the garage onto the driveway and hauled all the rest of the freebie pile from the backyard and offered it up again on Facebook.  Each time it all went in a matter of a couple of days.

 

I gave away camping equipment I no longer wanted, needed or used.  I offered up the big barbecue and an old window on Facebook, gave some yard stuff to my next door neighbor and bagged up a ton of donation items.  A couple of friends came over and collected a few things too.  I hauled a ton of stuff out of the garage and set it at the curb for recycling pick up over a period of six weeks.  I filled my trash bin to the top twice.  Then I began the final stage of the backyard landscaping project and that required a massive load to be hauled off to the dump.

 

What I am left with is a fully functional garage space with adequate storage for the items that matter to me most and a place to work on projects out of the weather.  I have a gorgeous yard and garden that makes me extremely happy and where I love to spend time.  No more clutter, no more unfinished projects waiting for my attention and no more piles of stuff taking up precious real estate.  From the curb at the street all the way to the backyard fence line, inside and out, I have the home I’ve always dreamed I could someday have.  My heart sings with joy every time I look out a window at what I’ve created and I feel so free and light as I pass through each space inside my home.  After twenty eight and a half years of living in this house it feels like a brand new home and I couldn’t be happier.