The bigger-is-better garage movement, coinciding with
a growing desire for more space in the home indicates
home owners aren't just parking vehicles in their
garages.
Nationwide, nearly two-thirds of all new homes have
two-car garages while 19 percent have three-car
garages, leaving only about 15 percent with one-car
garages or none at all, according to the National
Association of Home Builders.
The West and Midwest are the nation's three-car garage
leaders, according to U.S. Census research. In 1992,
when the bureau first started nosing around garages,
only 16 percent of new Midwest homes were equipped
with three-car or larger garages. Last year, the
number was up to 32 percent. In the West, the larger
garages were built into 20 percent of the new homes in
1992. By 2004, 31 percent of new homes in the West had
three-car garages.
In the South, the percentage of homes with big car
garages is currently only 9 percent. It's only percent
and in the Northeast -- both regions have more
basements per capita than the West and Midwest so the
extra yen for garages in those regions makes sense.
The growth in demand for larger garages coincides with
NAHB's consumer preferences findings -- home buyers
after more space, not necessarily the traditional
larger, more-house kind of space, but better defined,
more usable, specialized spaces.
Take, the garage.
Please.
The problem with garage space is that its yawning,
gaping emptiness calls out to home owners looking for
somewhere to toss stuff in order to keep the rest of
the home neat and up-to-date. Motivation to organize
the home's clutter catch-all -- the garage -- just
gets tossed into the heap.
"It's (organizing) more a goal than a reality. You
have to have discipline," said Dena Mentis, new home
expert from Novato, CA and co-author of the
"Homebuyer's Kit" (Dearborn Trade, $15.95).
Indeed.
Drive down any suburban street in America on a warm
summer day and, well, it ain't pretty. Most "yard"
sales are actually "garage" sales designed to air out
the home's storage facility.
Pricey status vehicles are left on display -- at the
mercy of ultra violet radiation, snow, sleet, wind and
hail -- while the junk is nestled snug in the garage.
It's no wonder garage remodeling and organizing will
be an estimated $2.5 billion business this year,
according to the NAHB.
"At first it might seem like you're fighting a losing
battle, trying to get your garage organized, but by
following some simple suggestions and using some of
today's best storage tools, you can transform your
garage from a disorganized storage shed into a fully
functioning room in a matter of days," says the guy
who wrote the book on garage-guilt, Bill West, author
of "Your Garagenous Zone: The Complete Garage
Organizer Guide".
It's either that or small animals will turn your heap
into a network of nests.
So, click on the garage door opener and get ready to
turn your no-parking zone into a household-friendly
storage facility.
Let go. Sort through the rubble, toss what you haven't
used in six months and can't sell. Chances are you'll
never use it again. Donate useful times to a charity.
Hold a garage sale. Price it to move. You don't need a
profit. You need space.
That's about it. Sweep up, drive in the family car and
set the brake.
Right.
Organize it. Divide what's left items into categories
-- toys, tools, tires, bottles, books, baby items --
to help you visualize and plan the space you'll need
for each category.
Zone out. Divide the garage into designated zones for
categories of items to make sure there is enough room
for the stuff you are still hoarding. At this point
you'll discover, if you ever want to fit your car back
into the garage (or even a cat for that matter),
you've got more stuff to lose.
Be decisive. Instead of a hodgepodge, willy-nilly
system of bins and baskets and shelves and racks that
don't mesh, consider one sane, organized, built-in or
matching storage system that will keep you from waking
up to the same nightmare again. This should be a
once-and-for-all proposition and it might require
professional help.
If you insist on creating your own system (again,
remember, your last one didn't work out so well),
consider these techniques to build in some semblance
of order.
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