So we’ve lived in Austin for five years now and at last we’re getting the “garage” space organized and the “stuff” put away in appropriate and permanent places. Okay, so we know all you neatnik friends are laughing, and yes we’ve seen your pristine garages with everything in its place and a place for everything! You are so flipping organized. Go ahead laugh at us – but none of you have a garage that is decking organized, now do you?
It’s about time you say? You have no idea!
We unpacked and arranged all our belongings inside the house in a timely fashion, but the garage space – oh me oh my! The unpacked boxes, empty boxes and contents, everything from work tools to garden equipment to Christmas decorations and bicycles were strewn everywhere, and it was soon obvious we lacked storage space for all of it, so we shoved things anywhere we could in makeshift manner. Getting it truly organized was a daunting task because first we had to conquer the garage itself! That would take time, and a back seat to a wedding, travel, establishing a business presence, creating a backyard and goodness alone knows what else. Chuck’s Dodge truck? No way would that sucker fit – so it resides in the driveway, a perfect target for any chunks of Texas hail that unexpectedly pound it. Goodness, it could wind up looking like a giant dimpled golf ball with smiles all over its face. Fortunately we’ve been lucky so far and Dodged that bullet, so to speak!
This is not your run-of-the-mill garage. This is a three-car monster that thrusts itself skyward with what feels like the altitude of a school gymnasium! Seriously, you duck every time you get out of the car in anticipation of a stray basketball shot to the head.
Maybe you’ve had one of these garages before, but I’d never seen such an animal, let alone the task of taming it! It includes the usual floor space but then there’s the AIR space – beaucoup airspace. Worst of all, this was wasted airspace – you simply can’t store stuff suspended in mid air. Nothing more irritating to my beloved than wasted space! Now airspace is something Chuck knows more than a little about since he was an Airspace Manager at Edwards AFB for 15 years! My Mr. Fix-it set about rectifying that issue as creative ideas turned into plans and plans turned into a mechanical drawing and materials were delivered to further clutter the garage floor. I never doubted him – I knew he’d gain control of that space – no problem at all – in his own way and in his own time.
He didn’t disappoint me – control and manage it he has and beautifully I might add! As he drew out the design, he called it The Cat Walk. The CW was to adorn the upper airspace above the cars, providing a walkway and large area for shelves and storage. It was a huge undertaking for one man with a little help from son-in-law Dany. Let me tell you, this is not your ordinary catwalk. The finished project was completed over two years ago and is a magnificent deck, complete with railing that anyone would be happy to have on the outside of their home! It was quite a feat and is a huge asset. How I wish it was on the backside of the house though!
It’s hard to justify cocktails and dancing on a deck – inside the garage.
Then came time to organize! The sturdy metal storage shelves (from Costco of course) were a perfect fit – the entire upper area looked stunning! But one look over the balcony to the ground floor and what a disaster to behold! So we did what any sensible couple would do – we put it off for “next weekend”, which turned into “next month” and then “when the weather is cooler”. It was too cold, so then it was, “when the weather is warmer” followed by “when we get back from our trip”. No of course we don’t procrastinate! And no we weren’t at all intimidated by a giant jumble of a mess. Are you kidding? Piles of scrap wood, a little sawdust floating around and a few rat turds rolling around in all our other stuff never halted the Tripps in their tracks!
Last Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day – a go-to-the-farmer’s-market, plant-new-flowers-in-the-border, sit-in-the-back-yard-and-sip-on-cold-drinks kind of a day. We were tossing plans around for the day when I find my own lips proclaiming to my beloved “it’s time to organize the garage!” Yikes! Did you know that looks can kill? The Look said “No not today, I have weeds to kill – right after I deal with YOU!” No guts no glory – I knew it was now or never to just do it – get it out of the way, so I got into my grubbies and work gloves and Chuck went off to annihilate weeds.
I stood on the upper deck and surveyed the mess below – where does one start? Do something! Start anywhere! For me, it began with the piles of nails left over from the construction job. Why the nails? I can’t say except they just irritated me the most – they were half buried in sawdust and many different sizes were consorting with one another. It really bugged me! So, I picked them up, sorted out sizes, nails in one container, the screws in another. Then on to the scattered tools – electric tools returned to their molded containers, hand tools back in the tool boxes – gathered them all into one spot. Enter my man –much needed muscle and brawn to help with the monstrous job. Bit by bit – one category at a time – one area first, then the next, we tackled the bulk of it on Saturday. We finished the job after church on Sunday afternoon – then cold “shandies ” on the shady patio in the back – they really hit the spot.
So now our 5 year garage project is looking decking good and organized! Come on by sometime – for cocktails and dancing on the deck!
