I've got an update on the Summer Holiday Spruce up. The kids were not thrilled when I first told them my great idea. However, I think they are turning around on the idea. Each year that we do this, there is less work.
The kids have gone through the garage and sorted through the toys/sports equipment. They've gone through the basement and sorted through toys and books. I will give us all a break and pick up again in August with their bedrooms. My motto is "If you want it, that's fine. If you don't want it, that's fine. I just don't want to store unwanted things."
Now my garage door cleaning ended up taking on a life of it's own. While cleaning the doors, I noticed that the paint was chipping in the wooden areas around the door. Enough paint was off that it was weathered. So I ended up painting the wood around both garage doors. Since the doors looked sparkling and fresh, I also washed down the siding and the 14 yrs. worth of black dirt that was along the gutter. Then I washed the garage door windows. It was a much bigger thing than I anticipated but the front of the garage looks great now.
I think I might do a few more small painting projects.