How many times have you walked by a house that had one or more of it's garage doors open and you could see that there was no room in there to park their car? Homeowners it seems are increasingly apt to use their garages for storage and not for the real reason they are there: to protect their cars!
My neighbor across the street has a two car garage and one of his cars sits in front of his house 365 days a year because there is no room to park it inside. We have to constantly look at his ugly car and it is quite annoying. I guess it could be worse and he could have both cars relegated to the curb if both side of his garage were cluttered with junk.
What you do with your garage is of course your own business but it is always good to be respectful of your neighbors and the view they have. Houses are much prettier to look at if the cars are neatly tucked away in the garage than if they are always in the driveway or at the curb.
As garages become bigger (as do houses) why are homeowners accumulating so much junk that they can't even save enough space to park their cars? And don't they like getting into a warm car in the winter rather than a freezing one that has been parked outside all night? I am sure I will never know the answers to these questions but before you look for cool garage ideas for your own home, make sure you clear enough space to keep your car(s) inside. Your neighbors will thank you!
Here is a short video to help you with your garage clutter and organization:
DO'S AND DON'TS OF GARAGE SALES
June is the month when garage sales really kick into high gear. Saturday mornings are a time when you can peruse neighborhoods and find garage sale signs all over the place. If you are anyone like me, you hate to drive by sales and not stop because you might be missing a great deal.
If you are going to have your own sale, you need to plan ahead and know what you are doing. First of all, remember that many of the people will be driving by and you need to give them a reason to park their car and get out of it. The best way to do that is to have tons of stuff for sale and have it all CLEARLY visible. Look at the picture below. Now that is a garage sale that has some action and lots of stuff making people WANT to get out of their cars and look.
One of the worst things you can do is have a sale where everything is inside your garage. If you do that, you will see that many people in their cars slow down and then drive away after they decide it is not worth the effort. See the sale in the picture below? BORING and not worth the effort to even walk up the driveway!
Signs advertising your garage sale are also very important and shouldn't be underestimated. Too many people get lazy with their signs and end up assuming people will just stop by. But how will they know to come if you don't advertise? If you are going to spend half or more of your day hanging out at your sale, you might as well do the upfront work of making signs that are sturdy and do a good job of pointing the way to your house. Your cash register will thank you too.
If you are going to have your own sale, you need to plan ahead and know what you are doing. First of all, remember that many of the people will be driving by and you need to give them a reason to park their car and get out of it. The best way to do that is to have tons of stuff for sale and have it all CLEARLY visible. Look at the picture below. Now that is a garage sale that has some action and lots of stuff making people WANT to get out of their cars and look.
One of the worst things you can do is have a sale where everything is inside your garage. If you do that, you will see that many people in their cars slow down and then drive away after they decide it is not worth the effort. See the sale in the picture below? BORING and not worth the effort to even walk up the driveway!
Signs advertising your garage sale are also very important and shouldn't be underestimated. Too many people get lazy with their signs and end up assuming people will just stop by. But how will they know to come if you don't advertise? If you are going to spend half or more of your day hanging out at your sale, you might as well do the upfront work of making signs that are sturdy and do a good job of pointing the way to your house. Your cash register will thank you too.
Some people take the time to price every or most items while others don't price anything. There is not a right or wrong way but it makes sense to at least price the bigger items. The little things that are going to go for a quarter or a dollar don't matter but usually you have at least a handful of bigger ticket items you are trying to get rid of. Thinking what you want for them ahead of time and putting a price on them will at least give your customers a starting point for negotiation. Remember, just because you have a price tag on things doesn't mean you have to sell them for that.
A lot of people have garage sales to have fun, get rid of some junk, and to make a little money on the side. But done right, you can have a whole lot more fun than you ever thought if you have lots of things to sell and a constant stream of people with money looking through your treasures!
COOL GARAGE DOOR ART IDEAS
If you are interested in finding the best garage door art ideas, there is only one company I could find online that does that sort of thing. You might be able to find someone n your local area that will paint a design on your garage but that is something most people won't want to bother with. They would rather have something they can buy and install themselves like the cool three car garage art below:
The company that does these can be found here Style Your Garage.com
Unfortunately, this is a German company so most of the designs are for single door garages because that is what most homes have in Europe. But they ship world wide including the United States, and this is something you will get in the mail and be able to install yourself.
They say it takes around 1 hour to install and you will probably need a couple of people to do it. Obviously the art for the 2 and 3 car garages would take longer to install than the ones for the single garage. If you are looking for cool garage ideas, this is certainly something to consider!
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