One of the biggest challenges in our small-ish house is the lack of storage and the lack of places to put storage. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the garage. We go through waves of having it super clean and then something happens and it’s a disaster again. We’ve never been able to park two cars in our two car garage and rarely can I get started on a project without having to clear out an area first. Well, no more! This tiny garage is getting a big makeover! The first step of our garage makeover was to clean out all of the mess.
Before we get into the details, let me take you down a very embarrassing trip down memory lane. The garage had typically been in an okay state, but between installing wood floors in our house, getting decorations out of the attic (attic = tiny platform with dangerous nails sticking out of the ceiling) for Halloween, and storing an ever-increasing amount of gardening supplies, our garage looked like this in October 2017:
Yikes! Like, what was wrong with us?? Anyway, in December 2017 we got our act together and cleaned everything up. Which left us breathing a sigh of relief and looking at this instead:
Now pay special attention to that counter mounted on the back wall–it’s going to play the lead role in our next disaster.
Last spring we decided to have a water softener installed because our hard water was ruining our granite counters, our appliances, and even our skin. It was a fantastic decision! It’s definitely one of those improvements that we now wish we had done earlier. HOWEVER, the only place to install the water softener was to the right of the water heater which required removing the counter from the wall…and everything under the counter. Cue all that stuff exploding back into the garage and looking like this:
I know–we should have learned our lesson the last time. But this was only temporary, right? Well, if almost a year is temporary, then yes!
Anyway, this garage had clearly reached it’s breaking point and wasn’t doing us any favors and so the great garage makeover was planned! Here’s our to-do list for this space:
- Go through every item KonMari style and donate/sell/trash unwanted items.
- Take down the existing wall cabinets and get rid of the white bookcase in the corner.
- Hire a drywall company to finish the walls and the ceiling.
- Paint the garage.
- Install primary storage along the back wall.
- Create a system to store larger items like extra wood, shovels, saw horses, etc. along the right wall.
- Enjoy doing projects in a clean space!!!
Now I know some of you may be thinking we should just install shelving along the sides of the garage. Nope. Guess what? We only have 7″ of space between the garage opening and the wall. Who thought this was a good idea??
Then you may be thinking that you’ve seen those overhead storage racks and we should attach some to our ceiling since we don’t have space on the sides. Again, strong nope. Most garages have about 18″ between the door when open and the ceiling. I found racks that go down to 12″. And of course our space is…11″. Does the feeling of defeat never end?! (Note: I have recently found one that says it’s adjustable from 1″-18″ but the metal bracket is 18″ so I’m not sure how that actually works…) Plus I really dislike pulling things down from above my head. Safety first kids.
After completing steps one and two our garage was looking much better. Here it is after the massive clean out during the first stage of the garage makeover. Now it’s ready for the drywall finishing:
Let’s talk about finished versus unfinished garages for a second. There seems to be a division in opinion about what’s “normal.” From my informal research based on houses I’ve lived in and peering into open garages as I drive around town (don’t pretend you don’t do this too), either seems to be acceptable. I’d never seen an unfinished garage until I bought this house, but everyone I’ve known has always lived in older homes. Many of my friends have never seen a finished garage and can’t figure out why this one bothers me. At the same time, there are definitely other finished garages in my subdivision of relatively new houses. Verdict: do whatever makes you excited to spend time in your garage! I like clean, organized spaces so this unfinished drywall was a serious eyesore for me.
Oh yeah, and let’s talk about how all of our stuff magically disappeared. We did end up getting rid of an enormous amount of stuff during the sorting process. However, we do still have a lot which is currently inside in our library/wine cellar/piano room.
This is the reality. Big projects usually create an inconvenience and I want to make sure you all know that it’s not just pretty pictures and clean spaces. Create a plan and a detailed timeline so you’ll know it’s not forever, and be happy that this stuff isn’t always in the house! Also, if you’re going to bring dirty things into your clean house, lay a new tarp down first and stack everything on top.
Stay tuned for the next post where I’ll be talking about our drywall finishing experience!
Update: Want to see the finished garage? Click here for the reveal!!
