The Great Garage Excavation

Andrew surveys the clutter that has infested the Ranzengarage.

 I know – it looks like a bad episode of “Storage Wars.”
I love the condo where the Ranzenbergers moved, now, six years ago. But there’s a dirty little secret: The garage.
It was never the plan to have the garage be full of … stuff. We always planned to get it organized, and get at least one car into the two-car garage. But …
How did it go on for six years? Well, I was busy. And I didn’t have a plan, other than “We gotta get the garage cleaned up.”

Ashley and Andrew secure The Canoe to the ceiling.

A big hangup was The Canoe. The Canoe has been part of the Ranzenberger household since the mid-1990s. It’s nothing special. It’s a low-end, discount-store, 15-footer, but it gets the job done. It’s been down numerous Michigan rivers, and provides some good outdoor fun.
But it’s 15 feet long and sucks up space. The clutter just sort of collected around it. And when the garage was cluttered, it just attracted more clutter, until …. Maybe it’s more like “Hoarders” than “Storage Wars.’
This year is the year. Phase One: Get The Canoe up off the floor and open up some space to work. Andrew, Ashley and I succeeded in that. The Canoe now is hanging from the ceiling at the back of the garage.
And there’s hope. More detailed plans, one step at a time, are being developed. It’s the old “how to eat an elephant” problem. One bite at a time.
Expect some sort of giant garage sale. When we figure out just what’s in the garage.
One bite at a time.
Perhaps we’ll get a car in there by next winter.