Cleaning House

That’s right: throw the bums out! Wait a minute...we’re a year from the elections. So wadyamean “cleaning house”? As we bemoan the plight of our government and those that are supposedly responsible for its operation, I ask you to take a look at something much closer to home, literally: your garage. Nearly every home built in the last fifty years or so has at least a one-car garage. Two car garages became common in the seventies and beyond while three car garages (or more) are believed to be a necessity in new homes of the 21^st century. Is that because each family owns multiple cars? One would think so, but I believe it’s because each family has more crap than can fit in their home and they need to put it someplace other than the middle of the bedroom floor. And one only drive down a typical neighborhood street to bear out my belief: multiple cars parked on the street or in the driveway of homes with at least a single garage door. And what’s behind that door, Monty? Why, various and sundry boxes and crates and machines and such.

No, garages have become every man’s answer to storage space that is normally rented to provide for the junk you don’t regularly use. But why pay to store it when you can keep it in your very own garage? Of course, you can’t park your car in the garage anymore and your vehicle will suffer the ravages of inclement weather, freezing cold, and/or sweltering heat. And your neighborhood will start looking less like the tree-lined piece of Americana you once envisioned, but rather a congested, quasi-used car lot. Face it: you’ve lost control of your home, much like the federal government has seemingly lost control of their domain. Maybe we should take care of our own houses before asking Washington to take care of theirs.

A short column this week, I know, but it’s a simple solution to a minor, yet unrelenting, scene. So c’mon, folks! Clean up your acts and get organized. Sell the items you no longer need or want (hey…how ‘bout a garage sale?!) or haul it off to the nearest U-Store-It or landfill. Any money you spend on storage will be offset by the increased value of your car that is now safer from the elements and, maybe, even your home as it sits quietly on that tree-lined street free of extraneous vehicles.