Week 2 Begins -- Another 50+ Boxes?

Last week, I guesstimated that there were 150 boxes (banker's boxes full of stuff, that is) stacked in the middle of the garage. I went through about 50 of those boxes, then over the weekend we pulled out another 57 boxes. That number includes 29 boxes of books, which joined the 20 boxes of books already in the hall waiting for Book Week(s):

I may have to start sorting some of these boxes before Week 4 because I have a feeling that one week is not going to be enough.

We also brought out 25 boxes of assorted non-book things so that I could sort through and (I hope) empty them this week:

And three more boxes of kitchen items were carted off to Future Vet's bedroom for those who are moving into apartment to fight over in the spring. So 29+25+3=57! Fifty-seven more boxes moved out of the garage, which is now looking emptier if not neater:

And remember that 150-box guesstimate? There are 53 more banker's boxes piled up in the garage, so I was off a bit. About 160 boxes instead of 150. Considering that some piles of stuff got counted as "boxes", like the stuff below, I'm impressed.

I counted this as one "box". It's some rubber mats and storage boxes that are no longer in use. And some packing materials. I suspect most, if not all, of these items will be freecycled later this week.

Going through boxes is never quite as straightforward and opening a box and disposing of its contents. Way back in June of 2010, I found a box full of negatives and opined that perhaps we should invest in a scanner to convert the negatives into digital images. So the Wizard found one and I dutifully put it on a shelf and put the box of negatives out in the garage (where else?).

Well, the box of negatives made its way back into the house over the weekend, so I dug out the scanner and tried it out. Here is the first picture I scanned:

It took a while, but I finally figured out that this is a picture of some wallpaper repairs I did in a bedroom in the second house the Wizard and I owned. This was the Drama Queen's bedroom back when she was a mere Princess, and she did not choose that wallpaper. We only lived in that house for about 18 months, so never took the time to redo the rooms into something more .... modern.

Despite the rather pedestrian nature of this photo, I was impressed that the scanner worked so well at turning negatives into positive digital images. Now I can scan in all the rest of the negatives in my (copious) spare time. I doubt that I will be able to empty that particular box within the coming week.

Nor this "box", for that matter:

More cassette tapes that need to be turned into mp3s so that we can load them onto our iPods. Another project to fill in the spare moments of my days.

Not only is emptying boxes not always a simple task, sometimes clearing an area creates new tasks. For example, here's a view of the back wall of our garage now that we've emptied out boxes and other detritus:

It struck me that, now that there is room to move around in the garage, I should move the dog-feeding table that is out in the middle of the garage, over to this area. But first, there's some cleaning up and consolidating to do and that set of shelves needs to move over to the right about 2 feet so that the table will fit. I don't know whether I want to leave that task for Week 5 (Garage shelves, games and puzzles). If the weather cooperates and I won't freeze my fingers off working out there, I may try to get that done this week.

I have momentum. Better to strike while the iron is hot. Or at least before I run out of steam and decide to go catch up on all the TV shows recorded on the DVR.