What do you see when you open your garage door? Do you see rusting paint cans teetering on flimsy shelves threatening to fall on top of your vehicles? Do you see stacks of boxes that you planned to "deal with" when you moved 5 years ago? Do you see an ever-changing historical record of oil stains on the garage floor?
If these scenarios sound even remotely familiar, chances are that you say to yourself at least once a quarter, "I've got to do something about that garage."
But what is it, exactly, that you intend to do? Neglected tasks become increasingly more intimidating and a ramshackle garage is no exception. Here's a garage game plan to get you started.
Formulate a Final Vision
Do you want to park your cars in the garage or use it as a workplace or for storage or as a multipurpose room? Once you develop a vision you can take steps towards making it a reality.
Divide and Conquer
Grab a pad of post-it notes, roll up your sleeves, get in that garage and label everything as either "Keep," "Discard," or "TBD". If your goal is to clear space, you should probably eliminate the "TBD" category. Including the entire household in this process is recommended unless you want to answer "What did you do with my...?" questions for the next 10 years.
Discard and Reassess
Donate and/or throw out all of the "Discard" items. Now stand back and take a look. Do you a) have enough space to realize your vision or b) is there still only room for a pup tent and a bag of hammers? If b), then get rid of more stuff. Things are looking up.
Get Organized
Take stock of your remaining essentials and decide on your storage needs: shelves, cabinets, hooks or racks? And what about garage flooring that you can clean and stand on without breaking your knees or a floor mat for under the car? Measure your floor space and sketch a diagram of your garage space.
Go Shopping
See, this isn't all bad. With your garage diagram in hand, go out and get what you need. If you want a new look but hate installing things you can keep things really simple by just purchasing garage flooring and stand-alone rack shelving.
Finish What You Started
At this point you're almost there. You have everything you need to complete your plan and realize your vision of a garage that looks great and maximizes its potential. Good luck and enjoy your new garage!
Resources
- G Floor
- Better Life Technologies has created the world's best-selling garage flooring. G-Floor is beatiful, cleanable and easy to install. Read More...
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