There are over one million households in the greater St. Louis area, making it one of the most populated areas in the Midwest. And with each household owning roughly two cars each, the garage is one of the more important rooms in the home. For most people, this room can turn into a cluttered mess, full of all the odds and ends that have no place inside the actual home itself.
Many people fail to realize the potential that a garage can add to the value of the home, and it’s versatility. This large, open space is obviously quite useful to store your vehicles, especially when inclement weather hits, but it can be used for much more than just that. When properly utilized, the garage can transform the look and feel of your home for the better.
Organization is Key
The first aspect of getting the most use out of your garage is to keep it clean. Go through all of the belongings that have piled up over the years, sort the few that you will keep, and dispose of or sell the rest. The St. Louis area is usually teeming with garage sales, and it’s easy to advertise that you will be having one in the local paper and online. Not only will selling your old stuff declutter the garage, but it can also add a nice chunk of change to your wallet.
Once the sale is over, use some of that extra cash to help you keep your garage organized and clean. Drawers, toolboxes, and wall fixtures are great ways to give your belongings a specific “place” in the garage. Additionally, using a garage parking mat contains the dirt and grime that your vehicles track inside. Small improvements like these will breathe a new life into the garage, and encourage you to maintain its’ cleanliness for months and years down the road.
Think Outside the Box
If vehicle storage isn’t your top priority when it comes to using your garage, then there are endless possibilities as to what can be done with the space. Garages are great candidates to be turned into workshops, game rooms, or entertainment spaces. Watching a Cardinals or Blues game from the garage is a great way to destress and cheer on your team without disturbing the rest of the house. Transforming your garage to serve another purpose can be a labor-intensive project, but the result will be something you can immediately enjoy for years to come. If you have children, a room like this can also give them space to move around and play where it’s still easy to keep an eye on them.
Understanding just how useful a garage can be can open your house up to new possibilities. Whether you just want to keep it clean and organized, or transform it into something new – it will surely be better than a cluttered mess that most garages become. Once you’ve utilized the space to your liking, neighbors and friends will all want to stop by to see what you’ve done with it. Taking the time to see the value in a room that’s often overlooked can change your mindset towards how you look at your home, provide you with more ownership, and maybe even a bit of entertainment in the process.
There are one million households, over one million! in the St Louis area, making garages crucial! Crucial! to organization. Outside the box too.
I wondered, too, why this post was on 40 South News. Seems very odd.
Tying your shoes helps them stay on. Ponder that!
Funny to see this posted in a area where there are not many garages. Also the majority of the homes in Maplewood do not have attached garages.
Even weirder, this is marked as a sponsored post. So I assume someone paid money to post this Peggy Hill-ish musing on cleaning garages.
On the surface helpful, but totally useless. My garage is separate from the driveway so I can’t park my car in it. During heavy rains, it floods. I can store things, like my lawnmower, in it, but some stuff cannot sit on the floor or it will be damaged.
mind blown