…without telling me you’re doing home renovations. Just look in their garage or any other storage spaces. They will likely be a jumble of materials and tools used for projects looking something like this…
Yes, those are still boxes that have not been unpacked since our move into this house almost three years ago. Yes, this space is embarrassing. Yes, I watermarked the photos.
When we first moved in, Jeff built some simple garage shelves to provide some storage. Before that, we had the foresight to prime and paint the walls behind the built-in shelves so it wouldn’t be an issue later. Aside from those early efforts and a few feeble attempts at getting this beast under control, it’s been a disaster since we moved in. It’s just been in varying degrees of disaster. Just when it’s less of a disaster, we undertake another project, and it becomes a disaster again.
While a shed would be a welcome addition, we don’t need more space to spread the disaster into. We need to get it truly organized, which means going through every bin and box, getting rid of the trash and things we don’t use, and making the best use of the space we have. From that point, we have to be disciplined and properly clean up after projects. That’s almost impossible to do when few things have a rightful place. Hence, the jumble, the maze, and about a million tripping hazards.
So, Jeff and I spent several hours in this space last Saturday, finally sorting through every bin and box and discovering all sorts of things we didn’t need and didn’t even know we had. I fired up Facebook Marketplace and listed a bunch of stuff for free to clear them out as quickly as possible, hoping to be a blessing to someone in the process. There were several things I was going to pitch because I was sure no one would want them, and I would have someone picking them up just a few hours later. It really is a great way to keep useful things out of the trash.
By the end of the work on day one, I was giddy. I am generally a mild-mannered person, but walking into a space that is a disaster maxes out my frustration meter. I hate not being able to find the tool I need when I need it. I hate tripping over things that should be in a better place. And I hate having to buy something I know we have, but its whereabouts are unknown.
The good thing is, we have a massive amount of storage space in the basement, so things that are only used seasonally or we don’t need regular access to can be stored there. Basically, anything not related to the cars, home projects, or gardening/yard maintenance is being relocated. Jeff was also able to adjust his custom-built-in shelves to store some of the bulky equipment under the lowest shelf. The generator, power washer, shop vac, and my garden wagon were all just hanging out in the middle of the garage, so this was a game changer!
We still have yard tools to hang on the wall and a few lingering items that need to find a home, but we’re almost done. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to have everything labeled and in its proper place.
And I’m so excited to have access to my potting bench again. It’s been barricaded in for several months, but now I have access to the shelves and drawers. Even though it’s in the garage, I might even paint it to spruce it up a bit.
I hung a bucket and a basket on old curtain hooks on the window, and I might just keep them there. We’ll see
We’ll eventually finish painting the walls and ceiling in the garage to freshen them up, but for now, I can walk through the garage without tripping and find just what I want. And, when you’re in the process of renovating a house, that is a huge win!
You can read all the posts about our 1970s home renovation HERE.
16 Responses
We have to clean out our garage like that at least 3 times a year. We just use it a LOT for all sorts of things, none related to actually housing a vehicle! 🙂 We have a lot of outdoor hobbies and none of us are naturally tidy people.
Thanks for keeping it real and showing your “mess”. My husband seems to be often “cleaning the garage” and yet it’s always a disaster, in my view! I don’t clean it as it’s 99% his stuff and I would starting pitching things willy-nilly as quite a bit of it appears to be “junk” to me. At the end of July we’re getting the floor in the garage surfaced. I wonder if that will bring a change to the state of things!
Way to go! Wahooo! Thanks for showing us this space. It probably made most of us feel better–at least it did me.
You are so wise to not purchase another outdoor storage shed. We did and all it did was give us more options for more clutter. Instead we pared down to what we actually needed in our garage and put everything at the end of the drive with a free sign on it, including the extra shed. Everything was gone by the afternoon. As humans we sure do end up with so much stuff. A family member is now in the process of clearing out 2 relatives homes and she is totally overwhelmed. Multiple clean outs through the year is really a great idea.
Yep yep yep this is our world too. Sadly our basement is completely finished so our garage is it. We want to paint too. I love that gardening cabinet! What a great piece!!! The way I look at it it’s creative chaos!
I am so jealous of your basement. I would give anything to have one. I also have the never ending project “stuff” but also have to deal with the holiday decor and yard supplies. We are having a bit of a heat wave right now but my plan is to dig in when it gets a bit cooler. OH! I do get one car in but it is a shimmy!!!! I NEED a basement!!!!!
…..and what about that basement floor and all the sticky stuff? Is THAT finished yet? We should be told! 😄
Congratulations. for the moment. It’s a never ending process. Just when everything is “tidy” you are storing your best friends car and her stuff because she had to move quickly to take care of family. Then its a mess again because she comes back to town to collect and sort thru her stuff.
Then you take on a spray painting project in the garage and it’s a painting booth.
(In case my bff reads this…im just trying to feel Marians pain , you KNOW i adore you and will do anything for you for eternity)
Such are the Joys of life!
That looks so good, Marian. Space! One of the reasons I didn’t want a garage at my new house. My kids are hamsters, always looking for a place to dump things at mom’s house. I have a heated shed and an attic. That is more than enough for me. 2 years ago, the roof was replaced on the shed and the house. Oh boy, did they mutter when I asked them to empty it of their stuff. XD
We have a catch-all space like that in the basement. I told myself I would tackle it when I retired. Well, that happened in November and here we are in June and it still looks much like your before photo! The good news is that I am tackling small projects one-by-one. Painted and revamped a lamp, painted the mailbox on the side of the house, applied hemp oil to the porch rockers and porch swing… I’m getting there but it is a slow process since I’m not as young as I once was. Congrats on getting yours sorted and accessible!
Jeff did an awesome job! It’s not as if you haven’t been very busy with projects:). Keep the bucket and basket..it says ‘this is Marian’s space.’
My husband cleans the garage often by moving miscellaneous things to my side of the garage and sits back admiring how orderly his side is ;). Joking aside.. I don’t mind a bit of a disorganization.. I do mind when my dear one inherits “my” tools etc and I can’t put my hand on them!
How funny you post this. We were just looking at a 1915 Craftsman that has just been redone beautifully …it still has most of the original light fixtures which are GORGEOUS…and if you’d been a fly on the wall listening to the conversation we had about the garage…oh my! To my husband
the garage was a showstopper (along with a few other things, darn it!) …it was rather long and oddly put in with the floor sloping down at an extreme angle…so much so that one would have to use the parking brake. Didn’t bother me one iota! I’m not sleeping in the garage! I couldn’t have cared less…It’s a garage for heaven’s sake! It’s where the car goes and tools and “junk.” I don’t care as long as the door stays shut! The house…a different story! The “conversation” did get a little tense, but, no worries, it was all in good fun..,we’re still married..(we’ve both agreed there’s NO WAY we’re starting over this late in life. We’re finally coming to some equilibrium!) All joking aside, the amusing thing was that he went to work and took an informal poll of men vs women on the garage thing and it was 100% women “who cares,” and the men all agreed with him!
If you ignore the potting bench under the window, the photo looks like a study for a Wyeth painting!
I was just trying to explain this to a friend! We moved almost six months ago and we still have boxes in the garage that need to be unpacked for items that go inside the house. “Honey I finally found our ______” is the ongoing joke. I’m hoping we’ll get at least one car in the garage before winter returns!
Marion, thank you for your honesty and, as Jeannine said above, “keeping it real.” How refreshing. Your posts have spurred me to wallpaper with fabric, put a harlequin pattern on my foyer floor, replicate that wonderful green wall-hook shelf by your backdoor, use up those Amazon boxes and line my flowerbed under the mulch. I heard a long time ago clutter happens when there is no home for the item. After living in our current home 10 long years, we bit the bullet last summer and painted, pitched, cleaned, organized, and purchased shelving units for the garage. Boxes and filler from online shopping seem to regularly overtake the floor space as does shopping hauls. With all the chaos, my garage is still the best it has ever been. There’s something about driving into a freshly painted garage makes me smile. Clutter happens. Your garage looks great, and you even managed to “decorate” it in your signature style with the window basket/pail. So happy for you.
Wow! I know the feeling! I have a great work bench in my garage that I got at a yard sale for $100. It has a built in plug and a vice that is bolted to the top. But, boy oh boy,,, it’s a “collector” of “things”. And when I take the time to straighten it up or de-clutter it’s a great feeling! It could use a
coat of paint.. but I’m just glad when it’s been cleaned off. Don’t be discouraged. It will be a mess again, but a much less of a mess if you can keep up with the orginazation. At least that’s what I’m finding. Good luck. Looks pretty good now!! 🙂