"Important" Clutter Removal

I have walked past that first shed on our lane several times a day for almost five years.  For almost four years of those five, I've wanted to clean up the clutter.  Too many other "urgent" projects stood in the way.

As an aside:  I'll never forget in education being shown the difference between the "urgent" and the "important" jobs.  Seems like we spent about 90 percent of our time dealing with the urgencies, and when we had time to address the "important" jobs, there was a great sense of satisfaction. 

I'm thinking the shed project last night may fit nicely into the "important" category, especially considering how long it took me to "get a roundtoit."  They taught us about "roundtoits" also.

Anyway, when we first moved here, we put a lot of stuff in the handiest places at the time.  

While living at the old place Bill had constructed a couple of cages for his pheasants. The big one went in an open area just outside the shed.  Instead of housing pheasants, it grew nice weeds. Tall weeds.  Ugly weeds,  when they died. 

So the cage sat there for five years with its annual crop of weeds.  

Several years ago, Bill bought me a small craftsman trailer for my lawnmower. Since our move here and since we used the UTV 4-wheeler for hauling, the trailer sat in between the fence and the pheasant cage for five years, growing whatever junk I'd throw into it, just to get it out of the way. 

The trailer still has some of that junk, and I'll probably load it into the pickup this morning and haul it to the dump---old hose, broken off pieces of garden fence, broken planting pots, strawberry netting, etc. 

The trailer had also sunk into the soft ground and sat there for years with one really flat tire.

Last night I dragged it out, pulled it over to the shop and aired up both tires.  Then, I hooked it to the lawnmower, drove to where the now weedless pheasant cage stood and loaded the cage onto the trailer.

Surprisingly, the little trailer did well on our trip down the lane.  That big cage stayed in place, and I was able to unload it behind the big shed----one of those places where only intruders would see our hidden junk. 

Next, I took a rake and smoothed up the ground, pulling the tall weeds. And, a few trips down the lane with the tractor and loader provided some much needed gravel for a low spot with standing water. 

The area around that shed had served as a throw-all, especially when our old storage shed caved in a few years ago.  So, this morning I took some more of the stuff and put it inside the new storage shed. 

Now, the place looks pretty good with the exception of several paint buckets and a torn-up tarp that will join the trailer items for the trip to the dump.  

Of course, when I pulled the junk out of there, I could see a fence that could certainly use some improvements.  

Still, there's a great feeling of satisfaction every time I walk by that area now.  Instead of an eyesore, it's almost a sight to admire.  Not quite but almost and certainly quite an improvement from what it was for five years.

With that project completed, I'll have to go down to that spot behind the big shed where a little lumber stacking and finding a more level spot for the pheasant cage will greatly improve that hiding spot, should intruders decide to visit from the back way. 

Seems like cleaning up clutter in one spot spurs on a never-ending need to tackle the next mess.  

But just when we think about that mess, a bunch of "urgencies" get in the way and another five years passes.