This garage clean out has made a huge difference! The stress level when we walk or drive into garage has decreased significantly.
Let's start with the most fun area -- the spot where we both had to do some gymnastics to get around every day:
Let's discuss, shall we? Brand new faux tree from Goodwill, purchased nine months ago? Check. Dirty cups from the car? Check. Pretty white Target basket from Goodwill getting grossified? Check. Neck pillow from my last flight eight months ago? Check.
Niiiice.
This is it now:
What was hidden in the picture above was a massive cardboard box we use for paper recycling. I thought it would be brilliant to save it for this purpose, until the first time I tried to get it in the car to take to the recycling place.
Ummmm...it was at least 50 pounds, I'm not even kidding. So now, we've downsized to a cheap trash can. I leave this here so before I walk in the house, (most of the time,) I can open everything, shred and toss paper right in. Once a week I take it to the bin. Awesome.
The storage bin was from the deck -- I was going to take it to Goodwill, but then I realized how dumb that would be when it would be perfect for the garage. It holds all the outdoor furniture covers, all of our gardening gloves (I believe I found 12 pairs, um kay...) and a few other garden jobbies.
The ladder used to be around the corner, but I realized I use it all. the. time. So why not have it right by the door, so I can grab it easily? The little frame with hooks holding the garden tools was a gift I painted black and it's perfect! The $2.99 metal vase was a Goodwill find and holds umbrellas and wet vac tools. (OH yes, I spray painted it.)
We used to have all three of our garbage bins over to the right in the corner, but they were such a pain to get to, and it made it a bit tight for hubby's SUV.
I moved the bins, moved the shelves down a bit, and added shelves we had in another spot, so everything we could possibly need is in ONE spot:
The shelves hold lawn stuff/bug stuff/bird seed/barbecue stuff, the list is endless. I made each shelf a "category." I think I may even label them so hubby keeps this organized. If he doesn't, he's goin' down...
I used dollar store bins to group all the small stuff:
Would you like to know how many bug spray products I found? Lessee...approximately eight? Yes, I think that's right.
I kind of hate that this still looks like a mess, even though it's not. It will have to do until we can spring for some fancy schmacy cabinets:
This little dude is awesome, and I highly recommend it. It was in another corner we couldn't even get to, and now it's so easy to access. It holds all of the tools with a handle:
Oh, and hubby kept buying fertilizer when we had bags and bags we didn't know about. So now we have about four to use up. Told you you waste money when you aren't organized! We sure did.
To the right of this area used to look like this:
And now it's this:
We had the hooks in the wall for our huge long ladder, but our friends use it at their house more than we do, so they keep it. Kind of a please-adopt-it-it's-so-huge-you-can-keep-it kind of deal.
So I just put a few more hooks up and hung everything I possibly could to get it out of the way. We moved the lawn mower over to this spot so hubs can get it out without pulling out the car. This is AWESOME.
The next part is to the left of the now
black garage door to the house:
You could seriously not walk in here -- it was disgusting that we had about 120 square feet of space that was basically unusable. Nuts! (See my painted sewing table looked before?)
Now it looks like this:
I moved the peg board from another spot, spray painted it for fun, and rearranged everything to work better.
Otherwise, it was just a serious example of decrapification.
This is a fraction of my tools. Most of them are in the basement -- that's coming soon. :)
Just to the left of this area used to look like this:
THAT is what I opened my car door into every. single. day. THAT is why I have scratches all over my car door. I keep all my scraps just in case.
The just in case scenario was a little out of control, so I got rid of about half of it, moved the peg board, and now it looks like this:
Much easier access to the trash, which is very important you know. Removing the pegboard made a huge difference:
Ahhh yes, I can breathe. It is lovely, isn't it?
I also did a good cleaning of everything -- used the wet vac to get up in the corners to get all the webs. (Grody.) Look at these corners!:
I spent very little money -- $20 on a ball holder and less than five on a few more of
these garage hooks:
They are great and work for almost anything. They are only $1.47 each. I spent about ten bucks on trash bins for my molding and the recycled paper. All told, to completely redo the garage and organize it, I spent less than $40. Serious. I used what we had and moved it around to work better.
The first day I spent about three hours on it and got it looking really, really good. I just stuck with it and didn't stop. All together, including painting the door and steps, I spent about six or seven hours in here total.
Take the kids to grandmas, to a friend's or now you can do it when they are at school -- and knock it out in a day! If you have two people working you could get it down in half the time! I can't even tell you how relaxing it is to drive in now:
There are a few things we'd still like to do -- finish the floors for one. We are trying to determine if it's worthwhile to insulate and drywall the exterior walls. Does anyone know about this? Does it help with the heating and cooling of the rest of the house? And I would love to paint at least the door wall (Aimee!) but the ceilings are 12 feet up in here and that will be a huge job. It will take primer and paint and I have about a mile long list ahead of that one. ;)
I filled all three of our large garbage bins with CRAP during this process, plus more. It felt sooooo good people. This was all spurred on by our deck redo, so now we'll have space to put most of the outdoor furniture in the winter, which makes us feel better about that investment.
Go for it this weekend, you won't regret it!!
You could seriously not walk in here -- it was disgusting that we had about 120 square feet of space that was basically unusable. Nuts! (See my painted sewing table looked before?)
THAT is what I opened my car door into every. single. day. THAT is why I have scratches all over my car door. I keep all my scraps just in case. 
They are great and work for almost anything. They are only $1.47 each. I spent about ten bucks on trash bins for my molding and the recycled paper. All told, to completely redo the garage and organize it, I spent less than $40. Serious. I used what we had and moved it around to work better.
This is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteWow, love your redo. Thanks for sharing. Just by coincidence I have been working in my garage today but have a long way to go. Where did you get your ball holder and hooks? You have me motivated to go and buy these things to make it a little easier to organize. Now I feel ready to get started again!!!
ReplyDeleteI love it Sarah. I was working on my garage today. We moved in not long ago and I have tons of stuff to do but the garage was bugging me because of all the boxes of junk still in there I needed to go through. I tackled that today. Put a gooooood dent in it but still have some stuff I need to do. I love your door too. I'm thinking I want one.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job! It looks great!!
ReplyDeletegood for you!! it looks wonderful. ours is now cleaned up...things are where they belong...however-we have a HUGE pile that takes up almost one whole side for a garage sale that we're having in a couple of weeks. so once that's gone i'll be giddy about it actually looking clean!!!
ReplyDeletei'm loving the door too! i'd love to do it, but our old dog literally chewed/ate the door, so the whole thing really should be replaced first!!
way to go!!
I love this - I would like to hire someone to do mine. Ours is like the room from, well, you know. I'm sure someone came in there and never came out...lol.
ReplyDeleteI'll do it when it gets cooler. The HEAT is too much for me!
Blessings to you and congrats on 200th!
~GREAT job girl!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe have a stainless steel and black plastic storage armoire that holds everything. Seriously if anything extra doesn't fit inside it I figure I don't need it that much and it's thrown away. The floor treatment is next and then we are painting ours out as well. :)
It looks so clean an organized. I love it. Yes, from what the electric company says it does save a bundle to insulate the garage. Even if you can't sheetrock it right now, maybe some insulation before the winter comes. I sure wish mine were this organized. Such a mess. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention I would insulate and paint it out for sure! It would look super! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is looking so good. I really love the door!!
ReplyDeleteis that a TV???? lol.
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome job, girlfriend!
ReplyDeleteWe did insulate our garage and it is well worth it. Cuts the heating cost down a good deal for us at least. So what color are you gonna paint the walls, eh?
I need to paint ours but not with a 3 years old running around...guess I will have to wait til he starts school which is, ummmmmm, more 2 years... ugh!
Looks great! It makes me wish that we had a 2 1/2 car garage :/ We dont have enough room to have junk to clean up! haha
ReplyDeleteBUT you inspired me to work on our spare bedroom! Right now it has all my sewing/scrapbooking stuff all over the floor and in the closet. I'm going to move it into our loft, and actually, you know, put it away! haha Thank you!
It looks fantastic!!! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to paint my garage door black.
It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThat is very motivating to look at! Good thing we only have a garage big enough for our cars so we can't put stuff in it. Great job !!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring...makes me want to go clean & organize something! It also made me feel good to know that you have (or rather HAD) spots like this in your home since the rest of your home always looks so beautiful & perfect & organized & well-decorated! I also loved the basement re-do post awhile ago, but didn't comment.
ReplyDeleteAnd your writing style always cracks me up - so honest!
Love your redo!! Oh, and that door is TO DIE FOR! I asked my hubby if I can do that to my door, and he said it sounds like a great idea!! Thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I definitely need to decrapify our garage. I may wait til fall, though. Alabama heat when you're pregnant is no fun!!! Yours looks awesome.
ReplyDeleteYour garage looks great! And I love the title to this post!!
ReplyDeleteChelsea
It looks great!! Can you come to my house next. We or I really mean my husband has a TON of tools and stuff. He actually had to build a shed in the back yard for the rest. When friends and family first saw the "shed" they said "that's not a shed that's a guest house" (ha-ha)it's a bit big. But he did do a great job on it I have to say.
ReplyDeleteYou have been working HARD, my friend! I have a passion for organizing and am so excited for you! Yay!! I too have open shelving in our garage and don't really like to see our stuff even though for the most part it is contained in bins/boxes too. We are currently renting so I don't want to spend the money for cabinets until it's in our own garage. I was thinking I might try something like what I found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://completeorganizingsolutions.com/2009/07/easy-cover-to-hide-wire-shelving.html
not using anything too fancy or anything, just something cheap, yet attractive to cover the hodge podge. ;)
A household after my own clutter-free heart!
ReplyDeleteI am inspired to tackle our mess of a garage. Yours looks great!
ReplyDeleteDecrapification is my new favorite word.
ReplyDeleteYou are an organizing wonder!
ReplyDeleteCraptastic!!!!!!! I just did this last weekend...aaahhh room!
ReplyDeletem ^..^
Looks GREAT! Come do mine?
ReplyDelete(Clapping hands) Bravo, Sarah!! I need to show this one to my mom.
ReplyDeleteThankfully (sort of), we do not have a garage. I am convinced it would look like your "befores," only much much worse!
You did a fabulous job, and I like the TV up there too. Must be nice to have when you're working in there. :)
My husband would totally love you. We have our garage finished off with drywall and insulated and it is nice in the winter. It's still cold but your don't totally freeze. When we just had to replace our garage door we opted for the insulated one too and that has helped a ton also. I don't know about helping on heating/cooling cost because it's always been that way but I would assume it would. It's extra insulation to that interior wall. Your garage looks great. Want to come over so my husband will love me like he does you now? (He checked out your before and afters and said "Oh, Yeah!") Men. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Very nice! If you paint your door wall you'll have to get your tall ladder back!
ReplyDeletelooks fabulous! inspires me to do SOMETHING with our garage...
ReplyDeleteone thing though... where on earth are all your bikes? what about your rubbermaid tubs with clothes?!
Very inspiring! Maybe I will decrapify my garage! Well, when it isn't 120 in there!
ReplyDeleteCan you please visit my garage...love it...I painted my front door black with a burgandy glass screen door.anmd Golden welcome across it...love it...yours is awesome ...great work you have done...inspiring me...
ReplyDeleteDecrapification--love it!!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the ball holder? I need one of those for my kiddos!
Oh do I need to de-crapify myself! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow fabulous is the term "decrapification" - I just love it. It's so true! I love the before and afters. I posted my own decrapification/organization of a kid's basement play area and linked it back to you - I just love your blog!
ReplyDeleteDecrapification will be happening here soon!! Any volunteers to come and help? I get so ill driving into the garage - my car barely fits in the 2 car garage and to top it off... it's a MINI! School starts Tuesday so that might be a great thing for me to start with!!
ReplyDeletelooking spiffy! i can't wait until it cools off so we can work on our garage. it was 104 degrees at 8:30 at night. yikes :)
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great job you did! And all with just some decrappifying and mostly using things you already had. Bravo! I've been planning my garage reorg for a few weeks now. I have spinal issues so can only work in about 1/2 hour increments, but it will get done! I didn't have a garage until I moved here 10 years ago; I didn't have garage stuff, either. Simpler times.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!
ReplyDeleteI'm lightyears behind you decrapifying the garage. I've long ago stopped parking in it while renoing the house.
Let's see... a friend told me it's now a 'workshop' and they're meant to be messy. I LIKE THAT. But honestly, the mess is getting to me again...
Donna
OMG! You have a TV in your garage!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the before and afters! We worked on decrapifying our garage last spring. I bought lots of ultra sturdy shelving units. It was amazing to see all the space we had once we put everything on those shelves (and now we can find stuff too!). I also found a gazebo (new in box) that we'd forgotten to put up...got it set up on our deck promptly and we've been able to enjoy meals on our deck minus the lovely bugs and wasps.
:)
Hi I'm new to reading your blog but just love the posts I've read so far. Your garage looks fantastic! Great work!
ReplyDeleteYour garage looks so pretty and clean! I know it was a lot of work, but it feels great doesn't it!
ReplyDeleteWTG! It looks awesome! I think if I freshen things up and get rid of a few things in our garage I will feel much better! Thanks for the inspiration...uh oh....off to work I go! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! It looks great! I have plans for ours but like previous thrifty chicks said, it's just so dern hot out right now. I might be painting my doors this weekend and I love the idea of putting words there. I may have to steal that.
ReplyDeleteI do have a suggestion for storing your trim. If you stretch bungee cords across the studs (hook them onto nails on either side), you can utilize the narrow space to store your trim upright. At least until you decide to insulate and drywall!
and now I have garage envy! ugh! I have been wanting to de-crap mine for months now! but lack the courage to get in there- I may have to tie a string to my ankle and have someone pull me out if I dont resurface! Great job!!! and LOVE LOVE the black door!
ReplyDeletegirl, only you would have a stainless steel fridge in your garage. I have to tell you...the more i see that black door the more I want to paint mine black. thanks for the awesome photos. you have a huge garage!~
ReplyDeleteOne word: BRAVO!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I know that feels a lot better....ask me how I know. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am feeling so inspired right about now!! I think I told you before that we don't have a basement, or much of an attic so the only real storage space I have is in the garage. That being said, it could DEFINITELY look better than it does right now.
ReplyDeleteYou did an amazing job!
Great job! Thanks for the inspiration...now I need to get busy and tackle the mess in my office. T
ReplyDeleteGreat job!! Ours is packed full of stuff - stuff from when we moved a few months ago, stuff waiting to go to Goodwill, stuff waiting to be refinished... it needs a major cleansing!!
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me so much - I bought a consult for you (had the paint cans on the shelves in the LR) and we've totally transformed that room in the last week... though not yet with paint, I'll post pics when it's really all done :) Right now we've just worked with what we have and that alone looks so much better!
I looooove your blog :)
Have a delightful day!
That is excellent! I am impressed. We recently did this as well and it's so liberating. I just ran across your blog the other day and I am loving it - keep the ideas coming!!
ReplyDeleteALL YOUR BEFORE PICTURES?
ReplyDeletelook exactly like my garage right now...it is get Guuhrooss...I need to attack. Bad
Oh goodness! Our garage is a terrible mess and really is on our to-do list this weekend but I also really want to paint my littlest guy's room. Darn it. I think you talked me into doing the garage! It looks great!
ReplyDeleteGreat job. It looks wonderful really! I have my 200th post tomorrow...wow:) I'm having my first giveaway, so you should stop by.
ReplyDeleteme encanta tu blog... haces cosas hermosas que imaginacion!!:)
ReplyDeleteWe are actually tackling our gargage this weekend! It's been a mess since our garage sale. We never got around to taking the leftover crap to GW. Did I mention the sale was in the beginning of April? Sigh..I'm such a slacker. I'm taking care of it this weekend though!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post as usual!
okay, I HAVE to know (being a feng shui buff) where in relation to your front door is your garage? Like is it to the right or left? Does it jut out in front of the entry or line up.
ReplyDeleteI only ask because you'll soon find a huge shift in energy in one of a couple areas. happens every time someone does a major overhaul like you just did.
and the door . . . splendid. you can't believe how many clients I've told to do SOMETHING with their entry door from garage, if that's the door they enter into their home primarily. they mainly thought I was nuts - but that's okay ... I am.
your solution - so much better - understated, classy, welcoming all at once. LOVE IT!
congrats on the decrapping. i can't wait until you get some surprises, a la feng shui energy. always happens. don't kno why, really I don't. just know after 15 yrs of writing and teaching the dang stuff, there's always a huge shift when decluttering happens.
If you have a bedroom/room above the garage door, it will help that room keep the heating/cooling better.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the basement project DH and I are gearing ourselves up to. Not looking forward to the "doing", but cannot wait for the "done"
ReplyDeletehubby is staring b/c i'm in here snorting out LOUD at your funniness!! (is that a word??) anyhoo - i'm so seriously jealous over this nicely organized and CLEAN garage. . . . .
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed and also inspired! It is true that you need a nice chunk of time to stick to it or you end up throwing it all back! When school starts, I think...
ReplyDelete~Nancy
We have an insulated garage door and it makes a difference. We once insulated the exterior walls in a house that we built and it made it nice to work on projects in the summer and winter. The next owner of the house was able to enclose the garage and turn it into a rockin' gameroom because we insulated it.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, this looks great! BUT, you haven't seen crap until you've seen our garage! I swear, my partner won't get rid of ANYTHING! I mean NOTHING! It's awful only one of us can park in the garage and guess who it is?? My partner! The butt! :)
ReplyDeleteI bet it must feel wonderful to pull into your garage now. It is amazing! I WILL do this ... but not this weekend. It is way too hot to try this until about November. But I will ... I have to. Ours is a mess. And you inspire me!!
ReplyDeletewow, i love how it looks-- i stole a magazine called Family Handyman from the dentists office yesterday because the entire magazine was devoted to garage organization. i am so in love with their AFFORDABLE ideas (making your own ball box with wood and bungee cords) that i am now going to subscribe to their magazine-- which takes a lot of affection!
ReplyDeletehubby and i are tackling our 1 car garage tomorrow! fun times!
Props to you for a clean and organized garage! Ours is the summer project we poke around at each weekend. Yours gave me some inspiration to get going THANKS!
ReplyDeleteSamantha
www.twoheartstogether.com
Sarah ~ this is incredible and all it took was TIME and organization. It is amazing at how different it looks ~ loverly for sure!
ReplyDeleteyou are my hero. and if you can do it so can i. except i bet you didn't have any turkey feet in our garage...or a boars head....or turkey fans...in with all the other regular stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's shop used to be in the garage til he moved to a bigger space and yes, the insulation is worth it at minimum. Wallboard is good too, but at least insulate.
ReplyDeleteMy 'scrap' corner has yours beat, but like I said, hubby had a cabinetry shop there and left every stinkin' scrap there. I have a chair now to replace my FIL's old recliner that we have & I've given the middle 2 kids one week to make a space in the garage for it or it goes to freecycle for a college student.
Ok, you've inspired me to do some re-organizing in my garage! I love the door that leads into your house, I think I'll copy that idea. We also have tall ceilings in the garage. My plans are to have hubby create a "loft" suspended from the ceiling about four feet down to use for storage of seasonal items.
ReplyDeleteThat is simply amazing. I relaxed just looking at pictures! An organized space makes my heart sing!
ReplyDeleteFound your site recently and you have an instant fan. Not only do you share the "fun" inside stuff...you share the "messy" stuff too! We all have areas to improve, it is fun to see the creativity that goes into your solutions.
ReplyDeleteHad one thought about your shelves. You said that you wanted cabinets to cover it up. I have seen curtains or bamboo shades used on shelves to mask items.
Thanks for sharing.
Okay, paint the garage floor. It is SOOOOOO worth it! Well, its not actually paint...its an epoxy product. It seals and finishes the floor and makes it EAAAAAASY to clean....hose down is all it takes. Now the project takes a little time. You have to clean, clean, clean. Then you do an acid type wash (comes in the kit from Lowes and the Rustoleum uses a citric acid so you don't have to gear up like a firefighter). Once your husband has all the spots up, cleaned and acid washed....the next morning you mix the epoxy according to directions and roll it on! Best thing we ever did to our garage. Oh yeah, they have these cute little paint chips to throw in the wet epoxy to dress it up. Takes some time and a little money but it was sooooo worth it. You can walk on it after a day and park the vehicles after three.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but your before pictures make our garage look, well, worse. lol
ReplyDeleteWe've got lots of cupboards, full of stuff. Stuff we weed out every now and again but that seems to multiply when our backs are turned.
We have bikes that need to be hung and gotten off the floor. A carpet machine, ShopVac, and various other pieces of equipment (jigsaw, bandsaw, etc) that need a place of their own.
Plus, the laundry area is out there. Nothing I can do about it. That's life.
A car in the garage? Surely you're joking. I've never had a car in the garage, not even at my last house when we had a three car space.
My dream is to remove everything and only put back what we truly need/want. Unfortunately, that has to wait until summer when the rainy season is over, but it will get done!
A friend tried to insulate and add pegboard to an entire garage wall, meaning with no dry wall. Well... insulation dribble came out every time a peg got moved--making a mess and a toxic situation. A word to the wise. --!!
ReplyDeleteI heard years ago that if you have a refrigerator in a garage, insulating it will make the frig more energy effecient.
I am thinking about painting our garage door and steps taupe! Maybe black lettering--HMM.
I saw your webpage on the NATE show today.I jumped right on because I am a stay at home mom like you and have a pashion for decorating. EVERYONE who sees my house think that I am an Interior designer:) anyways,I must say I Love your idea of the Garage door being black!!!!! I jumped off my computer and ran out and painted it Immediately! I have 6 kids and my garage door and white trim was ALWAYS dirty,,,so this not only looks elegant,but wont show anymore dirt!!!LOL:) thanks Gilla
ReplyDeleteWhere exactly did you get the ball holder and those pegs to hold wires/hoses, etc.? Thanks! GREAT JOB!
ReplyDeleteooo I love the "you are home" on the door!
ReplyDelete