Pedley's Ponderings

With Easter behind us and warmer weather seemingly here to stay, I’m declaring Old Man Winter dead for the next seven months. This is the printed word and official now; no going back.

What a bearcat the last four months have been. Early outs, snow days and canceled events became the norm as storm after storm rolled through the state on repeat. Still, it could be worse – Iowans who reside south of here can attest to that.

Spring brings with it a sense of renewed optimism. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, which is enough to put a smile on most folks’ faces after the bitter winter we just endured. While I have enjoyed the recent temperature hike, I’ve been keeping a cautious eye trained on my to-do list.

It’s not egregiously long, but when you’re an egregious procrastinator like me, it might as well be. As the saying goes, never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.

Still, I tried to make some leeway last weekend with mixed results. The west side of our garage remains a maze of miscellaneous items that were never packed away post-move, and the mass has grown rather bothersome the longer we look at it. The tool bench is the most prominent eyesore to me since it requires the organization of a million different items. My system of throwing all my tools into a cupboard and closing the door as fast as possible was working just fine.

I gave it a go, though – I’d guess that I got halfway through it last Saturday. Unfortunately since some of it was thrown into a discard pile, I made an even bigger mess than when I started. I swear that it never pays to try sometimes.

I hope to get after it again this weekend. Junk day is fast approaching and I’m sure a portion of our horde will make it to the curb – that is, if I can bring myself to part with it.

While I do enjoy the feeling of getting rid of unwanted clutter, I always have a tough time letting go of certain things. After all, I may need that old three-foot 2x4 for something, and you never know when fittings for a light fixture from our previous house may come in handy. Ceramic tiles from a project completed four years ago are always in short supply as well. Who in their right mind would get rid of them?

The problem is that as soon as I ditch a long-forgotten item I’ll no doubt need it for something right away. Of course, I have no tangible evidence of this happening to me in the past, but the possibility mathematically exists.

The garage will take some time. Subconsciously, I may be spending more time in there to avoid other projects. We plan to remove most of the landscaping around our house this spring, which will be the duty of yours truly. However, if I never leave the empire of junk in our garage my wife just might do it herself.

That’s called strategy, people. It’s important to always think about the long game with this stuff.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.