Storms are brewing, it’s time to clean the garage

      With storms brewing in late March and early April, the biggest concern in the Parker house was parking our van in the garage.
      The garage is big enough, but instead of the van, there is stuff - lots of stuff. This makes parking the van inside next to impossible.
       I’m big on recycling cardboard boxes and sometimes I let them pile up in the garage before taking them to the recycle center. In addition to owning a cardboard factory, there are a number of other plastic tubs, boxes of stuff, tools, yard equipment, yard decorations and more stuff taking up a majority of the garage. If you have stuff, you might be a packrat.
      When the first round of storms rolled through Poweshiek County on Friday, March 31, Debbie, who was not feeling the best at the time, become concerned when the weather folks started talking about hail – big hail.
       “I think we should try and get the van in the garage,” she said.
     I agreed, but was also a bit under the weather and cleaning the garage in the next 15-minutes while a steam train of tornados and hail were on the horizon was not at the top of my to-do list.
     Debbie made an attempt, but cleaning can be an overwhelming task. I do appreciate her concern and efforts.
       Thankfully the storms passed with only a minor bout of pea size hail.
       Well, then comes Tuesday, April 4.
      I had been napping while Mother Nature was working outside to send round two of nasty weather our way.
     Again, Debbie, who by this time was feeling better, asked about parking the van in the garage when reports of hail and high winds were forecast for our area. Like Debbie, I was feeling better, so I said, “Let’s check it out.”
    We both dug in and 15-minutes later, we had the piles neatly arranged in bigger piles, opening a spot for the van.
     I pulled the van in the garage and was about 6-inches short of closing the door. There wasn’t much more I could do, so I hit the gas and pushed the wall of boxes, tubs and trashcans forward enough to get inside the garage.
     I had to walk outside around the van before closing the garage door. That is close, folks. 
    Task accomplished and we did it together. We didn’t throw anything away, we just arranged how it was stacked. Of course, the storm, at least in Montezuma, didn’t do anything and we are thankful for that.
     When I headed out on Wednesday for work, a pile boxes had collapsed on the van. One was even stuck to the hood.
     Cleaning is a never ending project. There’s always something that needs cleaning from the toilet to well, the entire house.
     Our goal this summer is to clean the garage and the house. We hope to hold at least one, if not two, garage sales. We have lots of stuff and a great garage sale in the works.
     I’m hoping people will visit our garage sale and buy some of our stuff. Then I will be able to get the van in the garage – or fill it up with more stuff.
     Life is full of storms, challenges and more. My advice is to find the positive, work together to find a solution, put your hand to the plow and keep moving forward.
​      Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.