We are in the middle of upgrading upstairs. So far it’s been bathroom tile, granite counter, faucets, mirror, and bathroom flooring. The killer has been the new baseboards. I know that sounds simple enough but the preparation was the killer. We had to remove stuff from shelves, cabinets, and drawers so the installers could move furniture around to give them access to the baseboards.

Two lessons were learned from this process.

1. We keep way too much junk: all kinds of things with memories attached, things with no memories attached – but they use to belong to some family member a long time ago, clothing I’ll wear when I lose a little more weight, electronic gadgets/computers that stopped working a long time ago, artwork that seemed important 20-30 years ago. Everything that we moved ended up in one of three piles.

Salvation Army – I hope they bring a big truck.

Electronic Waste to be recycled. Only one box. I could probably do better.

Important Stuff that we still need? Over 50 boxes that we’ll need to go through when the painting and carpet are completed upstairs.

We are convinced that we need to change our evil ways and learn to let go of more material things. Carol’s friend gave her a book about learning to declutter. I just went to look for it but it has already become lost in the clutter.

Lesson #2 – In preparing for this project we sorted through a ton of stuff, packed close to 100 boxes, and carried them downstairs. I learned that this kind of work takes a huge toll on me how-a-days. Even 10 or 15 years ago, this would have been a breeze. Not that I would have enjoyed doing it but I could have done much easier. I may have discovered a new law of physics, Garrett’s Law: “The longer a person owns an item made of metal or wood, or paper, or just about any material, the heavier the item will become over time”. This has certainly held true of my “light weight” aluminum ladder we purchased soon after we moved into this house about 20 years ago. When we purchased it I marveled about how light it was and easy to move from place to place. Now a trip up the stairs with the ladder requires extra bowls of Wheaties to prepare for the endeavor. The same is true of all of our furniture.

Or could it be that I have really discover a total different but relevant law? “As a man ages, his ability to perform tasks that were once easy, become more difficult.” There are certain exceptions to this law – the Jack Lalannes of the world. But in the end, they die too, like the rest of us mere mortals. But as I travel to that final and inevitable act of humanity, I do wish these damn boxes would lighten up a little.