Reorganizing my Garage

Red Baron · **Posted:** Sun Apr 28, 2013 5:12 pm

Over the years I have accumulated a lot of household, institutional and auto related chemicals, cleaners and waxes. I used to pride myself on having a clean, organized garage where it was easy to store and find things.

In recent years my garage became a "dumping ground" for anything that we weren't using. Several years ago I relieved some of this clutter by purchasing a shed to hold my Cub Cadet lawn mower, a Craftsman Snow Blower, a leaf vacuum mower and other seasonal power tools. This helped out a lot but it didn't take long before my garage once again became a catch-all for storage.

To make matters worse the two metal shelves that held my household chemicals and auto supplies were rotting out and buckling under the weight of the products. So I decided to reorganize my garage to clean up the clutter and make it more usable. In addition I had to clean everything in the garage because a couple of years ago we had a bathroom makeover and the contractors were cutting tile in the garage due to rainy weather and everything had a fine layer of dust.

This is the beginning of my project which will be a continuing process for the next several months. I still have space issues as I need to keep my riding mower in the garage because it is too big for my shed with all of the other items already in there.

My first priority was to buy new heavy duty plastic shelves which I have placed either 12"x12" tile or the smaller square tiles on the base to keep chemicals from leaking or eating through the shelves. I then organized my products by their use. For example, all of Griots's Garage products are on the same shelf. All of my waxes, polishes, detail sprayers, clay bars, interior protectants, tire care products, etc. are all together. All of my aerosol solvents, cleaners, greases, etc. are all stored together. Same with my carpet and rug cleaning products.

Here are some photos of my progress so far. I still have a lot to do but at least I can now walk through the garage! I am also including some photos of my Specialized Mountain Bike. I have had this bike since 1990! It is 23 years old and has had a number of major upgrades over the years including a new Grip Shift shifting handle to replace the old Thumb Shifters. I have also replaced my handle bar with a lighter weight handle, added a new saddle and seat stem, a rear rack to store things when I take longer rides, upgraded brakes and a number of cosmetic and convenience items. This bike has at least 3,000 miles on it since new.

I'll post more updates as I continue to reorganize and clean up the garage.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

racered302 · **Joined:** Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:38 pm **Posts:** 81

The only thing I can see missing from those shelf's are the price's. When I started reading this it sounded like I was writing it, all the way down to the brand of lawn tractor. Scary. Have fun, I'll be starting the same project next weekend, not looking forward to it.

Red Baron · **Posted:** Sun Apr 28, 2013 6:07 pm

Well this is definitely an ongoing project and not be something that will happen over night. Just getting to those old shelves was a hassle. The fun part is that you can immediately see the difference and get the satisfaction of knowing that you've accomplished something.

The car detailing season is upon us and I wanted to at least be organized to the point that I could grab anything I specifically needed without having to play "where's Waldo".

I have a friends car that I will be detailing in a couple of weeks which I plan to document as this will be a real "Lazarus" project, you know raising up from the dead! She has a late 1990's or early 2000's Honda Accord that is in need of everything!

The last time it was washed was when it last rained. The car is a Champagne color with a lot of paint chips, fading, scratches, etc. in the paint. The inside is a mess too so I will take a lot of before and after pictures of the car.

Funny story. When I emailed her to explain everything that I would be doing to clean up her car with the detailing she was so excited that she wrote back that she wanted to choose the color of the car! I had to point out to her that I am not repainting her car but going on an expedition to see if I can find any paint left on her car! That's why I'm calling this project the "Lazarus Project".

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

racered302 · **Joined:** Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:38 pm **Posts:** 81

I noticed you have a short stool you undoubtedly use for detailing. I picked up one from Harbor Freight that has rollers, height adjustable and a tray under it to sit the polish and D/A on. It saved my back the last time I detailed my car. Oh, it was worth the $25.

Red Baron · **Posted:** Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:03 pm

I have the same stool you're talking about and it came from Harbor Freight. It is on the other side of my barbeque grill. I have found it quite convenient to use my grill in the garage all year long to grill.

With my back issues I use the stool a lot whenever I can.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

5.7Lmustang · **Posted:** Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:54 pm

Very nice, very nice! I worked on my basement washroom today a little, alot of the same stuff I see you been
dealing with. I have a very nice workbench with lots of doors and shelfs but its become a catch all too. So looking forward to having it finally done soon! :groaner:

Red Baron · **Posted:** Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:53 pm

I hear you Tony! It's an ongoing project for me right now. I started working on the back end of the garage today to start finding things that I can throw out. I did make some progress just working for about an hour this afternoon.

I was able to consolidate a few things, get rid of some junk and basically start the process of making more room in the garage. I try to keep my workbench organized as much as possible but it sometimes becomes a catch all. I think that I'm going to take some before pictures of the rest of the project to give everyone a perspective of what is being done.

My wife liked the new shelves so much that she and I are going out to buy another set to use in our laundry room to replace some old metal shelves that we use as a pantry for food and laundry products.

My goal is ultimately to the garage cleaned up, as everything has a layer of white dust on it from a bathroom remodeling project we had done about three years ago when the contractors used the garage to cut tile. That means everything in the garage needs to be individually cleaned before it can be put away! :yikes:

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

racered302 · **Joined:** Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:38 pm **Posts:** 81

I should take a picture of the trash heap I'm on the verge of cleaning up, it's a mess and I'm being led a stray by the crab cake cruise on Saturday so I'm blaming the club. Inlaws will be in from Germany on May 15th so I have my work cut out for me.

Red Baron · **Posted:** Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:53 pm

Today in a rare sense of motivation I decided to reorganize my laundry room/ workshop area. I guess nearly falling on my face over plastic bags filled with paper goods, bottled water and juices, old paint cans, etc. sort of made me reprioritize my efforts at organizing.

So another trip to the Home Depot to buy another heavy duty plastic shelving unit to replace the worn out old metal unit that has been in service since 1986. It took me several hours to take everything off of the shelves, decide what could be thrown out, and then cleaned up of dust before putting it all back on the new shelves.

Since this is an ongoing project I will submit before and after photos when we finally get the laundry room cleaned up.

A lot of the plastic dinnerware and cups and plates will eventually be stored in the garage as I clean up an old shelf system and make room for these items.

My cleanup efforts were not helped when my dog Kelsey knocked over a bottle of furniture polish onto the concrete floor and glass was everywhere! Cleaning up this mess really cut into my project big time! Also cut my thumb while picking up the glass. :angry:

Midnight Blue
MCOM Historian

Great White · **Posted:** Wed May 01, 2013 10:24 am

Steve,

Looks like a different garage altogether from the last time I saw it. Nice job :btu:

Red Baron · **Posted:** Wed May 01, 2013 10:33 am

Great White · **Posted:** Wed May 01, 2013 10:40 am

I eventually need to come and see your trains! I loved having a collection of them when I was a child and wish I had kept them. also the track we had in our basement was hours of fun for my brothers and I growing up.

Red Baron · **Posted:** Wed May 01, 2013 11:06 am

Your welcome to come see the trains anytime Jim. The biggest issue I have there is keeping the layout as dust free as possible which isn't too hard because the layout is in a finished basement.

The garage and laundry room projects were put off for several years due my deteriorating back condition. Now that I've had the back surgery and can actually do this stuff again, I'm anxious to get this job done. As a detail guy I really enjoy having everything in it's proper place and it drove me crazy seeing the garage become a dumping ground for everything.

My wife and I also did a project like this several years ago to clean up a storage room on the other side of my office in the basement. That too had become a dumping ground for storage. We cleaned out the room, repainted it, put up a wall of paneling over the exposed wall, bought display racks to display our trains and built shelves to store the empty boxes for the collectible trains. Now that room is no longer an eyesore.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

5.7Lmustang · **Posted:** Wed May 01, 2013 4:53 pm

Steve. I also wanted to come see the train setup around Christmas time, but man its get so busy with the kids and honey do's. Those plastic shelving units are awesome I have 5 in the basement now and could use more. Some of my problem is I work at the dump here in AA county and find all kinds of goodies :devious:

llasov · **Joined:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:12 pm **Posts:** 71

I've seen the trains. Very, very impressive !!!

Kudos to Steve.

Red Baron · **Posted:** Thu May 02, 2013 9:40 am

jobo07pony · **Posted:** Thu May 02, 2013 10:43 pm

Hey Steve,
I never had a garage....but isn't something missing? Garage....
Noun:
A building or shed for housing a motor vehicle or vehicles.

Just wondering. :confused3:

John

Red Baron · **Posted:** Thu May 02, 2013 11:21 pm

I hear you John!

Unfortunately the people who lived here before us allowed the builder to get away with a dangerously steep driveway. They were young and stupid so they took a cash discount on the price of the home instead of making him fix the driveway. Anyway she decided to build a wall between the two car garage and separate the rooms. One of them is now my office and the other is too tight to actually park a car. With this situation it was just easier to use the garage as a storage area for lawn mowers and outdoor tools, a workbench and tools and of course storage for all of my car care products.

Do I miss not having a real garage? Yes, but the driveway is so screwed up it would be difficult to back down and park inside the tight confines of the garage. I would have to virtually take everything out of the garage in order to park a car.

I took some before photos of the back end of the garage and as soon as I reclaim that area I'll post the photos to show the difference. My laundry room project is coming along nicely too. I will be posting some before and after photos of that transformation although the laundry room is still not finished yet. I have a lot of old paint cans and other clutter that I need to get off of the floor but now at least you can walk inside the laundry room without tripping over food and bottled water, etc.

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

Red Baron · **Posted:** Fri May 03, 2013 12:35 am

I started my laundry room/hobby workshop cleanup and reorganization project earlier this week. While I have not completely finished the project yet I thought I'd share some of the before and after photos of what I was able to do in one evenings work. There is still more work to do like getting rid of old paint cans, some with paint still in them, and other items still cluttering up the laundry/utility room.

The biggest reward so far is the extra room we now have in this room, followed by the reorganization of our food pantry. Now everything is neatly organized to make it easier to find things and to be able to walk around without tripping over bags of plastic goods, bottled water and other items cluttering up the floor.

I'm also enclosing a few "before" pictures of the back of my garage where I will need to really work to find a way to clean up this mess. Some of this stuff will be thrown away and what I do need to keep will have to find itself stored in such a way as to open up floor space. This is going to be a challenge! :yikes:

Midnight Blue
MCOM Treasurer-Historian

Red Baron · **Posted:** Fri May 03, 2013 12:42 am

The photos on the previous page were the "before" pictures of our crowded laundry/utility room. Here are some "after" photos showing how I was able to reorganize the pantry and clean up a lot of junk and clutter on the floor.

This is still an ongoing project as I have a lot of clutter that still needs to be cleaned up hopefully in the next few days.

Mustang Club of Maryland

Reorganizing my Garage

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