I went to the garage the other day to look for the swimming pool toys for the kids. The first of September every year I vow to put summer things away in a reasonable order. They end up being like Christmas decorations though, I’m tired of looking at them so I stash them wherever there’s an open space in our very crowded garage.

We do have room for both cars, but that’s about it. The walls are lined with shelves overflowing with mostly things I don’t even know I have. Why do we all have so much stuff? So I thought while I was in there, I would clean out a little section as I was hunting for the pool toys.

Under the bag of plant fertilizer I found three dog brushes and a dog food bowl. Our dog died three years ago. Hanging off one shelf was a lanyard with a name tag Jim Brawner wore at a convention four years ago. Sitting next to three bags of clothes I sacked up last summer to take to the Pink Ladies hospital auxiliary thrift shop was a box overflowing with pictures. I couldn’t resist.

After sitting on the garage floor looking through the box for 30 minutes, my cramping leg brought me back to the present. I jumped up trying to walk it off convinced I had ADHD because I couldn’t stay on task. After the cramp was gone, I realized I had forgotten what it was I was looking for in the first place. Then I was really worried.

I stood in the middle of the garage and closed my eyes like that would rattle my memory. It didn’t so I went inside to get a Dr. Pepper. Maybe the heat had gotten to me. The phone rang. It was Jill calling to tell me she'd signed Vivian up for baby swim classes. Ah, ha! Swim toys.

That’s why garages look the way they do. It’s just too frustrating to try to organize them. And why even try when you can push that little button and it’s all hidden.