Moving into an apartment with an attached garage was one of
the biggest upgrades I’ve ever made in my life. Not only does it mean not
having to dig my car out of 6 inches of snow in the winter, but it means having a
place to store all manner of stuff that I just don’t want in my apartment.
From casual observation of my neighbors, I can tell it’s
pretty much the same for them. The garage is a storage zone, not just for our
cars, but for the flotsam and jetsam that we don’t want or need in our
apartments.
What else does my casual observation tell me? Our garages
tend to be like our desks at work - there seem to be three types – the strictly
organized, the organized chaos, and the big ol’ mess – what it also tells me is
that it doesn’t seem to matter how much stuff there is – most fall into these
three categories whether they have a garage almost full, or a garage almost
empty.
Strictly Organized
There are some people (certainly
not me) whose garages are immaculate. Those people tend to also have very well
organized desks - the inbox only has incoming messages, all neatly stacked and
ready to be processed; the computer and other desk accessories are spaced
just-so and there’s not a stray post-it to be found. Take a look in their
garages and you’ll see shelving systems and matching sized bins and boxes – all
labeled and allotting the appropriate space for cars to enter and doors to
open. These garages are the envy of the neighborhood and they are few and far
between.
Organized Chaos
Now, this is my territory – and
the territory that most of us occupy. At first glance, my desk at work looks
like a complete mess. But if you look just a little bit closer, you’ll see that
there’s an underlying organizing system, I just don’t tend to stick to it. I
have an inbox and a place for my stapler, but the mail doesn’t say in there and
I can rarely find the darn stapler (so I secretly have 2 more hiding in
drawers). My garage is like a full scale model of my desk. There is an
organizing system, I do use coordinated boxes and bins, but I have no idea
what’s in any of those bins, so the second I need something from the garage –
EXPLOSION – looks like a stuffed animal & paper bomb went off. Eventually
it makes it all back to its place, or close enough.
Big Ol’ Mess
Ah, so the mess…the big ol’ mess.
These are the desks that everyone wonders how anyone can work there! How can
you get anything done, there’s not even enough space for a computer. But, if
it’s your desk…you know where everything is and if someone asks you where the
quarterly report is, you’ll find the right pile and pull it right out. This
works exactly the same for the big ol’ mess garage. It might look crazy in
there, but at least you know where everything is. My organized chaos isn’t
nearly as predictable as your big ol’ mess. Fortunately, our garages have doors
and they are no judgement zones – so keep doing what you’re doing.
All that said, no matter what your garage (or desk) looks
like, there are absolutely fantastic to have! I am genuinely praising mine
daily and will continue to do so through the rain and snow that is to come.
*Written by Lindsay S., a proud writer and Redwood resident.
