According to organizer pros, only 25% of homeowners are able to park their car in the garage due to other things cluttering the garage! In addition, one in four report feeling embarrassed by how their garage looks, and they try to keep the door closed so no one can see the mess.

The average car costs $33,500 – one of the biggest purchases you’ll make. Sadly, many of us are forced to park our cars outdoors instead of parking them in the garage because our garages are full of clutter. Parking your car in the garage has a lot of benefits, here are a few:

• Protects your car from sun, acid rain, and bird droppings 
  All of these things can cause the finish and surfaces of your car to prematurely degrade.
• Protects against theft 
  Cars that are stored in garages are less susceptible to getting broken into, or stolen.
• Stay out of the weather! 
  When you return home from a long day at work, it’s not fun to park outside and have to get out into the rain or snow before heading into the house.

Here are some ideas on how you can stop being embarrassed by your garage, and get your car back under roof. Some of these lessons come from personal experience – just a few weeks ago I went through this process and got my car back into the garage.

7 TIPS TO REGAINING YOUR GARAGE:

1) SKETCH A PLAN.

Even a quick sketch on the back of a napkin can help. What are the things you absolutely would want to store in the garage in a best case scenario? Would you like the car on the left, or the right? Is the lawn mower going in front of the car, or beside it? List your non-negotiable items that you know have to end up in the garage. For example, I recently did this exercise, and one item I had to make sure I had room for was the backup emergency generator. That’s a heavy item that has to have floor space, and has to be close to a door or window for ventilation if I need to start it up.

List items that you think you can store on the walls or ceilings, and estimate the amount of hardware / hangers you’ll need. Go to the hardware store and buy the shelves, hooks, and hardware you think you’ll need. Another great item to pick up at the hardware store is some stackable bins with lids on them. If you get clear containers, it’s much easier to find what you’re looking for after you’ve organized the garage.

2) GET EVERYTHING OUT OF THE GARAGE.

This requires a full day, so set aside a day that you know you can dedicate to this project. You may want to invite some friends or family over to help you with this. When I did this, I didn’t invite anyone over for a few reasons – one, I was embarrassed by how bad the mess was, and two, I find it distracting to have other folks around. For me to get into my organizational state of mind I need to spend a little time in the space without any distractions.

The goal is simply to get the garage EMPTY. 

In the four different garages that I’ve organized this step has been the most freeing and inspiring. Taking everything OUT of the garage is the best way to start a garage organization project. You can actually SEE everything that you own, for one. Another benefit is it that it sets you up for success in Step 3!

3) SORT ALL YOUR STUFF INTO FOUR PILES:

• Keep
• Donate – Goodwill, local church
• Sell – Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist, etc.
• Toss – 1-800-GOT-JUNK or contact your local municipality

I’ll caution you that this step is exhausting and a bit draining. It’s easy to get decision fatigue at this step. You’re making hundreds of decisions in a short amount of time. Even though I didn’t invite anyone into this process when I did it, my advice is that you may want to have an objective third party join you to help you make some of these decisions.

• The little red wagon that the kids used when they were young? Donate. 
• The 80 year old handheld wood plane that your great grandfather handed down to you? That’s a tough call – probably keep. 
• The pool floaty with a hole in it from two seasons ago? Toss. 
• The super duper bread maker you got for Christmas five years ago and never used? Maybe you can sell it. 

Lay down tarps or blankets on the ground and physically put these piles of stuff on each tarp, to keep the piles from spilling into each other and help visually separate the piles.

4) KEEP THINGS OFF THE FLOOR.

Before moving things back into the garage, install hooks, hangars, shelves and hardware to keep things OFF the floor. Your floor space is precious, and you should aggressively defend it. Even if you pare down your stuff, if you put it all back on the floor of the garage you still won’t have room to park. Here are some things you should consider getting up off the floor:

• Bikes
  If you use your bikes a lot, you may want to invest in a wall mounted rack that is easy to use, but find a way to get your bikes up off the floor.
• Kayaks / Canoes / Paddleboards
  These can take up a ton of space in the garage, but if you get them up off the floor it makes a huge difference. You can buy a ceiling mounted boat rack, or you can craft your own with some ratchet straps and hooks.
• Yard Tools
  It’s worth getting a wall mounted hook system to get your shovels and rakes up off the floor. This also keeps them easy to find when you head out to do a little work in the garden.
• Toolboxes and Storage Crates
  Put these items on shelves along a wall so that you can easily find what your looking for while minimizing the floor space used.

When you are considering what should get stored up on the wall or ceiling, think through how often you need to access it. If you use your fishing rod three times a week, you obviously won’t want to store it in a place where you’ll need a ladder or a step stool to reach it. Things that are rarely used can be hung up in more difficult to reach places.

Pro Tip:

A few weeks ago I learned of a wheelbarrow mounting kit! A wheelbarrow is the perfect example of something that takes up a lot of floor space but doesn’t get used very much. Since we only use our wheelbarrow a few times a year, I mounted it up on the wall with the mounting kit. Now it’s up and out of the way, but I can still get to it when needed.

5) USE A PEGBOARD.

The lowly pegboard is still one of the best ways to organize small items in your garage. It’s cheap, and keeps your small hand tools at hand. It takes up no floor space, and allows you to customize the hook spacing to fit your needs. Hang up things like extension cords, etc. as well. Along with a pegboard, consider a wall mounted small parts organizer. These have a bunch of small drawers for things like screws, washers, etc. Clear plastic drawers let you see what’s inside.

6) LABEL EVERYTHING.

One thing that contributes to clutter is not knowing where things are kept. I’ve found myself buying things that I already owned, simply because I didn’t know where to find it. Get a label maker and put labels on your storage bins and shelves so you can keep track of where everything is. This will save you money and hassle over time, since you won’t have to make a trip to the store to buy something that you already have, but can’t find. It will also make you more productive in the future. When you tackle your to-do list you’ll be able to finish more quickly because you won’t waste time looking for your tools and supplies.

7) CONSIDER A SEPARATE STORAGE SHED.

You may find that despite your best efforts, your ‘KEEP’ pile is still pretty big. If so, consider a separate backyard shed in your yard. You can apply the same organizational tips to your storage shed so that you can optimize that as well. A shed can usually be fitted with an overhead garage door, or with a standard utility door to best suit your needs. A ramp at the entrance makes it easy to store things like a motorcycle, zero-turn lawn mower, or ATV.

A storage shed with a garage door can act as a standalone garage, or it can be an overflow for your existing garage. You may choose to put things like bikes, kayaks, and generator in the shed, which makes it a lot easier to make room for your car in the garage.

Learn more about doing your own Garage Makeover!

OTHER BENEFITS

There are a lot of benefits to having your garage organized. I already mentioned protecting your car from the elements, but here are a few other things you’ll enjoy after organizing your garage:

1) WATCHING A THUNDERSTORM

Open the garage door and sit in a lawn chair looking out at the rain. This is a simple pleasure that takes me back to childhood, watching storms with my dad.

2) ENTERTAIN FRIENDS / KIDS / NEIGHBORS

A neat and clean garage is perfect to use as an extension of your house when you’re entertaining. Set up some folding tables, throw down a table cloth, and you can host a party. Throw open the big garage door, and you’ll have plenty of ventilation and it won’t feel cramped.

3) PLACE FOR THE KIDS TO PLAY WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD

When it’s raining outside, it’s nice to be able to have a place where the kids can hang out. I used to have a remote controlled race car that I’d run around in the garage and entertain myself for hours. Mom wasn’t too keen on me running it in the house, as I recall, but the garage was the right place for it.

What Do You Think?

I’m sure you can think of many other ways you would use a well organized garage – please don’t hesitate to email me at blog@woodtex.com and let me know what other benefits you would enjoy with a spacious, clean, and organized garage!

Check out more of our organization posts here: Organization or Shed | DIY Shed Organization

The post 7 Tips to Get Your Garage Back! appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

After careful consideration, Kent chose Karen Moore from Stenardsville, Virginia as the contest winner.

Karen didn’t initially set out to be an entrepreneur. As a stay at home mom for over 20 years, Karen always felt a sort of restlessness, knowing that she would one day do something “BIG”. Not sure at the time what that “BIG” thing was, Karen patiently waited for God’s plan to reveal itself. Although her Biology degree, research experience, and her experience working in the office of a construction company may have contributed to her business success, it wasn’t until she set out to solve a new problem in her life, that her entrepreneurial spirit really began to shine.

After being diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2004, Karen started using a CPAP machine–a special machine, worn at night, to help keep oxygen flowing. She quickly found that there were no products available to make the CPAP mask more comfortable… so she used her sewing skills to make one for herself.

Read Karen’s inspiring start-up story that she submitted as her contest entry:

This story began many years before the business began. I actually did not know I would start a business. I was a stay-at-home mom of 2 wonderful kids. I loved being a full-time mom, but I felt inside of me a stirring of something that I did not quite understand. I told my husband “I feel like there are a bunch of horses trying to run forward and I am holding them back” I felt it meant that when my kids were grown, there was a plan for my future that was going to be BIG. I had no idea what it would be, but I knew it was going to be BIG!!

[In] 2004 I was struggling with some brain fog. I almost pulled a fish in a cup out of a wall display not realizing that it would collapse the entire display at a pet store. What was wrong with my brain that I did not stop myself? That was the last straw. I was used to thinking pretty clearly, and I knew something was wrong. I went to the doctor. A sleep study later, I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The treatment Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) would improve my brain, he said. I would wear a mask on my face to blow air into my nose whenever I slept, wherever I slept for the rest of my life! WOW, that was heavy for a foggy brained person dealing with menopause such as I was.

Add to this, the mask was uncomfortable, and left marks on my face every morning. Even though I am not a vain person, I did not necessarily want people wondering about these lines on my face. Because I have sewn as long as I can remember, I designed and sewed a pad for the straps of the mask headgear. It solved my problem. Fast forward 8 months, I am now successfully using my mask every night and my brain has returned.

I thought, “I wonder if there are other people who struggle with the comfort and have marks left from the sleep apnea masks on their faces”. I bet I could help a few people with that. I figured I would help about 100 people maybe. I made up 25 very unattractive, but functional pairs of pads and took them to our very small town one afternoon and just talked with people about sleep apnea. I sold 5 pair that afternoon without trying. Hmmm. I looked online to see what was already on the market, and lo and behold, there was not a thing being made to make the mask more comfortable. Was I the first person to think of this and act on it? That doesn’t happen to people like me. I felt as if God Himself touched me on the shoulder andsaid “This IS your BIG thing”. I was flabbergasted!

“I figured I would help about 100 people maybe.”

This was IT! I was going to start a business to help people with their sleep apnea treatment. Never mind that I had no idea about business, or managing production, or making a website, or filing a patent, or hiring help or managing a team. I KNEW in an instance that this is what Iwas suppose to do. It matched so many of my passions and my talents. The timing could not have been more perfect.

With my husband’s blessing, I took $1000 from our checking account and bought some GOOD fabric for the product. I started all by myself, and sewed each one I sold. I sold on Ebay to start with. I tried calling the sleep doctors and the equipment providers, but they did not see the need. I knew the patients needed this as I had, but I had to learn how to get the word out. I found a forum online that was developed for supporting people who have sleep apnea. I offered some free samples to some of the members in return for honest feedback to help me improve the product. They liked my product. I was never in it to make a lot of money. I wanted to help people sleep better. One thing let to another and another and another.

“I was never in it to make a lot of money. I wanted to help people sleep better.”

Now, 12 years and 26,000 website orders later, we are ready to move from our humble beginnings over our garage to a new location. We also now have 5 employees and 4 sewing ladies that sew most of what we sell. We are helping people sleep with their masks more comfortably all over the world, and I still love what I do. I have grown so much as a business person and as a leader. My brain is back, thank God! We have purchased the new location and are making it ready for the move later this spring. We will need to store our rolls of fabric (we now buy fabric in bulk) and our racks with our cut pieces for production. [PAD A CHEECK, LLC] makes and sells over 60 different products. If you would like to see some of our products, please feel free to check our website padacheek.com.

What makes Karen’s story inspiring is that she didn’t stop at simply solving her own problem. She wanted to solve the problem for others as well. The timing was right, an opportunity was knocking, and Karen took a leap of faith that this bright idea of hers was the “BIG” thing she was meant to do. To Karen, success is in following God’s plan, working with her husband every day, and she gets to help people sleep better. Karen explains it best: “That is a win, win, win for me.”

We received entry after entry of similar stories. Stories full of encouragement, hope, grit, and grind. They are stories of fighters and go-getters! Although we could only choose one winner, we are are enormosly grateful for the inspiring stories that were shared with us. Stay tuned to the Woodtex Facebook page for updates on the delivery of Karen’s structure!

UPDATE: Karen got the chance to share her story with Ken Coleman on the EntreLeadership Podcast which aired on 4/11/16: Click here to listen to this incredible entrepreneurial story!

The post The Inspiring Story Of Our EntreLeadership Podcast Contest Winner appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

Preparation

Painting the Shed

Silke’s Storage Shed Details:

Painting Supplies Used by Silke: 

The post How To Paint A Shed Yourself appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

This 16×40 garage with HardiePlank® siding sits on the side of a hill surrounded by pine trees.

David and Kay were an absolute pleasure to work for and we loved getting to know them over the time we spent working on their property. This property is near the gorgeous Stanislaus National Forest, and the garage is situated on a hillside.

A COUPLE OF INTERESTING FEATURES INCLUDE:

• HardiePlank lap siding (painted white)
• Full second floor
• Pineapple Weathervane (who doesn’t love that?!)
• 7’10” Ceiling Height on First floor

David will be using the first floor for his Porsche and they plan to finish out the second floor on their own. They’ll be able to use the space as extra living space!

GARAGE DETAILS

• 16×40 Two Story Garage, built on site
• White siding
• Black trim
• Black shingles
• Colonial-style overhead doors
• Full second floor

Interested in building a garage? Check out our article “Remodeling: 4 Ideas for a Detached Garage”

The post Gorgeous Woodtex Garage near California appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

Donna provides every little detail of this process on her blog, and it’s a great read for anyone who has an idea and wants to take action and make it happen! In fact one of Donna’s favorite quotes is, “If your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough.”

The Pedini’s came to Woodtex after doing research on building construction. First they were thinking of a building with concrete walls. Then they thought a stick-built structure would be better. Then, they found Woodtex and realized we could do much of the hard work for them!

Donna wrote on her blog:

Did some research about buying a prefab building from a place called Woodtex out of Himrod, NY, over by Seneca Lake (basically a garage that has been customized to what we want), turns out we can get one delivered and set up on our site for not much more than having Vince do the construction himself. It is just the shell, but will save us months of work. Vince will still be doing the electrical and plumbing.

Just a few weeks ago, we delivered their building… here are a few photos from Donna’s blog.

We’re so happy to be part of building Donna and Vince’s dream! To read more about this project and follow the building of their business, catch up on Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the blog posts Donna has written over the last few months (and tuned for updates!).

Want more garage inspiration? Check out the Piccuci’s Garage!

The post From Idea to Distillery: Woodtex Garage Transformation appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

We even had a little debate going at our New York Sales Center. We took this great looking 10×10 Storage Shed to the Syracuse Home Show.

And recently the shed’s new owner sent in a photo with some landscaping in place… Looks nice right?

But one important question remains… is it gray… or is it blue? What do you think?

Check out our top 5 best selling Colors here. 

The post GRAY VS. BLUE: THE DEBATE CONTINUES appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.