Too Much To Do ( Read: I'm Overwhelmed )

It was 30 years ago this weekend that we moved into our house. Married just over two years, this was a very happy occasion for us, never dreaming we would live in a house like this at such a young age. It came at a price of course, as most things that are worth having do, whether it be monetary or laborious. And houses are usually both.

c. 2004

But work is a good thing to do and Romie and I were both raised in homes where a good and hard work ethic was taught. It's the German way! My parents taught me and we tried to teach our own girls that if you don't go above and beyond what's required of you, you aren't doing enough. It's called 'teamwork' and that's the only way things truly get done. Everyone has areas where they excel and places where they don't, so by everyone doing what needs to be done and at the same time taking up the slack for each other, it's amazing what can be accomplished!

That being said, we're both feeling a bit overwhelmed and a lot tired on this Labor Day weekend. We're still getting ourselves put back together after the flood, which feels mighty good, but the main floor of the house remains a mess, because we are having a garage sale this coming Friday and Saturday.

Good timing, you might say. I would say that too if we'd had a little bit of a break from the clean-up, but we're having this sale alongside our next-door neighbors so it's been planned for awhile (unlike the flood). And you can just guess what happens when you have to take everything out of a basement then put it all back again. It's like cleaning out an attic. You find things you'd forgotten you had and wonder not only why you kept them, but why you ever bought them in the first place. Things that make for good garage sale material.

So this Labor Day weekend, we labored. We moved and sorted and moved and threw away and moved and cleaned and moved . . . you get the picture. Jenna came today with her contributions for the sale and joined in on the fun of it all. She's a real workhorse, with a penchant for cleaning and organizing, so she was a godsend. I've always told her that she's not normal with her "I love to clean!" attitude, but we never look a gift horse in the mouth. She kept us at it when we wanted to give up and go take a nap.

We made great strides today and things are starting to come together. The basement is 95% back to normal, so tomorrow we can concentrate on getting the garage organized for the sale. The biggest job will be to price things and I hate doing this. It's hard to put a price on things that you personally feel aren't worth keeping yet hope others will buy. Oh, it's not that we don't have any good stuff, because we do, and it's not even a case of "one man's trash is another man's treasure" either. But still, we want to be rid of it, and what doesn't sell will go to Goodwill.

So, if you don't have anything better to do this Friday and Saturday, and you're in the area, venture out and visit us. I'm just sure we'll have something you can't live without.