Sort your garage items.
First of all sort and categorize all the items in your garage, for this you should empty your garage and start sorting everything into categories. Separate the tools from sporting equipment, electric tools, etc. You will realize how much stuff you have and only then you will be able to determine the best ways to organize and store everything.  Misplaced items in your garage should be returned to their proper place. Also you should sort the things that should be in the garage from the things that should actually be in the basement, attic or better, sold at a garage sale. Remember to recycle everything that you decide to throw away.

Separate seasonal items and equipment.
A special rack should be installed to hang lawn maintenance tools and to keep them accessible yet out of the way. If it is
near winter place snow related tools like snow blowers, ice scrapers, snow shovels and also skis, snowboards and sleds
grouped together. Also the items for warm seasons should be  stored in a special cabinet. Near the beginning of every season you should plan this activity and rotate the cold and warm items places in the cabinet. For the other sporting equipment, shelves and drawers should be designed.

Additional shelving and cabinets.
While organizing you should consider adding additional garage storage space to help you maintain the organization.
Shelves and cabinets should be mounted on the walls. The basic principle is to store the items that you use on a regular
basis in a way that makes them accessible every time you need them.

Create efficient working area.
Installing a bench or a table would be a good choice if you use your garage as a workshop. A sturdy tool chest and a pegboard are great in storing your tools and keeping them easily accessible.

Relocate trash and recycling bins nearby the garage.
To easily dispose unwanted items from your garage a good idea is to relocate the trash and recycling bins near to your
garage entrance.  This way you won’t be tempted to keep certain items because the trash bins are too far away.

Now would be the time to hire a handyman to have cabinets, closets and shelves built right into your garage. Invest in some good storage units as described before and start organizing, sorting and storing.

If you start using this space for other projects that you have, you need to deal with one of the major inconveniences, that is warmth. During the summer you don’t have to worry too much about this but during cold seasons you might find some difficulties in continuing your project because of the very low temperature.

You can find many ways to warm up your workshop-garage. You can try one of the porcelain heaters; they work great and can warm up a good area but they are not meant to warm a large space for a long time.

Another solution for you would be to use a kerosene heater. These heaters are easy to turn on, most of them have an electric starter. It should have a thermostat to be able to regulate the temperature also they have a specific scent, they do function on kerosene! So if you think you cannot handle this smell, a kerosene heater wouldn’t be a good choice for you. They are quite dangerous for your children, if they have access to the garage and you would definitely want to ventilate very well the garage!

A very good and popular choice nowadays is a gas heater. Of course you have to hire a professional to install it. You
can find a gas heater suited to your budget for remodeling the garage. There are many models and almost all of them
are fairly inexpensive. The main advantage of a gas  heater is that it gives you a consistently warm  environment. They are available in both manual and  thermostatic control types. You would probably prefer a  model that has a thermostat, even though its price is a  little higher than the price of a manual temperature  control model. The only thing that you have to do is to set  it on a desired temperature and leave it to do its job.

There are two types of gas heaters: vented and vent less.  The vent less unit uses air from the room and the vented  model has a system that vents directly out of the garage. The disadvantage of the vent less model is that you have
to keep the room vented at all times because the unit uses  the air from the room where it has been installed. The
main advantage for the both types of gas heaters is that  they have a pretty low running cost compared to the
kerosene and electric heaters.

Remember that if you choose to install a more advanced  heating system like a gas heater, you must ask for a
professional’s help.

Nowadays the garage door trends are to incorporate the doors into the design of the house. For example you could choose carriage-style doors(look like they open like old-fashioned doors in carriage houses, but they open like normal garage doors) or you could choose wood carriage doors. These wood carriage doors are reminiscences of the horse-drawn carriage days and they are very popular. You don’t need to go as far as to order custom made garage doors because you can find more appealing garage doors at most home improvement stores.

In addition to the doors, the floor of a garage gives style and can integrate to the overall aesthetics of your house. You could try interlocking garage floor tiles that come in multiple colors and patterns. They are made of polypropylene and are easy to install and clean. Another interesting and practical flooring is the coin shaped G-flooring.

For me spring always meant upcoming garage/yards sales to go to with my mom; but more importantly, those garage/yard sales I had with my mom. From these early experiences, I learned many valuable lessons that I use to this day. These include the necessity of de-cluttering, finance, how to make change, how to price an item, how to organize and display items, and customer service. Thanks to my mom’s help, I was able to engage in an entrepreneurial endeavor at the tender age of eight. I have fond memories of my many mini-business endeavors and feel that these ventures contributed to my desire and successes in owning my own business now. Here are some pointers to get your child involved in having a garage or yard sale of his or her own when you have one.

For Children 8 and above:

Gather Goods to Sell Have your children go through their items to determine what they are ready to sell, part with, or outgrown. You as a parent have veto power, but quite often children will not even think of parting with something they still use. As a matter of fact you may have to ‘assist’ them in this step since it is likely they will want to keep just about everything they own. Be ready to ask them these questions: When was the last time the item was played with or used? 1)Why do they wish to keep it? 2)What does it mean to them? Having children answer these questions helps them to determine what items they wish to keep and those that have little value or use to them. This step teaches children the importance of letting go of stuff they won’t use again and really don’t value. Having children de-clutter their lives this way is a valuable skill that will serve them well throughout life and keep them from falling into the ‘packrat trap.’

Prepare Goods for Sale Have children prepare items for sale by cleaning dirty items and boxing items into separate boxes labeled ‘(Name)’s Garage Sale Items. This way, when it is time to set up for the big garage sale day, your children will be able to find their ’stock’ easily.

Assist your child with pricing the items to sell. Go through each item one-by-one and ask your child the following questions to help them determine an acceptable price. 1)How much do you think this is worth? 2)How did you determine that price? 3)Do you think someone will pay your price for this item? 4)Should we ask ____ amount for this? By asking your child these questions, it helps them to critically think about the value of items and their worth. By making pricing suggestions, it assists them with setting realistic prices. This step helps children learn the relative value or worth of items and gets them to think about how much the buying public would pay. Asking the question, ‘Should we ask ____ amount for this?’ is a way of helping your child set a realistic price for the item.

Preparing for the Grand Opening Set up an individual table for each child next to where you will be collecting money from customers. This way you can monitor and assist each child with customer transactions if need be and protect them from unscrupulous ‘buyers.’

Have children set up their displays themselves. By completing this step, with your help and suggestions, children learn how to display items in a visually pleasing way that will attract customers.

Day of the Grand Opening Provide each child with a change apron (available at most dollar stores) and with a small amount of change such as 2 $1.00 bills, 6 quarters, 10 dimes, and 10 nickels; i.e., $5.00 in change. This way they can collect payment for their items and if necessary, make change for customers. Children are able to reinforce their counting skills and learn how to interact with customers. Most importantly, allow your children to keep the proceeds from their sale, having them put half of the ‘profits’ into their savings accounts. When children are allowed to keep the proceeds from the sale of their items, they are eager participants.

For Children 7 and Below:

Younger children who also wish to participate in the garage sale can by selling sodas. Set up a small table with a cooler full of various cans of sodas and ice. Place a simple Soda for Sale sign on the front of the table. Allow your younger children to sell sodas, helping them with change counting or selling as needed. This way, they still get the experience and knowledge gained by running their own ’small business.’

As a child I truly enjoyed having my ‘own’ garage sale and making money in the process. These small business ventures taught me what went into running a small business from the selection of goods to be sold to the final transaction with the customer. These life skills teach children the basics of money and customer service: skills that are sure to come in handy throughout their lives.

About the author: Jona is an instructional designer, web and graphic designer, and technical and business writer. When she isn’t working on client projects, she can be found updating her personal project, www.simpleandfrugal.com, a website dedicated to those seeking to simplify their lives. Jona has practiced simple living/voluntary simplicity for over 10 years and is available for speaking engagements. She can be contacted at simplefrugal@fuse.net.

Since the garage has a concrete and uninsulated floor you should focus on making it warmer and more resilient. Furring up the floor with wood and plywood can  accomplish both tasks. As a warning, you should use pressure-treated wood or protect the wood which is in contact with the concrete by placing a layer of felt paper between the wood and the concrete.

First of all measure and determine how much you want to raise the floor. All garage floors have some amount of slope from the back wall to the wall with the garage door in it to allow the water runoff. To achieve a level floor you will have to adjust the joists, for this if you are placing the joists perpendicular to the slope in the floor each of them would have to be ripped down or shimmed up and if the joists are parallel to the slope, you can rip them on a taper or use shims to level them.

Ok, you finished remodeling the floors, now it’s time to examine your walls. You might be surprised to find out that  your walls are not even with the foundation they sit on. They may be set back from the foundation or maybe overhang it in other areas. Only one step will solve these problems: selecting a lumber size that is deep enough to extend the framing past the concrete. By notching each end of the furring strip and attaching one strip to the face of each wall stud will result in an even wall that completely hides the foundation. Also it will be deep enough for the R-21 wall insulation, this type of insulation being the most common code requirement.

When remodeling the walls and the floor several obstructions may appear. Obstructions like pipes, ducts, wires and other impediments to smooth walls may exist. For small obstructions such as wires or small pipes you could adjust the furring strips enough to accommodate them. The solution for larger obstructions is to box around them. If the obstruction is a water heater or something that you will need access to, you can frame it in and enclose it on three sides and then provide a removable access panel for the fourth side.

A building permit may be required for a garage make over. Of course all the methods presented here are purely theoretical and only for guidance. All garages are different and some adjustments to the used methods or materials may be required in order to accommodate to your garage.

Usually garage shelves can be found in two main forms: site-built and prefabricated. Site-built shelves are usually less expensive and  allow you to adapt the sizes to the space available. You can find  everything that you need at the local home center, lumber yard,  discount store or hardware store.

One of the basics of the garage shelves is made of a simple piece of  ¾” plywood or a length of 1x or 2x lumber on a set of heavy-duty  shelf brackets. This is mounted by attaching the brackets to the  studs directly using long screws then by attaching the shelf to the  brackets. To strengthen the shelf you can add a brace at each stud.

Another type of shelves are the floor-supported ones. One method  is to run vertical 2×4s every 50 inches and resting them on the  floor and attaching them to the rafters or ceiling joists at the top. In  addition, the 2×4s are run horizontally on edge between the uprights then a particleboard is used to create the shelve. The most  commonly used dimensions are 19-25 inches for depth and the spacing between 2×4s is usually on 25 inches but of course, these sizes can be changed to accommodate the size of the items that you are storing.

For storing small items you should take into consideration the space between the studs. By attaching a series of 1×2 strips horizontally to the inside edges of two adjacent studs approximately 6 inches apart, cutting some 1×4 and 1×6 pieces of lumber and fitting them between studs and slipping them on top of  the 1×2s you can create some small adjustable shelves. These are great for jars, cans and bottles and also for other small and light items. The small shelves are great for organizing and storing screws and nails.

The best choice when building prefabricated garage shelves is Steel shelving. Plastic shelving may be enough for storing light Weight items but in time you may need something more  resistant for storing heavier items. One disadvantage of the steel  shelving is that they cannot be cut to size so they have standard  widths, depths and heights so you have to choose something that  fits within your available space.

Adjustability is another important consideration in prefabricated  shelving. Prefabricated shelves should be adjustable to at least two  different locations within the shelving framework and also the pins  for adjusting should be heavy duty and should have something in place for preventing them from working loose or becoming accidentally  dislodged.

Another thing to be taken into consideration when opting for prefabricated shelves, especially those designed for heavy loads,  is that they may require a wall attachment or other support against tipping.

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Your garage offers a perfect environment to house your workshop, studio or home office. Many people also find that their garage can also be used for a gym or for another living room designed for special activities. However, remodeling your garage does not necessarily mean that you have to sacrifice your storage space or your parking area. Garages today have become multifunctional, allowing cars, general storage, a workshop and even a home office all in the same place.

Because many garages are attached to the home they can benefit from the same comfort as a home: phone wires, heating and cooling and plumbing. All you need is a little imagination, a fixed budget and a plan.

If you think that by remodeling you might be losing too much storage space, you can always build a small storage space behind your garage to house sporting equipment, tools and other items.

Moreover, when remodeling your garage you should consider an addition above the garage. Adding a room for work space and even for living, for one of your kids(they usually love this) above the existing garage can give you additional space and also increase the value of your home without major changes to the floor plan.

If you feel the need to remodel your garage but you don’t know exactly what you want or need, you should consider the following ideas.

You can transform your garage into a laundry room if you have your laundry room in the basement. By building a laundry in your garage you will eliminate the need to go up and down the stairs.

A music studio can be a great choice for your garage remodeling plans if you or your kids have some tendencies in this direction. The garage is the place where many “garage bands” got their start. To avoid your neighbors’ complaints consider soundproofing your garage walls.

Another idea for your garage can be to transform it into a gym. If you have your equipment and you don not have enough place to use it indoors you can always move it into the garage and have plenty of place for your daily exercises and training. Also here you will not be bothered by anyone.

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In order to do the sealing yourself you need several materials and tools: protective clothing, neoprene rubber gloves, goggles, a stiff brush and a bucket, a paintbrush, a cartridge-style respirator with organic-vapor and small-particle filters, paint roller with extension handle and tray, medium nap roller cover, a concrete degreaser and of course some concrete sealer. Usually ½ gallon of sealer is used for approximately 100 square feet.

Before sealing you have to clean the floor because it has to be free of dirt, grease and oil. To do this you should use a
stiff scrub brush to apply the cleaner and concrete degreaser according to the instructions. Allow the solution to lay on the floor for 15 to 20 minutes more for stubborn stains after scrubbing. After his you should rinse thoroughly with clear water. You may need several applications.  Many concrete sealers contain hazardous chemicals that may be harmful to skin and eyes and the vapors are not safe to breathe but the vast majority are acrylic. The best way to avoid damages to your skin, eyes and lungs is to wear the protective equipment made of neoprene rubber gloves, goggles and a respirator with both organic-vapor and solid-particle filter cartridges. During the process of sealing the floor you should continuously ventilate the garage by opening all doors and windows and also using a fan would be a great idea.

After cleaning and drying the concrete, the sealer has to be applied. The sealer should be tested in an inconspicuous
area before applying. Some uneven density in the concrete may result in light/dark appearance that may be objectionable. By using the medium-nap paint roller with extension handle is the easiest way to apply the sealer. Start
in a rear corner continuing to work your way out of the garage. Before doing anything else you should allow the
sealer to dry as indicated on the sealer bottle, usually for a few hours. For a driveway the procedure is essentially the
same but it would be quicker to use a garden sprayer to apply the sealer to a large driveway. You should act with
caution not to over spray on other material due to the high risk of staining.

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The storing and sorting goes as follows. Categorize each object and place it in a place specially designed for it. For
example sporting gear should be placed in a cabinet or on some shelves, tools should be placed in drawers or hung on
to some peg boards. Be ruthless about throwing away and don’t think twice before you throw away anything that you haven’t used recently or anything that’s broken. If you haven’t repaired it yet, chances are you won’t repair it. Seasonal gear should also be sorted, boots and out-of-season coats should be organized in small closets.

After you finish organizing, sorting and throwing away unwanted items you will be surprised to see your garage  floor and corners again. Maybe your car will fit in the garage again.

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One of the options is to buy a modular storage kit. This can have parts and components that you can mix and match
together and can solve many storage problems. Another option would be to build your own storage solution. If you have too many items that you keep in your garage maybe a modular storage kit cannot provide you the needed solution. The
improvements made to your storage may help you reduce clutter, store seasonal items in a more conveniently way and
improve organization.

Cabinets, shelves, wall-mounted racks and plastic containers are the most popular types of garage storage and organization solutions. Cabinets work well for protecting their contents from moisture and dust. Shelves save space more efficiently but the most affordable solution are the wall-mounted racks. Clear plastics containers help you to store several items and allow you to see the contents.

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