Organizing the Garage

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My father has been cleaning up the garage. I saw him this weekend and asked him how it’s going. “It’s getting there,” he said.

My father is 98 and he’s been working on this project for decades. The garage, it should be noted, is already pretty damn organized.

I love the fact that after all this time the status is still: “Its getting there.”

It’s an acknowledgement of progress and a sign of optimism tempered by the awareness that there is always work to be done.

One of the secrets to living a long, rich life is staying engaged. In my dad’s case that means having a list of things that need doing and a system to follow so you can stay on track and measure progress.

In the case of the garage, there is not surprisingly a system.

He’s gone to the effort to label hooks where he hangs everything from his grub hoe to his hacksaw. There is a designated spot for the ice picks and axes, the catspaw and a 12-inch crowbar. There are bins for the birdseed and boxes of gloves and tins of galvanized nails.

Dad uses recycled jars of Kosciusko mustard and Skippy peanut butter to store nails and screws of varying lengths. He’s hung and arranged wrenches and hammers and shovels.

He has a list of projects including cataloging his collection of beach badges that date back to the early 1970s. They are currently kept in a plastic container that once held pretzels.

Not long ago we dragged out a rusted farm bell that previously hung in the backyard. He wants to wire brush it and store it in the rafters.

The thinking is that we may need it someday.

Dad’s bucket list isn’t going to Venice or seeing the pyramids at Giza. It’s hanging the beach chairs and arranging the trowels for the garden.

There’s a strong tendency to tell dad: “it’s fine” or “why not leave it alone.”

But that would be missing the point.

When you have a garage, there is always more to do.

And doing it is the point.

(Part of a series of life lessons based on conversations with my parents.)

Your career will thank you.

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BRIEF OBSERVATIONS

NYC STARTUP SCENE: The startup scene in New York has exploded in recent years.

DRIVING: Many young people are no longer getting drivers licenses. Amy Nixon’s take is that we will also see far less car ownership.

FERTILITY TREND: Interesting demographic shift here with older women accounting for more babies for the first time.

BE THAT DOG: We don’t deserve dogs!

ROTATING THE MATTESS: I asked you all in the last issue whether you rotate the mattress. Almost half of you don’t!

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