Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

DIY

Our Dirtiest Secret.

July 19, 2012
Ugh.  The garage.  We don't include it in house tours.  We don't take photos of it.  We rarely open it because we don't want our neighbors seeing this:

Our biggest, messiest, dirtiest secret.  It is mostly one huge pile of renovation debris consisting of old carpet, sheet rock and wood.  Or at least that is what it started out as.  And then when one of the rooms in our basement flooded we moved all the boxes that were being stored down there up to the garage and the mound grew.  And grew.  And grew.  Obviously, we couldn't park our car in here, but it got to a point where we couldn't even walk!

Lucky for us, my mom volunteered to come visit and help me clean it up and get it organized.  So yesterday, we spent some time talking and visiting and playing with Greta and her cousins (and I missed posting and chatting with all of you!) and after Greta went to bed last night, we kicked Chris to the curb couch and us ladies got busy.

We have 24 hours and are spending zero dollars on this much-needed huge task, but do you know how disgusted you feel right now?  You'll feel that same amount of surprise tomorrow.  My mom is a miracle worker.

Do you have any dirty secrets?  Junk drawers HARDLY count.  ;)

filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. in a one bedroom, my dirty secret is usually that one bedroom...whenever anyone comes over, i toss all clutter in and shut the door! i'm trying to be better about tidying.

  2. I have a junk room... we have a 4 br house for 2 people, so we have a master, an office, a guest room (which we are working on... pictures post-mood board to come in a few weeks...!), and... a junk room. We literally haven't touched it since we bought our house 3 years ago. We just shove random stuff in there if there's a .0009% chance that we may use it at some point in the distant future for some reason. I get nervous when people come over that they are going to randomly open the door (that ALWAYS stays closed...). Ugh.

  3. Ours is our creepy, spidery, soft-finished basement...which is also the "man-den", kitty litter box home, baby-stuff storage (which i really need to sell, but sorta cant bring myself to) and laundry room. Everything we don't know what to do with gets added, and I hate going down there because it's just so....ugh. I have my bestie enlisted to help us tackle it little by little (thank God for her! And your mom!). Can't wait to see how well your garage turns out...I'd kill cats for a two car garage ;) I love your blog! Thank you so much for sharing your life :)

  4. I get many compliments on how I've decorated our condo. It's simple, colorful, quality furniture well-arranged with vintage pieces and sentimental accessories.

    BUT I CANNOT STEP INTO MY SIDE OF THE CLOSET. Since the second day we moved in 11 months ago....

  5. Imagine the Home Alone scene when he puts the after shave on his cheeks and screams.

    I'm doing that right now.

    Hahahahaha!!!!!

  6. O.k. so this may sound strange but I saw the crazy garage and then I saw your Mom and thought "How beautiful!" So sweet of her to help.

  7. Oh no worries, my garage closely resembles yours. Between my Goodwill DIY project finds and the garage sale pile I've had going for MONTHS...(going to have on in late September thank God!) It is just a mess and I'd never even bother going out there if the laundry wasn't out there...and like I said, it's also where I work on DIY projects. Can't wait to see your organized garage - that's next on my list once the garage sale is over!

  8. This just cracks me up. It's like that Friends episode (I sure hope you watched that show) where Monica has a dirty closet filled to the brim with random junk. It's locked so that nobody but her can access it. Your mom is the cutest!

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

Beautifully wrapped traditional presents stacked in a doorway
Gift Guides!

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone in Your Life {2024}

Whether you're shopping for your main guy, your clutch coworker, your favorite homebody, or the little ones in your life, I've got you covered. This is your one-stop shop for holiday gifts, from affordable stocking stuffers to high-end luxury items. Our can't-miss gift guides help take the stress out of holiday shopping, so you can […]
Chris Cooks Candied Ham Skewers
Chris Cooks

Candied Ham Skewers - Your New Favorite Holiday Appetizer

As a home cook, this is my favorite time of year: the time leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year, I want to focus on low-effort, high-impact dishes. Something that can serve a crowd but is not too hard to make. And these spicy candied ham bites are just the ticket. Shop The […]
Lifestyle

Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

This post is sponsored by Neighborly, Your Hub for Home Services The beginning of the year we're always thinking "spring cleaning." But in fall, I like to cover our bases on home maintenance before we have guests or face colder weather. I usually like to split the tasks between things we tackle ourselves and things we […]
The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES