Clean out my garage

When I started this project I knew I was in for a challenge as I come from a long line of pack rats and also have several projects going while doing this. Every time I start to make progress and get free space in the garage something winds up there. I installed Hi-Loft hanging metal shelving units on the ceiling against the back wall. I set up hooks to hang my 2 large ladders from the ceiling. Installed a hose reel on the ceiling for my air compressor so I could have a retractable air hose that was self storing. Learned to sweat together copper pipe for that project and I also installed a retractable heavy duty extension cord reel on the ceiling which feeds from the same outlet as the garage door opener. Again, self storing is a good thing. My dad and I relocated the garage heater to a corner of the garage which allowed me to hang an additional hanging metal shelf and stopped a lot of wasted energy from escaping the hot water lines feeding it. There was about 16 feet of copper pipe running between the boiler and the heater and back and we cut that down to about 6 feet which noticeably reduced the summertime heat in my garage and my boiler works a little less to keep its internal temp up. I also swapped out my washer and dryer set that live in the garage from an electrically heated dryer to a gas heated dryer. When the gas dryer is working it actually helps heat the garage which in the winter is a bonus getting a second service from the heat it is making to dry the cloths. Also the gas unit runs less to do the same job so it will impact the pocket book a little less, take that Chugach Electric! I finally disposed of the old electrical dryer giving it to someone who needed to replace their dieing unit and need to give the washer to good will to get it off of my floor and free up some more space in the garage.

On the upside, I am able to have my wife park her Yukon in the garage and I can squeeze in both snowmachines which I religiously store inside to protect them from the elements that corrode things when they are stored and also to keep honest people honest and my stuff mine. Them is expensive to replace if stolen!

Anyways, hope to make some more progress in the near future on getting a little more organized. I need to get set up some bolt bins and a few other tool organizing systems and I should be in good shape. Gotta get this one done, can’t let my friend Hal beat me too bad on this one!!!

In the process of buying a house and moving into it, my garage has become the transfer station to the house. We emptied it (the garage) 3 times moving things into the house as we took breaks from moving things from one house to another but now we are down to the things that have to be better organized as they go into their places for example my home office / graphic arts studio. That is why I have also chosen the goal to clean my home office. I’m trying to actually organize my office as I transfer things up into it instead of just cramming it all into the small room and then figure it out later. I have tons of picture matting materials that I’ve begun to organize by size as there are a lot of remnants that can be used for smaller pictures, boxes of glass for picture framing and extra frames and framing materials I’ve wound up from projects in the past that are still usable for future projects. I need to get this and several other things out of my garage so that I can put away my tool box, roll around work bench / tool cabinet and stand up 6 foot tall drill press. Fortunately I had my metal shelving units that are 6 foot tall and make a 12 foot run down one wall of my garage. I’ve begun to install suspended hanging storage shelves that hang from the roof trusses and make a 45” X 45” pad and after my dad and I relocate the heater in the garage which requires some plumbing I will hang up one more. Also I’ve bought pair of hanging retractable reels, one designed for air hose so I can hard plumb my air compressor into it and have a 50 foot hose that can reach any corner of my garage and will keep the air compressor in it’s decided place in life then I also have gotten a heavy duty retractable electric extension cord reel which has the same purpose in life, keep from having to drag things out and it just retracts into it’s storage place. Fortunately when one of the previous owners of the house remodeled the kitchen they took all of the old cabinetry and counter tops and put them in the garage and set up a work bench with over head and under counter storage. While I doubt I will be able to get both my truck and my wife’s Yukon in the garage, I will be happy just being able to get hers into there for the winter. My short term goal is to get my truck into the garage for storage while we go to Maine for vacation on the 25th of July as we will be taking my wife’s Yukon to the airport and parking it in employee parking to beat both the cab fare and the long term parking fees. One small perk for working at the airport!