Comments on: Perfect time to organize your garage

By: Gayle Machetta

Gayle Machetta — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:34:31 +0000

We’ve lived in this home for 21 years, with an over-sized 2-car garage that couldn’t hold one car, let alone two…. until now. I spent two unseasonably wonderfully warm fall days and did just exactly what you are writing about. We emptied out the garage onto the driveway, filled a trailer load of junk to haul to the dump, sorted, organized and put it away. Now, you can put two cars in the garage, room to spare, and the floor is actually a different color than I remember.

By: patty

patty — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:43:30 +0000

Just a bit of trivia: My mother would use the words “Rid” the table everynight. She was from Kansas and her family had come from Ohio. But perhaps it was just in the pronunciation of the word.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:54:33 +0000

Love the reference to “redd up.” I’m from southern Ohio and my mother still uses that term for a chore my sisters and I shared when growing up – “redd up” the table (clear away the dirty dishes). She always thought it meant to “rid” the table of dirty dishes, but I like “ready up” better.

By: Jonathan M.

Jonathan M. — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:42:09 +0000

I found a website that many, many storage and outfitting solutions for the garage and rec rooms. If you’re looking for some nifty ideas to store anything in the garage you must check out their site.
http://www.1stchoicegarage.com

By: gypsypacker

gypsypacker — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:26:35 +0000

Now what we need is a minimalist plumbing-installation kit, DIY in one day, so the home mechanic can clean up before he enters the house, or so the garage can be fitted with a Murphy bed or cot and turned into an emergency guest room. Anyone want to make a million and start a business?

By: FrugalNYC

FrugalNYC — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:36:10 +0000

Interesting name for washing out the garage.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:44:28 +0000

Though I’ve heard it all my life (I’m originally from McKees Rocks), and done my fair share of redding up, I’ve never actually seen “redd up” in print! Thanks for the link to the origin. Someone once told me it started with “ready up,” but now I know the truth!

By: Just Plain Joy

Just Plain Joy — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:08:02 +0000

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love organizing the garage! It looks like we’ve gained square footage when the garage is clean. Thanks for the post!

Check out my latest post at http://www.JustPlainJoy.blogspot.com

By: becoming minimalist

becoming minimalist — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:55:26 +0000

it was actually while cleaning my garage that we made the decision to become minimalist. i had said “enough is enough. i’m spending more time cleaning stuff than playing with my kids. and that was it.”

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:56:09 +0000

I grew up near Boston but my mom is from western PA – no one here understood her when she told us to redd up. I had to translate

By: dayafternext

dayafternext — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:26:31 +0000

I redd up my NY apartment last night! I’m a former Pittsburgher, and the western PA shout-out is much-appreciated!

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:49:09 +0000

I don’t have a garage, but I really enjoyed learning about the word “redd” which I had never heard before.

By: momofthree

momofthree — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:31:23 +0000

I am amazed at how clean the after pictures look in so many garages professionally made over, but in most pictures, there are no kids toys, large or small, bikes for a family or lawn mowers. Guess if you can afford to have someone else clean out YOUR OWN space, then you also have someone else take care of YOUR yard, so why need space for yard care equipment.
We have lots of shovels to hang, and ice choppers to boot, living in the Chicago area, those are a must.
When will people be responsible for upkeep of their own belongings and property and not have to HAVE SOMEONE organize their own crap??

By: Kirstin

Kirstin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:07:34 +0000

I do the exact same thing in my garage, except I do it twice a year (spring and fall) and I take the opportunity to go through everything and purge. This fall I also invested in new plastic shelving (to replace hand-me-down metal shelves). The plastic is sturdy and durable and also makes cleaning easier since I don’t have to worry about rusting. In setting up my new shelves, I devised a plan to keep messes contained by putting cheap plastic boot trays on the shelves where I place liquids like fertilizers, bug sprays, and my husbands bottles of oil and gas for power yard tools. This will prevent spills from getting very far and will make cleanup easier. I snagged the boot trays at the dollar store, so it was a cheap and practical investment. Hooray for an organized garage!

BTW, most of our neighbors can’t put their cars in the garage either. My husband and I marvel at this every time we walk our dog.

By: PJ_Normz

PJ_Normz — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:37:40 +0000

What a perfect time for this post. I have been looking at my garage (slash summer office) wondering how to get more out of the space.

Great tips!!!