Weekly Photo Challenge: A Mess

The weekly photo challenge last week over at A Step in the Journey was "a mess".  I really haven't been looking forward to this challenge.  I have so many messes right now and it's just plain embarrassing.  I  rearranged my living room a while back and I haven't yet put everything away 'cause I want to change the whole look...pictures and all.  I didn't want to show you that mess cause it's embarrassing that I actually live in it day in and day out.  My kitchen is also slightly messy.  The counter and butcher block tend to be "catch-alls".  I was too embarrassed to show that mess also.  My basement is, you guessed it, a mess.  Not the guest room or bathroom, but the main room, which is pretty small.  It's a mess 'cause the laundry was piled up in front of the washer and dryer and I was working on a project down there on the deep freeze due to the fact that both my kitchen and dining room tables are rather cluttered at the moment.  *Blush*  Once again I was too embarrassed to show that mess. 

I finally decided to take a picture of the mess I have put off cleaning up for around five years.  It's a mess that gets a little worse each year.  It's...(dramatic pause)...the garage. *gasp!*  When I moved into this house five years ago I put some things in the garage and told myself I'd get to them soon.  Well, that didn't happen and every year more things got piled in there.  To top it off we have accumulated numerous bikes, holiday decor, etc.  Here it is...the awful garage disaster:

Oh my!  So many things just thrown in.  There actually is a work table/counter under all that crap to the left.  Yes, there is a hole in the back wall.  My neighbor backed into it one time.  Haven't been able to get it fixed yet. 

Well, I decided this past weekend it was time to clean this mess.  I drug a lot of stuff out of the garage and piled it in the driveway.  I threw a bunch of crap away (2 pickup loads), swept like crazy, and organized.  Here is what my driveway looked like during the clean up:

This isn't nearly as bad as it ended up looking. 

Finally, after 6-7 hours, almost being gassed out by Pacen who was spraying spiders and bees with bug spray, 6-10 squished spiders (of all kinds), some mild screaming and jumping around (spiders), lots of sneezing, a bit of raising my voice at Pacen and his buddy who were constantly in my way, and two trips to the fire pit where I work, I was finished!  Finished and SUPER pleased with myself.  I still have a box of things that I need to get rid of, but I want to see if the local theater company wants it for props and costumes.  I also want to figure out something to do with all the bikes.  They still make the garage crowded.  But I'm happy I have my work counter and I can easily fit my car in there this winter.  Yay!!!  Here is my clean garge:

I feel so relieved to have that mess cleaned up.  Now to tackle the messes in my house.  I did manage to get part of the living room and kitchen cleaned up. 

 "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby." ~ Nancie J. Carmody