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I want my garage cleaned, should I just go
Posted: May 6, 2014
face a known somewhat out of sorts man? My husband works a lot and I mean a lot. He really does not have the time to clean the garage. When he has time off from his job it is about a day and a half a week and he really needs some downtime. I want the garage cleaned. It really needs it. I have asked and asked and nothing done. His thing is if I get someone over to clean (which I most certainly could) things could go missing without someone out there to oversee all their cleaning. He is not a man who holds a grudge, never shouts, curses, throws things but I know if I got someone in without his knowing he would not be a happy camper. What would you do? ;
That's a tough one. - TrampledUnderfoot
[ In Reply To ..]My husband also works 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day and I know he wouldn't react well in that situation. I would never do it without telling him. Probably if it was me, I'd try to get him to plan a day to do it (even if it was that one coveted day off a week) and offer to help the whole time to make things go quicker. Or see if he will agree to hire it done and use his day off to help with the process. My husband treasures things other people look at as junk and I know he would have to be involved in some way.
From OP- saw the program Hoarders last night - and recorded it because
[ In Reply To ..]one episode showed stairs that were loaded up 1 side that looks exactly like his going to the upstairs. Now mind you, this is only going to his room and I call it his because that is where he keeps his guitars, amps and the like when he has some downtime. I think he is like a borderline hoarder. He has shirts that are probably older than me that should have met the garbage years ago and yet he says they have "a history" behind them. I might try the someone coming over when he is here and see how that goes over.
Ha! Same boat. - TrampledUnderfoot
[ In Reply To ..]I know my husband is a borderline hoarder! Luckily most of his hoarding fills our barn, not the house. Mostly tools, old lawnmowers and various lots hauled home from auctions!
Good luck!
A couple of options--sm - anon
[ In Reply To ..]If he does not want someone else doing it, then I would find a way for him to get it done.
1. You could set aside a block of time, say 2 hours every weekend/time-off period. It would not all get done at once but it also keeps the job from getting overwhelming. What happens my DH starts to clean the garage is he takes everything out, makes a big day of it and by the time he is ready to start putting things back in, he is tired and does not want to deal any more and the results are less than stellar.
2. Instead of a block of time, have him address a section at a time. Some principle as above.
3. What can you start doing in the garage to make the process smoother for your husband? If there are things you can deal with, get them out of the way, so the process becomes more manageable.
4. With number 3, can you help with a set up for the process. Have boxes set up for donating, trash, keep, and fix so that he can just get ready to work. Try to agree on a time limit for the fix box before those things become trash (major issue in this household).
Good luck!
I agree with above, but why not do it yourself? - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I would just start using the above method. I would have him come and take a look at the sort, and if you cannot haul it away yourself, I would have a dumpster brought in on a rental basis.
Good in theory.
Maybe you could tell him, "I'm paying a worker - to come clean the garage," -SayItGirl
[ In Reply To ..]"... and if you're concerned about certain items 'going missing', you should collect those items and store them somewhere else for the time being. Once the garage has been cleaned out and reorganized, feel free to put your items back in the garage."
If for some reason he can't bring himself to collect his valuable items beforehand, and you still want to have a guy come clean it out, another alternative might be to either ask him which items he's worried about, or figure out yourself what's most valuable and/or likely to be stolen, and remove and store them yourself.
Or, what about some local neighbor kids that you know? Maybe they might want to earn extra money. Pay them fairly for their hard work, and there's less incentive to steal.
Garage and basement - shipwrecked
[ In Reply To ..]I don't have a husband, and since I'm moving, I found a guy on Craig's list, who, for $70 cleaned out my garage and basement and hauled everything to the dump. I was a little nervous about a stranger coming in, but since the basement is reached through the garage, bypassing the rest of my house, I felt safe enough. He was a good guy and came in again and cleared out one of my bedrooms - also for $70.
My advice would be - Talk to him first
[ In Reply To ..]Is it only your stuff? If he has stuff in there too for you to have a stranger come in and go through his stuff is not good idea.
If it was me (and I'm actually going through this right now with mine about the garage). I said to him the other day, lets pick a day when you are not so busy. If we spend just a couple hours maybe we can make a dent in part of the garage. I told him it doesn't have to be an all day thing, just a couple hours one weekend, then a couple weekends later another couple hours. Sometimes it's easier to tackle a large job in small steps.
I highly urge you not to hire anyone without his knowledge. Unless it's only your stuff in the garage, it's not fair to him.
don't do it - signalfire
[ In Reply To ..]I don't know how bad the garage might be, but it sounds like it's HIS stuff; if he's a good man, working long hours, don't push your luck. Clean the floor if it's greasy and that's what's bothering you, (do a bit of reorganizing, but not much), throw out the stuff you KNOW is just junk like empty containers or dried paint cans, but don't push your need to clean over onto him, it will only cause hard feelings. It's not that important, it's just clutter. Close the door and don't look at it.
If you're physically able, just start a little at a time. sm - Feather Tuscadero
[ In Reply To ..]Either you'll eventually get it all done yourself, or he'll see you doing it and willingly help, or he'll say "why don't you just hire somebody to do it?"
You know, just do an hour per day, or whatever you can manage...a section of shelving, however you can divide it. Don't think of it as a massive project. And if you occasionally ask him "can I throw out your _____?" that may also spur him to become involved on his own. They hate when we throw their stuff out!
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