How does the garage get to be such a mess? When I bought this house Hailey and I had lived in apartments for five years, we really didn’t have any “garage” stuff, or so I thought. Initially boxes were put in the garage until they found a home inside. This wasn’t a big deal, I have lots of room in the house and was working on figuring out where everything should go. Eventually it all found its way into the house. Except the seasonal decorations, those stayed in the garage. I have everything in plastic tubs labeled with the holiday or season they are for so it was a very organized stack of plastic bins. No problem there.
My garage was beautiful, we could park both cars in there without a problem. That was three years ago, now getting one car in there is a challenge and to get from the car to the house requires a lot of tiptoeing and balancing. I have a shed out back for the lawnmower and other yard tools so it’s not even those things that are cluttering it up.
I walked into the garage tonight and just looked around. In the three years I’ve been in this house I’ve acquired a lot of tools, several different saws and drills and sanders, not to mention the screwdrivers and socket sets, hammers nails and screws. It’s all a mess. I bought a tool box but after about six months it wouldn’t close and now it’s buried under a pile of hand tools.
There are also partially used cans of paint, snow shovels, painting supplies, a mini trampoline, swamp cooler supplies, folding chairs, a bike, camping equipment. Really, too many things to list. How did I accumulate so much stuff so quickly? And how can I make it all fit in here before the snow flies so I don’t have to scrape my windshield this winter?
This is my next project, organizing the garage and shed. My mother is coming to visit for a week so I’m going to straighten up the garage enough to get the car in there but after she leaves I’m going to tackle that mess and get it organized once and for all.
I need some workbenches and cabinets and hooks and more plastic bins. I’ll let you know how it goes and what I find that works well for me. I would appreciate any tips or suggestions, this is a huge job but one that needs to be done. Wish me luck!