Sounds like you need to tell your FIL to stick it.;)

On the upside, plywood, L-brackets, and wall hangers are cheap. So are the shelving units you can buy a Wal-Mart.

I need to be clear - it's my step FIL that's the a$$. My actual FIL is awesome. Plus he's on PP ocassionally ;). I can actually thank him for my wife encouraging me to get a Porsche. She grew up around them and when he bought one a few years ago, she mentioned that I should get one.

Oh, and I have all of the plywood and building materials I need to build shelving, etc. Now if I can just figure out how to get to it....

Tell them that you are worn out & exhausted from dealing with them. The don't deal with them any more.

Ask your wife what SHE wants to keep for herself. Get rid of the rest. To be extra nice, give them 48 hrs to move anything THEY want to keep. Then have a yard sale, charity donations, free on Craigs List & finally, a trip to the dump.

Alright, here is the deal, you live in Vancouver WA.

I live in PDX, there are some other Pelicans here, ask for help, line up a date, and I (for one) will help you clear out the clutter.

Your garage needs help, you don't store Porsches in "storage units", more importantly, with the family drama, you need a place you can get away for some "me" time, and there is nothing better than a garage with a german car in it. Even if it is only an hour or so, it will be life changing for you.

You sound like someone with a big heart, has a hard time saying no.

Just put out the word, lets get a work party going.

They know... at least he does. Dbl A had my wife in tears yesterday and was screaming at her in front of my kids. Unfortunately I wasn't there, otherwise I would've kicked him out of our car. Everyone in the family has had him blow up on them. My wife just handles it better than I do, mostly for her mom's sake.

We're kind of trapped because her mom won't leave him, eventhough she's admitted that she's not in a happy marriage. My wife (and I) try to deflect/redirect his anger so her mom doesn't take too much heat. Long story short, he's made it very clear that he'd screw her if she tried to divorce him. He's gone through it 4 or 5 times already (a fact he hid from her, not to mention a kid he had when he was 15), so he's pretty well versed in the "art of divorce."

Anyway, if we ever want our kids to have grandma time, we're stuck dealing w/ him. Good or bad, we put up w/ a lot more BS than we normally would for her sake and the kids.

Back on topic - RWebb, anything you need? If there is, it's probably burried in my garage somewhere. I've got everything from an Edo period Ashigaru set of armor to an ESAB 250 welder in there (somewhere...)

herr-oberst,

Thanks for the offer, it's very generous of you. I definitely let my pride get in the way and have trouble asking for help or accepting it, when it's offered. Are you going to the Portland Historic Races? I'll be there on Sunday, maybe we can touch base then?

Thanks - Josh

Josh, I'm going out on Saturday, maybe Sunday,

I have a white '88 911, stock, lowered.

It will be in the corral, look for the Pelican Parts badge on the grille.

PM sent

Joe,

As Matt stated: Shelves, wall hanging, ceiling hanging, get rid of everything you do not need. It will take a weekend at minimum. Have everything bought and start sunrise Saturday. (Beer/Whiskey helps ;-)

Josh,

IMHO, give everyone a deadline to let you know what they want. Make it short (four weeks?). Give them time to collect it or to mail you the shipping costs (including your time), this should also be a short time period. Keep what your Wife/MIL want. Take what you would, get rid of the remainder.

See above from Matt for organization...

David,

I like the deadline idea. I think after the recent blow up with Dbl A, I may be able to leverage it to my (our) advantage. He will usually come back a day or two later w/ his tail tucked between his legs and "appologize." I'm hoping to turn that into some grandma kid sitting time, so the wife and I can get crackin' on the garage.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

two words
storage unit