Freshening Up the Garage

Last week we hired some painters to repair several areas of drywall damage and repaint our garage walls and ceiling. Even the doors and windows!  Cue the cheering!! If you're thinking what's the big deal about a garage, then let me tell you a little secret. When I walk by homes with neatly organized, clean garages, I experience what I'll frankly call ENVY. Bikes standing or hanging nicely, sporting equipment contained in appropriate containers, shoes stacked by the door, it all calls to me so temptingly. I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame, imagining that if that area is clean and neat, the inside of the house must be awesome.

For this project we had to move everything into the middle of the garage and then start from scratch putting it all back. We got rid of anything that didn't serve a purpose. I think we had moved some things in ten years ago and never touched them again. Our paint collection had definitely gotten out of hand. Old shoes, electrical and plumbing supplies we were saving for a rainy day, a filing cabinet, extra dry wall and plywood, and more miscellaneous junk than I want to admit, finally moved out!

Here are some pictures taken right after the painters left...



Is it weird that I was excited to arrange things on this wall of shelves?


I even told my husband several times not to start without me. (No worries there!) A side note on the garbage can...If you're a mom without a "circular file" next to your vehicle, you're missing out. It really cuts down on the number of papers, "art" projects, little toys, etc. that would otherwise make their way into your house to drive you insane. It's even become a family joke over the years. My kids know if it makes it past that garbage can, ahem, circular file, it must be something pretty special!

Back to garage organization...You can really go wild buying things to organize the garage, but since we had a wall of built-in shelves and several free standing units, I thought we'd be fine. I did buy this 4 foot long folding table to sit just outside the door to the kitchen.


Both my boys play lacrosse so I can store their gear under it instead of right in the middle of the floor. Flat spaces are prime real estate in our house, so I'm sure this table top will be heavily used. Is it crazy that I'm looking forward to deciding just what I'd like to hang on these empty hooks? Tell me I'm not the only one who gets a little giddy at filling empty hooks and shelves. I'm thinking that pool bags and towels will be the first things that get hung up here as swim season is only a month away.


I'm not naive enough to think we'll always keep it this organized, but a girl can dream, can't she? And no matter what, it's a vast improvement over this obstacle course I documented in Missing the Messes!


So now that you know about my secret garage envy, it's time to spill your guts. Is there a space that you see in other people's homes that always brings out your little green monster?


23 comments:

  1. Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

    Oh boy, where to begin . . .
    I WISH I could get my husband to clean out our garage. It's HIS space so I don't bug him about it, but good grief -- - it could use a serious overhaul and make-over!!
    And your comment about the "circular file" made me laugh out loud! It's soooo true though, having one right next to your car does help keep things tidy :0)
    I hope you're having a great start to your week!
    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Suzanne! Glad I'm not the only one with a "circular file". :)

      Delete
  2. I so get this. I have garage envy too! Now I have garage envy about yours ha. I am so sad but we did a massive clear out last weekend and a couple of dump runs - it was a magical feeling. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Truly a magical feeling! I love clearing things out. :)

      Delete
  3. Oh, I have secret garage envy! I would love to tear ours down and build a 2 story addition on the spot with the garage on the first floor and a master bedroom on the second.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marie, I love this little organizer in you! I enjoy a good shelf cleaning too! Nicely done lady. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Aly! I read in a book that you should always leave one shelf bare. I can't remember exactly why, but it sounds like a great idea! :)

      Delete
  5. Wow, the garage looks awesome - if only stuff would stay looking that way for more than 5 minutes I'd be more interested in doing projects like this! I need to declutter the entire house all over again, before the kids come back from uni & bring back all of their belongings.
    Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true! Bringing all the dorm things back into the house will be hard. I'll need a little storage shed just for that stuff! :)

      Delete
  6. Great job! Looks a lot better than my garage I can tell you ;) #ShareWithMe

    ReplyDelete
  7. I aspire to a tidy house! I would also be getting excited about reorganising the storage, I love storage :) #ShareWithMe

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is always so hard to keep the garage tidy. I am the same I organize clean it out each year and each year we shovel more and more stuff into it and close that door. hahah Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me.. Loved this got me motivated that it's probably time to keep the garage again. #sharewithme

    ReplyDelete
  9. Growing up my dad always kept the garage nice and tidy, but my husband....ehhhhh, not so much! :) I definitely long for a tidy and organized garage some day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I have the exact same situation here. That's probably why it's always a secret envy of mine! ;)

      Delete
  10. When I see an organized pantry with jars of beans and pasta, soups together,cereal boxes that are actually closed and not past-pull, and no flour coating the floor, I admit to feeling very envious. I clean mine out now and then and swear it will stay that way, but it never does.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you on the pantry! :) Hard to keep it clean and organized for very long here, too!

      Delete
  11. Hi! I saw your post from the Be.You.tiful Link party! Oooh, I like the garbage idea. I hate carting all the junk into the house from the car, especially after a road trip. And, I am envious of garages, cause we don't have one right now. (renting!) I we definitely could use the storage. Someday...*sigh*.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting me here, Amy! Being without a garage is hard. Definitely makes you get creative with storage solutions!

      Delete
  12. Such inspiration…right now our garage is filled with boxes of stuff we had to pack up for paint and new carpet…. I have been putting it off bringing it all back in…you have inspired me to get out there and get busy…Thank you for sharing at One More Time Events...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a happy reason to have your garage filled though! :)

      Delete
  13. My garage needs freshening up...I think you just inspired me to dive in. Thanks for sharing on the Thursday Blog Hop!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Marie, my name's Marie too! And no, you're not the only one (or the only Marie) who gets a thrill out of filling up shelves and hooks with neatly organized things! Our garage is seriously the bane of my existence. I have cleaned and organized it SOOOO many times only to have my husband junk it up again. But I do love it when it looks pretty and enjoy spending time doing projects out there when everything is in it's place. Needless to say, it's on the agenda again for this summer...

    You did a great job - best of luck keeping it that way :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you!