Since school will be starting for the grands today, Nathan took each of the two older kids out for some post-summer daddy/kid time.
It was disc golf for Noah. . .
and roller skating for Madi.
In a similar vein . . .
Steve takes each grand out by themselves for a meal and an adventure near their birthday. It was Grayson’s turn and he had a very large time. That child lives life at full speed.
I’m so thankful they all live close enough to make memories with.
Steve and I have strolled through our disordered mess and memory-filled garage from time to time and said, “Hmmm. I think the best way for us to deal with all this is to let the kids clean it up after we’re gone.”
Good plan, right? Yes, a wonderful plan . . . in our dreams. But not so much in real life.
So Saturday morning, Steve and I trudged our way downstairs to take another gander at it all.
Since Steve estimates that he has a couple of hundred things to work on around the house, we decided the most logical place to start would be to clean up his workbench. 
The challenge is that when we moved in almost a year ago, none of his dad’s decades-old collection of stuff had been touched. When Ken’s health began to fail, he never made it back downstairs to sort through all those belongings. And then Steve came along and moved in with his own array of tools and miscellany.
So for those of you who have ever moved into a house with a completely empty garage and work space, give thanks! This has been quite the challenge to dig through one layer before adding another one.
If it were only about tools and clutter, it would be one thing. But with Ken’s belongings thrown into the mix, it’s been about tools and clutter and . . . memories.
Steve has had a difficult time going through the workbench area up till now because every piece he’s picked up has had decades of memories and dozens of stories attached. And the memories have made the clutter all but impossible to sort. But Saturday we took a stab at it to see if we could make some progress. I’m happy to say it went well.
Amid the cleaning, Steve told a few accompanying basement stories.
One of them was about a snake bite kit he had in Hawaii. He has referenced it from time to time when talking about being a Boy Scout in Hawaii and packing for a camping trip. He said he always took his snake bite kit even though there are few–if any–snakes in Hawaii. (Boy Scout’s motto: Be prepared. Steve Smith’s motto: Be overprepared!)
Well, lo and behold, I got to meet the famous snake bite kit in person.
He explained that a person would take the slicer thingie and cut an x into the skin where the bite was.
Then they would take the orange squeegee thing and use it to draw out the venom before applying the antibiotic that was included in the kit.
I had never in my life seen a snake bite kit so it was interesting to get my own personal tour of one.
We found old baby food jars where Ken would store small bits of stuff.
And we found this coffee container. Has anyone ever heard of this brand? I have no clue what freeze-dried coffee is.
There was an old peanut can full of miscellaneous pieces of string of all lengths. And there were hundreds of nails of all sorts and sizes–some of them bent beyond use. But Ken was a child of the depression and they didn’t throw anything away
This is a mysterious item for sure. Any guesses?
Well, I’ll tell you.
When we were on the road for fifteen years doing music, we had 3,000 pounds of gear to load and unload. That included four mic stands with heavy, round bases that unscrewed from the stands before being packed. Steve’s Uncle Lloyd custom-made this metal holder so that each of the stands could be slid onto the holder and then the entire thing could be picked up and carried. Such a brilliant design. That thing has been with us to thirty states.
I did take one photo of myself in the process showing my bemused look. I didn’t style my hair because I knew it would be a sweaty day.
So here’s the before photo . . .
and here’s the after.
Hooray for progress!
There will be more memories and mess to go through down the road but at least the kids will have one less area to clean. (Just kidding, kids!)
What about you?
Have you ever put off doing something because of the memories involved?
Are you an over-packed like Steve? (And me.)
Have you ever had freeze-dried coffee?
Has it been hot where you are? We’re supposed to reach 96 this week. Let’s all think fall!
I’m sort of youngish at 42, but for some reason I’ve already been worrying for a long time about leaving behind too much clutter for other people to deal with. So I’m a very regular purger; sort of the opposite of a hoarder. I take photos of many items with nostalgic value, in lieu of keeping them. I have a few neatly packed boxes of nostalgia, but otherwise my house would not be difficult to sort through after I died. Not much extraneous stuff around.
(I’m not trying to have a big head about myself; I have many other flaws and shortcomings. I just happen to be proactive about this one thing.)
Ellen,
No worries about seeming like you have a big head; you are an inspiration to me! I love the idea of just taking photos of certain items and that way you have the memory to pull out when you want to revisit it.
I’ve been a little frustrated since I’ve started working full time that I can’t get down into the basement for longer periods of time and make huge amounts of progress. I’ll have to settle with chipping away at it knowing that I’m making progress.
I have never had freeze dried coffee as I have never drunk coffee period. I think I do remember my mom and dad having Maxim.
We had a mild week last week up until Friday. At one point, my thermostat showed 103 degrees Saturday afternoon. It’s currently 99 with a heat index of 112. Hopefully Saturday will drop down into the 80s with possible rain on Sunday. Our neighborhood was supposed to have an ice cream social Friday night; however, we have moved it to Saturday night due to the high temperature forecasted for Friday. Next week is only to be in the 80s as of now. Hopefully it will stay that way! When I walked out of the house Monday morning about 8:15, I felt like I had walked into a sauna!
Looks like you made good progress on the basement Saturday. I know from cleaning out my dad’s shed that it takes time. He had a bunch of tools and those went fast at the estate sale.
I’m probably a bit of an over packer myself, especially if I’m driving somewhere. When I flew to Florida last year, I had a bunch of books to take to my friend and came back with another bunch.
Phyllis,
Yes, I would think an ice cream social in these high temps would not go very well. It would have to be re-named a milkshake social with all that melted ice cream!
How that that you and your friends share books. That’s the best kind of friend to have!
Oh wow!!!! Maxim coffee!! I remember seeing that as a child. And it was freeze-dried!😊
We just finished up going through our house in preparation for moving. That sure brought back the memories and yes, we put off some of it as long as possible. Partly because of the memories but mostly because we knew we’d have to make decisions about getting rid of things. It ended up being easier than we thought. 👍
It’s been super hot and humid here. We’ve been in an excessive heat advisory for over a week and it’s not set to expire until Thursday. We moved on Saturday and it was 104 with a “feels like” of 115. Needless to say, it was an extremely hot and sweaty day!!! Got up to 108 today. I’m ready for fall.
LeeAnne,
Oh my. I can’t imagine moving with a “feels like” of 115. You guys deserve some kind of medal. (And a tall glass of ice water.)
I’m glad the sorting process ended up being easier than you thought.
Definitely an over-packer but paring down recently and trying to “pack lighter” for things. And, for the freeze dried coffee…my mom used to drink that when she was trying to cut down on her coffee consumption! It really is just instant coffee. The baby food jars and cans of “stuff”…what precious memories of my dad that brought back. He had made a “rack” where he screwed the lids to the bottom of a shelf board. Filled those jars with screws and nails of every size and shape. They just screwed the jars onto the lids. Kept them at eye level and all sorted out. Great idea, really. And, there were few nails too bent to not re-use. I can remember being given a hammer and a pile of bent nails the task to straighten them out!
That just jogged an amazingly old memory for me. My great-granddaddy used to give me bent nails to straighten out! Haha
Stefanie,
Well, I never even knew nails could be straightened so you’ve taught me something. Not that I’m going to go down to the basement and straighten nails, or anything. 🙂
Janet,
Another nail-straightener in our midst! I honestly never new that was possible. I think I would end up hitting my thumb and fingers a million times if I tried it.
I had read somewhere about using baby food jars the way you describe. A terrific idea!
I am most definitely an over-packer. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’ve never had freeze-dried coffee, but I do have vague memories of Maxim commercials. I think freeze-dried was a kind of instant coffee, but was “crystals” rather than powder. As I type this Monday night at 9:31 it is 98 here in Mesquite. We’re forecasted to be in the triple digits all week, with the high of 107 Friday. We’re supposed to have a “cold” front move in Sunday evening and drop to below 80 overnight for the first time in many days/nights. I’m so ready for sweater weather!! Congrats on a great start to the garage! Hope you all have a wonderful week!!
Sue Ellen,
A high of a 107? Oh my. I’ll take our 96 degrees any ol’ day.
Enjoy your coming “cold front!” 🙂
Yes, we are glad to have made even a little progress on our garage project. Thanks for the encouragement.
So cool that each kid gets one-on-one time with the adults in their family! Making precious memories, for sure!
I remember that brand of coffee, very vaguely – my Southern great-grandmother drank it.
When we cleaned out my dad’s house after he died (he died about five years after my mom died), we had to sort through EVERYTHING. I kept reminding myself that their love for me was NOT tied to any specific object. I kept very very little (I have my dad’s Cross pen set, and a couple of other small trinkets; I have a woodland Santa Claus from my mom’s extensive Santa collection). I’m a minimalist – but Mike is more of a “keeper” than a “pitcher.” He has the basement. I ignore that area as much as possible. If it were up to me, I’d live in a pull-behind camper for the rest of my life, or a Tiny House. I don’t need stuff. Stuff makes me anxious. hahaha
The can of “stuff” – my grandfather called that his “he//” can (I am trying not to swear, but that’s what he said). 🙂 That term has since been adopted by my daughter for her own metal can of “stuff” in her garage. 🙂
It’s going to be 100° to 107° this week in the St. Louis area. We don’t have any rain in the forecast for the next ten days, either. Yesterday was brutal – our heat index was 116°.
Stefanie,
I think you’re absolutely correct in saying that too much stuff can cause anxiety. There is something very peaceful about living a more streamlined, minimal life. Not that I’m there, by any means, but I have had moments of it (like greatly paring down my wardrobe) and it’s a great feeling.
I think it’s funny your daughter adapted your grandfather’s term for the can of stuff. I’m sure he would be proud. 🙂
When rain finally hits your area (along with cooler temps) I think there should be dancing in the streets!
Becky,
Great job tackling the memories and mess! My hat’s off to you and Steve.
I have never been a coffee drinker but both of my parents were. Neither of them liked instant coffee. Freeze dried coffee was target towards people like them. It was advertised as having more robust flavor than instant and to taste more like “real” (brewed) coffee. My parents didn’t think so and didn’t like it either. Memories!
Take care!
Hugs, prayers and blessings,
Linda in Pittsburgh
Linda,
Hmmm. Interesting to hear the marketing reasoning behind freeze dried coffee, that they wanted consumers to feel like it was a step above. Didn’t sound like your parents were impressed. 🙂
I wonder if freeze dried coffee is still manufactured. I won’t be drinking any anytime soon!
Great job to you both on tackling the basement area again. The work bench area looks so much better! And how fun to uncover the various treasures and oddities from years past.
How blessed the grands are to have parents and grandparents who show their love for them in so many ways. Spending one on one time with them is such a gift.
It’s supposed to hit 97 here on Wednesday. But thankfully it will be short lived and we’ll be back to decent WI temps within the week. I think I saw 67 for day time temps next Monday. Yay!
Love to all.
Deb
Deb,
We are getting down to the low 60’s at night next week and that makes me very happy. Glad your high temps are going away quickly; I know how much you dislike hot weather.
Thanks for the encouragement with our cleaning project. Since you and Randy have “skin in the game” with our cleaning down there, you can appreciate more than most what goes into even getting one corner clean.
I think you made great progress. We did move into a house with a empty garage, but we have acumulated so much that it is at the stage of let the kids clean it out. Husband tries to clean it every year, but things seem to just get moved around.
Ken sounds just like my dad. Never throw anything out because you may need it. We found a lot of odd things in the garage. I tend to be somewhat like that, but I do have my limits.
I do put of clearing out things due to memories. I am starting to let that go now and have started selling some of those old items on etsy.
My rule of packing is, “if there is room, take it”. If we drive somewhere I pack way more that if we fly.
I agree with Kristy that freeze dried was a style of instant coffee that was more crystalized for easy melting, if memory serves me. It is hard to find instant now, especially decaf which I need. I mostly use it in recipies.
We are to have a hotter week this week, but overall summer has been fairly mild in MI. I don’t like the heat at all, so am excited for fall.
Patti,
Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to accumulate things? It happens so gradually that you don’t even notice it until one day you look around and really see it. Never ceases to amaze me how it creep up!
Your rule of packing made me smile. I can relate! 🙂
Freeze dried coffee, I believe, was the predecessor of instant coffee, which has become all but extinct due to one cup brew machines. I’m 59 and vaguely remember this brand. The string bits remind me of a gift my daughter made as a child for all the men in her life. Empty plastic peanut butter jars and plastic coffee cans elaborately decorated an a small hole poked in the center of the lid. She put a ball of string in each and poof! A handy dandy string thing. Her dad, grandad and uncle use them to this day!
Kristy,
I LOVE your daughter’s string gift! And how cool that the men in her life still use it. So cool!
My mom always used empty plastic peanut butter jars to store leftovers. So many good uses.