Garage or Jungle?

[stampinscout]

Help! I'm lost in my garage and I can't get out!

My mother has threatened a couple of times to call one of those shows on TV that comes to your home and cleans out the garage for you! No way!

Has anyone out there found a good way to get the garage back?????

We have a double-car garage that is completely full and piled higher than I am tall. We have a few outdoor hobbies, plus my hubby works construction (so we've got all that equipment, too).

We don't have to have the family car in the garage, but it sure would be nice to know where we can find what we've lost.

Any suggestions would be helpful!!!

[Kathy]

Well, if this was a TV show, you know that the key to emptying your garage and getting it organized is purging. Getting rid of the things you aren't using, haven't touched in a year or so.

Empty the garage, pull everything out. While you are purging (Keep pile, toss pile, give away pile) have shelves built/added to your garage and set up zones. A hubby equipment zone, a car maintanence zone, etc. Then put only the things back into the garage that you have space for...and will use. If its for storage...what are you storing that you can't have inthe house but need to keep? Be ruthless. Toss. Give it away. You wont miss those things since you've lost them to the jungle anyway!

:D We will cheer you on. PS. Take photos before you start! ;) We want to see the after photos.

[Ms Big Butt]

My hubby takes care of the garage. We are lucky to have a basement storage area, and he has built a small utility shed in the backyard. We also have an attic area in the garage for storage. We are able to park 3 vehicles in the 3-car garage, altho it scares me how much "stuff" is stashed in all the other places... lol

Our neighborhood has 3-car garages, and I am always amazed at the idea that the garages are filled with "$500 worth of stuff" when the $15,000 car is sitting in the driveway. Perhaps that viewpoint will help to motivate you :)

Good luck! :bliss:

[crunchies0313]

When my family had to evacuate for Hurricane Rita, and dad wanted to put mine and my sisters cars in the garage it was a mass quick cleaning. It looks great now. He went and bougt shelves, threw a lot of junk out and really organized. If things could be put away (saws, tables) they were folded up, or stored somewhere. Its going to take time, but you can do it!!

[madbo]

My garagae is also a nightmare. Unfortunately, every year or so my Hubby does his annual "clean the garage" day. I say unfortunately because his method of "cleaning the garage" is to take anything that he doesn't want and taking it to the dump. His "clean the garage" day for 2005 resulted in a box with 4 solar garden lights (brand new, I'd bought end of season the previous year) and a set of fireplace tools (which I use for cleaning my vertical water smoker) among other things disappearing. He then of course won't admit that he didn't even look to see what was in the boxes he tossed.

So this year I've decided to take over the annual "cleaning of the garage". It's currently piled with bicycles, hockey equipment, lawnmower, boxes and boxes and BOXES of books and too many other things to even count. I went out and looked around the other day and I saw things that have been sitting in that garage since we bought this house 10 years ago.

I've measured the garage and put it on grid paper. Indicated where the doors are and what clearance we need for the main garage door. Next Hubby and I plan to sit down and talk about what we both want to have in the garage and why and how frequently things will be used so we can make a plan.

I want to use pegboards and shelving for smaller items and wall hook or brackets for larger things like the kayak and hockey net.

We'll never put the car in there (it's a very small garage) but at least this way when one of the kids wants a bicycle or a hockey net it's not going to take me 20 minutes of moving things around to get to it hehhe.

Oh and I've also made a deal with Hubby that if he's willing to part with his hockey gear (which he hasn't touched in 3 yrs since having knee surgery) I'll be willing to part with the boxes of books (which will be like cutting off a limb) that have sat out there for years.

[melissa]

Our garage is very neat and organized.
What we do is have shelves and bins. Organize everything by category. Label everything so it's easier for you to find.

[wingriderprincess]

I have a mixture of mess and organization..... just enough room to park the cars. If we get a good thunder, the cars will be buried :eek:

[stampinscout]

Excellent plan! Thanks for the idea. Hope it works for you. Good luck!

[Zasu]

I only have a single car garage and DS has put loads of his stuff in there. Every so often he "cleans" it.......which means he reorganizes it the way he wants with no regard for the things I use or need to be able to get to. I plan on making a day project out of it as soon as the weather warms up and reminding DS that this is MY house and the small amount of rent he pays doesn't cover having my things organized HIS way.