Thursday, December 6, 2012

5 Things That Make Your Garage Ugly

As homeowners, our goal is to make our garage look good. Whenever we feel that it is beginning to look ugly, we think of having a garage makeover. To some, makeovers are not that special, instead, they are part of maintenance.

When you say maintenance, it is cleaning and mending if there is anything broken regularly. If your garage is not maintained properly, the following will happen to your garage:

1.    Stains on the wall and flooring
Stains on the wall and flooring can go unnoticed at first. However, if it sits there longer, dusts will stick to them and they will be hardened. Thus, you see ugly marks. This can be avoided if stains will be wiped off as soon as they are discovered.

You may also choose stain-resistant materials for your flooring next time if you do not have enough time for regular cleaning.

2.    Flickering lights
It is very common among us to wait for our lights to flicker before we buy replacement. Sometimes, when we are too busy with many appointments, we do not get time to buy one. The result is leaving our lights flickering longer until we forget doing something about it.

Having an extra bulb in our garage can help a lot when we see that our lights are starting to malfunction.

3.    Fading and chipping paint
Fading and chipping paint is usual especially in hot weather. But this is not an excuse to have this in your garage. This will make your garage look old and unpleasant.

You may want to switch to another brand of paint, or settle for wallpapers to avoid having chipped and fading walls.

4.    Insects
Cockroaches, spiders, and the likes should not be welcome in your garage. Their presence is a sign that you are not cleaning your garage well. This leads to bad impression to whoever sees it.

Using insect repellents can help you as well as making sure there are no food-bits that attract them to stay there.

5.    Falling gutter
During rainy season your gutter is very helpful. When you gutter starts to fall, you may have problems draining rainfall. The sight of falling gutter is associated with depreciation. If somebody sees it, he might think that your garage is non-functional already.

If you are planning to sell your house, the falling gutter of your garage will make potential buyers feel that you should sell it at a lower price.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Modern Garage Design


Modern Garage Design

Space is very important especially if you want to make a more organized life. This is the reason why people would tend to use their garage in a more functional way. Using it for parking cars and for dirty workshop is already a thing of the past.

There are more ways on how your garage can keep up with your lifestyle. Here are some ways to achieve a modern garage design that would increase its functionality and make you a happier homeowner:

1.   Increase your garage storage

You might be already satisfied with the kind of storage that you have in your garage. Don’t be limited to this by just dumping everything in one cabinet. You can make things more organized by actually adding more spaces for your grouped stuff.

Yes, you have to group your stuff according to their material and use so that you can easily find them. This way, you can decrease the chances of clutter.

You can also use garage storage which is colorful or with a more homely design to make you feel comfortable whenever you see it.

2.   Upgrade your garage flooring

Because you are doing most of your projects in your garage, there is a need for durable flooring. You may have already heard using some resin material to make your flooring free from abrasions and damages from chemical reactions.

But don’t settle for this. You can get durable flooring which is at the same time stylish. This would encourage you to add more functions to your modern garage.

3.   Proper lighting

Lighting plays a very important role in making the ambiance of a room better. Instead of using a lot of bright fluorescent lamps, you might also try to use those dim ones. You can have the bright and dim ones at the same time but make sure they have different switches so you can use them individually depending on your purpose.

4.   Add some comfortable chairs

You would normally find only workshop chairs in garages. This makes the function of your garage more limited since you do not have anything comfortable to sit on if you want to read some papers or books.

Some homeowners would even add a couch in their modern garage to make it accommodate more people inside in case they want to hold some group gatherings there.

This would also serve you best if you want to open a garage sale since you can use it every time you want to take a break.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

7 Tips to Being a More Organized Person


It has been the struggle of many to keep up with the mess at home or even at the office. Being organized hasn't been rewarded to many of us thus we get extra reasons to be stressed, waste more time and exert more energy. A lot of people could live with disarray but many get frustrated with it and vow to be more organized individuals.

source: Officiency

Realizing that a disorganized place will only lead you to a lot of troubles will definitely help you in your goal to become a more organized person. It is important though to keep such goal. To help you simplify things, here are helpful tips that will surely make you a more organized person.

1.     Keep your sight on the goal.

Your goal must be to become a more organized person. That is quite a challenge for many especially those who have people who keep after them. But that is not an excuse. You must aim to be organized yourself. Once you have this in mind, you will become more conscious of what you do.

2.     Minimize clutter.

A mess can be summed up from a lot of individual clutter. Once you see a clutter, make sure to do something about it. Only keep those things that are important. The rest, store them on your garage or storage area. Start with your desk at the office for example. For sure, you will find things that you don’t necessarily need but occupying a space on your cubicle.

3.     Use the right tools.

Your house must have good storage units like cabinets, drawers and other things that could help you become more organized. Shoes must be in their right places like a shoe rack for example. Keys and small things must have their holders in places where you can easily access and find them. These simple things when done will save you a lot of time and frustration.

4.     Learn to prioritize.

You will see this in every shortlist of tips of becoming an organized person. You must prioritize which things and activities need your attention first, which comes second and so on. This will help you avoid missing deadlines and keeping your connections. Also, enjoying more time for leisure will be more possible.

5.     Teach the other members of the family to be more organized.

You cannot do all these things alone. You also need to make everyone at home involved. Teach your kids to look after their things when they arrive from school. Even putting their shoes in the right place can be a great time saver on your part. If you have a spare room, you can make it into your husband’s mini office. Every time he gets home, he can just go directly to his mini office and drop things there. It’ll be easier for you to sort his things later.

6.     Look after your health.

Can you afford to get sick? If you get sick, you know that nobody can work in your stead. Things and household chores will pile up. So take care of your health by getting the right sleep, exercising and eating a right diet.

7.     Reminders are good.

Sometimes, when a lot of things occupy your mind, you tend to forget them. Acknowledge this fact and do what you can to avoid missing appointments and activities. Make use of notes (stick-on notes are good or a small notebook you can carry) or your smart phone. Phones these days have calendars and alarm clocks or apps which is good for this purpose. 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Garage Makeover

    
    We do a lot of makeovers for our entire house as years pass by. Getting a garage makeover is an example. But why do we need to have a makeover for our garage? Here are the most common reasons why homeowners give their garages a makeover. 

1.   To beautify the place

One of the main reasons of a makeover is for beautification. Having a makeover for your garage means new paint colors on the wall, new flooring and probably new instruments and machine within your garage. Doing all the changes and perhaps upgrade of outdated tools make your garage more pleasing to the eyes. A beautiful garage also makes your home more attractive.

2.   To have more space

If you have a garage makeover, most of the time, its end result would be a wider space or more places for storage. Garage makeover companies make use of cabinets and strategic storage areas for your garage to make it more spacious. 

With more space, you can have a lot of choices as to what to make use out of it. You can have a reading area in your garage or a small gym perhaps.

3.   To increase functionality

With a wider space comes an opportunity for you to use the place for other purposes. You can transfer your exercise equipment in the garage like a treadmill for example so it won’t crowd your house. You can make your garage a storage area for seasonal tools and decorations instead of the attic. Your attic can then be used for other purposes. 

If you are planning to buy a new car, you do not have to worry about space. With a garage makeover, you can certainly have enough space for your new car.

4.   To upgrade outdated tools and equipment

If you happen to want new tools and equipment for your garage, you may also need to have a makeover for the whole garage area. New tools and equipment may mean wider space and a more organized area. This calls for a makeover.

When thinking of an upgrade for your tools and equipment, take note of the functionality it can bring to you. As much as possible, you have to maximize the function and use of these tools and equipment. If you do not need them often, it is better to just keep your old tools and have your car fixed and just pay for a service fee. No need to spend a limb on things which are not very much in need.

5.   To boost the market value of your home

It is just common for homeowners to improve their homes with the thought of selling them in the future by the time they need to retire someplace else. A fully-functional garage especially when it is upgraded with the right tools and equipment any garage needs can spike the selling price of your property. Once you put your home in the market, it has a better chance of being sold than a house with an unkept garage.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

5 Ways You Can Maximize the Use of Storage Cabinets at Home


garage storage cabinets
Seeing great designs on garage organisation topics on TV or in magazines may seem like superficial. But did you know that you can always make your own version of those ideal garages by using a little creativity?

We don’t really need to get the same garage furniture or accessories as those which were featured but you can make it as a pattern on how you can make everything fit and still have enough space left. The following are ways to maximize the use of storage cabinets:

1.   Make more compartments inside your cabinet

Do not settle for the space provided by your cabinet. You can put some trays or baskets inside so that it can make the items more organized inside. You can also add some hooks behind your cabinet doors where you can put some of your keys.

2.   Categorize your garage items

Categorizing your items would be very useful. You can even put them all together in one big plastic container to avoid clutter. Keeping them in one place will make it easier for you to find them and at the same time will give more space to other things that need it the most.

3.   Place small items in containers

Keeping your items in their own containers like bulky boxes would eat much space. Seeing small items everywhere gives you a headache. However, if you try to store them in containers of the same sizes, preferably having 4 sides that would help them fit in one cabinet compartment; it will be easier for you to locate them.

4.   Let go of useless stuff

You may have a lot of stuff in your garage that cannot be fixed anymore. Instead of giving it some space, why don’t you dispose them? If there is still a valuable material in it like metal or plastic, you can sell it to a junk shop.

You can also organise a garage sale to dispose the things which you don’t find useful anymore. This will also give you some extra money.

5.   Get new cabinets

If you feel that you have already done everything, but still, it is not working, check if you have the appropriate size for garagestorage cabinets. Don’t push yourself too hard by making everything fit if you really need to get new cabinets.

Don’t be afraid to invest in big cabinets because you can use them for long-term anyway. You can also keep more valuable things safely if you get one.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

5 Ways to Maximize Your Garage Function

Your garage has become not only a place to house your vehicles but also an extended storage of the home. This is the place where you keep those things which you don’t want your children to meddle with. This is also the place where you do some equipment repairs without having to worry a lot about the weather.




Whatever your new purpose for your garage, you can maximize its function by considering the following:

     1.   Overhead racks

You can maximize your ceiling when it comes to garage storage. There are sturdy overhead racks available now in DIY shops if you want to install them yourself.

The purpose of these racks is to maximize the storage potential of your garage without requiring you get more cabinets that would occupy more space.

      2.   More organized cupboards

If you are planning to store more and more items, you need to get a more organized cupboard which has the capacity to sort many things into different groups or categories. These cupboards should normally have a long row of different compartments, and with locks if necessary.

Most of these cupboards should just be placed on one side of the garage to make it easier for you when working on a project.

     3.   Resistant flooring

If you have good flooring that is resistant to abrasions and harsh chemicals and fluids, you can do whatever you want to do in your garage without thinking of damaging it. You will not have to use expensive solvents just to remove the stains that have stuck to your flooring.

This will enable you to add more functions to your garage aside from working on wood and metal.

     4.   Proper lighting

Having a good amount of light in a room would make a worker more effective and efficient because he clearly sees everything that he needs to complete the work. If you have good lighting in your garage, you can have comfort whether you are studying, doing your craft, or even exercising.

     5.   Arrangement

When you increase the space available in your garage, you can add more equipment and machinery that would serve their purpose in whatever function you want to have. Increasing the space can be done by arranging the furniture and items in the garage strategically.

Garage organisation does not mean that you need to get the help of professional interior designer. Instinctively, you can design how everything should be placed to make it more comfortable and workable for you.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

4 Ways a Garage Sale Can Help You Organise Your Home

Having a garage is equivalent to adding a new space to clean. Well that’s not how it always goes. After several years, our house gets more and more crowded and we probably wonder how we are going to organise it.


garage storage solutions

There are garage storage solutions that we can actually enjoy with our extra space outside the house. A garage sale is one idea you could try.

Why garage sale? Here’s a list of the things that we can get from having a garage sale at home:


     1.   Helps you find ways to dispose old and unused stuff

Whenever you clean the house and find some old or unused stuff, there is a feeling that you want to keep them though you don’t really need them all. You don’t just have this feeling on one item; this can go for several items until your house looks like a stock room.

With your garage sale, you can dispose your old and unused stuff; of course they are still functional and you could sell them at a price you think is fair.

     2.   More space for the living room
      
    Once the garage sale is over, you will find that your house has become cleaner. You have to determine first which part of the house you would want to get the most space for. Most of us would choose the living room since that is where we receive guests.

We can now move some appliances, books, and even shelves to the kitchen and to our bedroom to give our living room more space for guests.


     3.   Helps you fund for more cabinets


Organising our homes means we need to have more storage cabinets. Of course we want to get cabinets that would last for a long time. The quality must be good. However, it also means extra money.


With a garage sale, you can raise some amount to fund a new cabinet without hurting your monthly budget. You can also buy some racks that you can use for your house and garage organisation.


     4.   A good time for general cleaning


We often miss general cleaning though it should be done regularly. We are pre-occupied with community, school events and the holidays most of the time that we miss doing it.


Having a garage sale will actually remind us to do it. Once our sale is over and we have successfully let go of the things which cluttered our house, we can now start rolling the carpets, do some repairs, and sweep the house all over. 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

4 Garage Storage Solutions and Ideas

Garage Storage Solutions
Garage Storage Solutions
Everyone fantasizes on having a very organized garage. It is not just about cleanliness which can easily be addressed by garage resin flooring since grease and other oils do not get stuck on it. It is more on how you will fit everything you need in that rather small space.

Here are some few things that you can do to have a better garage:

1.      Maximize your ceiling

You might sometimes see a chaos of cabinets and more cabinets while the ceiling is very plain and lone. You can maximize the use of your ceiling by attaching overhead storage racks. These racks should be sturdy enough and placed on the corners or where there are cabinets below.

These racks are intended to keep the light things in place such as plastic containers and other things which you do not use often. Heavy items are not to be placed on these racks since it could do some harm if they fall.
 
2.      “Do not be afraid to hang them”

Most of us might forget that we can use some hooks on the wall to hang items like brooms, mops, and even your bicycle! Yes, you can do that.

It is recommended that you hang those items which you will need often so you can just easily see and get them. This will help you to create more space for storage cabinets and the like.
 
3.      More cabinets!

Having more cabinets means having more space to keep your most important items. You can group your items according to their use or by the frequency of their use.

Cabinets are ideal because they have locks. This is good for protecting children from touching harmful objects. This will also spare you from those who intend to steal your tools. It is also important that you place them as close to the wall to save space.

4.      Write labels

This is one of the best garage storage solutions. Once you have your cabinets and other containers, it is very important that you don’t forget to put labels on them. This will help you find the things that you need faster and remember where to put them back quickly.

If you feel that putting some labels will make it easier for burglars to find the most expensive tools easily, you can just use initials and not the complete name of the items.